5 min readMumbaiJul 20, 2026 12:36 AM IST
The ODI series decider promised to have all the ingredients of a contest between two star-studded sides. Instead, it became a battle between the two opening pairs. Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell laid the platform with a 192-run stand before Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill responded with one of their own.
In the end, though, England’s middle order and bowlers did just enough to outscore India’s and clinch the match by 27 runs and the series 2-1.
For nearly 25 overs in their chase of 388, Rohit and Gill gave India the start, a task of such magnitude demanded. Against a disciplined new-ball spell from Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson, they were forced to bide their time as balls kept beating the outside edge and lateral movement kept strokeplay in check.
Once they weathered that phase, the pair took control. Rohit broke the shackles with trademark pulls and scoops, while Gill relied on elegant drives through the covers and proactive footwork against spin.
They rotated strike consistently, punished loose deliveries and brought up their 100-run stand in the 19th over, keeping the required rate within reach. Gill’s 77 and Rohit’s composed innings had India mirroring England’s start, but the skipper’s dismissal to Adil Rashid ended a 147-run partnership.
A few overs after the skipper’s dismissal, Rohit brought up his 34th ODI hundred, continuing the pattern of saving his best for the final game of a series. After quiet scores in the first two ODIs and speculation over his future, his hundred with a four off Rashid made him the first Indian to score an ODI ton at Lord’s.
Gill’s dismissal brought Virat Kohli to the middle with a platform laid for him to make a defining score.
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He began fluently but with an escalating run rate, needed to up the ante further. In that pursuit, he chewed up a few more dot balls than he would have liked. It meant Rohit needed to keep looking for boundaries.
The 39-year-old, despite cramping, took it upon himself to clear the boundary and, after some lusty blows, fell trying to go for one shot too many, bowled by Jacob Bethell for an excellent 138.
That left the onus on Kohli to take India home. With 121 runs needed in the last 10 overs, he continued to struggle for timing, but in the 42nd over bowled by Will Jacks produced two sixes to reignite hoped of turning things around.
But the match turned decisively in England’s favour in the 44th over when Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer both fell to Sam Curran’s change of pace, and when Kohli fell to the same bowler in the 46th over for 74, it meant curtains for India.
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Earlier, on a placid surface under blue skies, India’s bowling attack sans Jasprit Bumrah was taken to the cleaners. Duckett’s 141 off 135 balls and Bethell’s 92 laid the platform for a mammoth score.
Bumrah’s absence left a big void in the attack, but it also offered the rest of the bowling unit an opportunity to deliver. None of them did.
Arshdeep Singh found some early movement but lacked consistency. Whenever he pitched the ball in the right area, he troubled Duckett. But those deliveries were followed by overpitched half-volleys or balls drifting onto the pads. He finished with 0/72 from his 10 overs.
Duckett and Bethell recognised India’s inconsistency early. They did not force the issue against good deliveries. Instead, they waited patiently for anything too straight or too full, cashing in whenever India missed their lengths. There was never any sustained pressure put on them, which allowed both left-handers to settle into the innings.
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Prince Yadav, introduced before the end of the first Powerplay, also struggled. He was wayward, conceding several wides, and could not find his lines or lengths consistently. Gurnoor Brar, introduced later, had perhaps the most testing day of his career so far, finishing with 0/97 in 10 overs.
Prasidh Krishna recovered after an expensive start, dismissing Bethell and Harry Brook, but leaked runs at the death, including two sixes to Jos Buttler, ending with 2/69 from 10 overs.
Gill’s options were limited. India had just five specialist bowlers and only one spinner in Axar Patel,
who conceded 61 runs from his 10 overs. Joe Root made an unbeaten 74 off 48 balls, but it was Jos Buttler’s cameo of 41 runs in 13 balls that propelled England to a score that proved too much for India.
Brief Scores: England 387/3 in 50 overs (Ben Duckett 141, Jacob Bethell 92, Joe Root 74 not out; Prasidh Krishna 2/69) beat India 360/7 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 138, Shubman Gill 77, Virat Kohli 74; Sam Curran 4/75) by 27 runs
