3rd ODI, India beat England, win series 2-1: Records broken
Despite a stunning effort from all-rounder Sam Curran, India have stolen a 7-run victory against England in the third ODI. After this nail-biting encounter, India have won the three-match ODI series 2-1. Earlier in the match, notable contributions from Shikhar Dhawan (67), Rishabh Pant (78) and Hardik Pandya (64) helped India set-up a target of 330. Here are the records broken.
India made a substantial start, with Dhawan and Rohit Sharma adding over 100 runs, after the visitors opted to bowl. Thereafter, the likes of Pant and Hardik took India past 200 with a 99-run stand. Eventually, they were bundled out for 329. The English batsmen never got settled despite getting starts. Although Curran played a blinder, England fell short in the run-chase.
India have won their third consecutive bilateral ODI series at home. Prior to this, they beat Australia and West Indies (both 2-1). Interestingly, Team India has won its sixth back-to-back ODI series against England at home. The last team England defeated them in a home ODI series was back in 1984. Ever since, India have won six, while two have been drawn.
Once again, Shardul Thakur delivered a game-changing spell in the series. He snapped up four wickets, giving India some crucial breakthroughs (4/67). He finished as the leading wicket-taker of the series with seven scalps. Thakur also topped the wickets column in the T20I series (8). Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar also took three wickets. He dismissed Moeen Ali for the fourth time in the series.
Indian captain Virat Kohli started off well in the first innings, but failed to capitalize. He was cleaned up by off-spinner Ali on 7 (10). Interestingly, Ali has now dismissed the Indian skipper as many as nine times in international cricket, joint-most with his compatriot Adil Rashid. New Zealand's Tim Southee tops the list with 10 dismissals.
Despite getting out cheaply, Kohli went on to accomplish a special milestone. He became only the second Indian after MS Dhoni (332) and Mohammad Azharuddin (221) to play 200 games in international cricket as captain.
Dhawan and Rohit took India past 100 as England elected to bowl. The former slammed his 32nd half-century, while Rohit complimented him. During the innings, they became the second Indian pair to complete 5,000 partnership runs in ODI cricket. These two have scored 5,023 runs between them, and are now only behind legends Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar (8,227)
Young all-rounder Sam Curran fired when the visitors lost hopes. Coming in to bat at number eight, the southpaw played a blinder, bringing back England in the hunt. He shared a 57-run stand with leg-spinner Adil Rashid after England were reduced to 200/7. In the process, Curran struck his maiden ODI half-century. However, his unbeaten 95 couldn't guide England to victory.
India and England have set a new record for hitting the most number of sixes (67) in a three-match ODI series. The previous best was 57 (New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, 2019). Meanwhile, Adil Rashid became the first leg-spinner to dismiss both Indian openers in an ODI match. India's total of 329 is the second-highest in ODIs, with no batsman scoring 80+ runs.
