England vs India 2018: Five things we learnt from the ODI series
India began their tour of England with a thumping 2-1 victory in the T20I series. India carried on their momentum to the first ODI and knocked out the hosts to the mat with the help of Kuldeep Yadav. With a 1-0 lead, many relied on India to complete a rare ODI whitewash in England. However, the hosts fought back vigorously in the remaining two ODIs and won the series 2-1 in style. With that, India had lost their first bilateral ODI series under the captaincy of Virat Kohli.
Though India had two quality wrist-spinners on their side, England finished the job with the help of just a single wrist-spinner. Adil Rashid had a fantastic series and claimed a Man of the Match award in the final ODI. Both teams had their fair share of highs and lows throughout the series.
With both teams winning a series each, the all-important test series awaits us. Before that, let us look at the five things we learned from the ODI series.
#5 England players can play spin
Even before India’s tour of England began, a large number of people raised doubts about the English player’s technique against quality wrist-spin bowling. As judged by the experts, the duo of Kuldeep and Chahal created a web around the English batsmen in the very first T20I. As expected, England came back stronger in the second T20I with the help of ‘Merlyn.’ However, Rohit Sharma’s brilliance in the final T20I series sealed the series for the visitors.
England once again succumbed to the spin duo in the first ODI. In particular, the England batsmen looked clueless against the variations of Kuldeep. However, as the series progressed, England seemed more comfortable against the threat offered by the spin duo. In particular, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan negated the spin threat well. In the final two ODIs, their partnerships played a significant role in the England victory.