England vs India 2014: 5 positives from the ODI series for MS Dhoni's men

The Indian cricket team, coming off a Test defeat against England, did not return empty handed from the country as they inflicted a series defeat on Alastair Cook’s men in the 5 match ODI series 3-1, with the first game having been washed out due to rain.Losses in the bilateral ODI series away in South Africa and New Zealand, and an early exit from the Asia Cup earlier this year had raised doubts whether the Men in Blue were capable of winning in the shorter format overseas. Questions were also asked on whether the team could defend their World Cup crown next year or not.The ODI series win not only silenced all the critics, but also gave the team a few positives which augurs well ahead of a gruelling year.

#1 Spinning their way to victory

Considering that the pitches outside Asia won’t assist spinners much, the strategy to go in with two full-time spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in overseas conditions made us question Dhoni's line of thinking.

However, in this particular series, Ashwin and Jadeja kept a check in the flow of runs and got important breakthroughs whenever the opposition was running away with the game. 

Ashwin and Jadeja picked up 14 wickets between them with the former having an economy rate of 4.4 and the latter going for 4.8 runs per over. Raina, who bowled 25 overs in the series, chipped in, as well, with his handy off-spin picking up 4 wickets.

However, the fact that they struggled to have any impact in their last two overseas ODI series, in New Zealand and South Africa, shouldn’t be forgotten. It can also be argued that the pitches in England, just like during the Champions Trophy 2013 that the Indian team won with ease, provided considerable assistance, which can’t be expected Down Under.

We can, however, take heart from the fact that, if there is any little assistance, these two will make complete use of it.