The series won 3-0, India will now gun for their second ambition in the series against England. To make it a complete whitewash in much the similar manner as their opponents had on India’s tour of England.
While MS Dhoni may make a pertinent point on the concept of ‘Spirit of Cricket’ being at loggerheads with the word ‘revenge’, there cannot be too much doubt that they would be gunning for a five to nothing result. And despite England’s obvious meekness in surrender in games played in India, they have come out hard at India, both, with the ball and with the verbal jousts – which is why the revenge will be even sweeter.
In the first two games, it was England’s batting that had let them down. First, they failed to hold a candle to India’s near-300 score at Hyderabad, before mustering a sub-240 score in the second game on an easy pitch. The bowling controlled for a while before going down in a hurry to Indian partnerships at crucial junctures.
It was in the third game that the batting collected the pieces. They were slow to start off with at Mohali, but picked up the pace in the middle and the end of the innings, to get to 298. However, one thought that they erred in one department, and that was the late-order hitting from the end at which Jonathon Trott was batting.
Trott is an excellent batsman with statistics pointing in that direction as well. However, the one aspect where he struggles is to get a move on towards the end of the innings. In this third ODI, his 98 was a model of concentration but even as Samit Patel kept slapping the ball away to the fence, Trott was unable to get the ball away.
Instead, Jonny Bairstow would have been a better bet at that stage. He had shown his capabilities with the bat in the previous games and would have made for an ideal batsman at that stage. Unfortunately, Trott neither got out nor up the ante, and as harsh as it may sound, was the difference between a score of 300 and 325.
In the end, it was because of this that India were able to gallop towards the target. Of course, the other point of view is that had it not been for the presence of Trott, it would not have been possible for the side to even get near 298.
Either way, England need both, their batsmen and bowlers to deliver and on the same day.