England skipper Eoin Morgan lavished praise on his team after the hosts blew away India in the third and final ODI to seal the three-match series 2-1.
England once again showed why they are the top-ranked ODI side in the world with yet another clinical performance. Right from the toss till Joe Root hit the winning runs, England looked in total command of the game. Morgan’s decision to bowl first turned out to be a good one.
The English bowlers continued their fine show by choking India once again. Led by David Willey and Adil Rashid’s three-wicket hauls, England restricted India to a modest 256 for 8.
Willey set the tone by dismissing Rohit Sharma for just two. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli then steadied the ship as India saw off the first powerplay without losing any more wicket. However, the English bowlers kept things tight from their end as India could manage only 32 in the first ten overs. At the end of the 15 overs, the score was 67 for one.
But just when it looked the duo would bat India to a position of strength, disaster struck. Dhawan was run out for 44 as the 71-run stand came to a disappointing end. From thereon, the English bowlers kept on striking at crucial junctures. As a result, India never managed to get the impetus and were eventually restricted to a below par total.
In reply, England chased down the total inside 45 overs at the loss of just two wickets. After Jonny Bairstow and James Vince gave the team a flying start, Joe Root (100*) and Eoin Morgan (88*) shared an unbeaten partnership of 186 runs to take their team home.
Speaking after the game, Morgan praise his teammates.
“Outstanding performance. The tone was set by the bowlers. Wood and Willey were on the money, had their lines and lengths down. The ball swung a little for 4-5 overs. We took our opportunities well whenever we got the chance. We know the conditions here well, and we are happy we took advantage of that. I didn’t think it would be a belter, probably a 300-320 ground, but our spinners today were brilliant,” he said.
“The chase was started by the two openers, and then Joe and I carried on. It’s the guys on my right, my team, that make my decision look good. You’re only as good as your team. Our guys were brilliant. In Trent Bridge we were off, and India punished us, and since then we have done well, and grown as much as we could. It’s satisfying that we learnt over the series, made plans, and executed what we said we’d do. So that builds confidence in the team. We need to be at our best before the World Cup, and remove any glitches from our game,” he added.