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England make Lord's statement to level ODI series with India

Getty Images
Getty Images

Having been humbled and thrashed at Nottingham on Thursday, England needed a statement performance on a midsummer Saturday at Lord’s, exactly a year from the World Cup final. They found that statement, bowling superbly to defend 323 with ease, winning by 86 runs. The series heads to Leeds on Tuesday for a decider between the world’s two best teams. England will end the series ranked No1 whatever the result, though.

Eoin Morgan had made a ballsy, surprising decision by choosing to bat, in the belief that a dry pitch would break up later in the day. The decisive 20 overs bowled by his spinners Moeen Ali (1-42, including the wicket of Virat Kohli when set) and Adil Rashid (2-38) backed that decision up. That pair, having dominated the hapless Australians, had a bit to prove against quality of players of spin, and did so emphatically.

Between Morgan’s decision and the spinners’ show of class came the greatest statement in England’s performance: Joe Root’s century, a national record-equalling 12th (Marcus Trescothick has 12 too) in ODI cricket, to hold together a slightly shaky batting display, to defy Kuldeep Yadav, and to prove those who suggest he is not in England’s best ODI XI wrong.

These are exactly the days England need Root, who did not play many memorable shots in his 116-ball 113, but scampered hard between the wickets and ensured India, and all their brilliant chasers, would be chasing a challenging score despite bowling and fielding well. It was his first century of the summer, his first fifty in nine innings, and a knock of real class.

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joeroot1407a.jpg

(Getty Images)

Kuldeep did not torment Root, but still managed three more wickets (that’s nine for the series). England were not fencing defensively, but getting after him, and fell because of it, in stark contrast to their display at Trent Bridge. Jonny Bairstow went to his second ball, playing on off pad and bat when missing a sweep, then Jason Roy fell in his third over. He middled a slog-sweep, but the man posted on the long boundary especially for that stroke gleefully gathered. Those two had once more got England off to a flyer, scoring 69 in the powerplay, only to fall to Kuldeep.

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kuldeep1407a.jpg

(Getty Images)

Eoin Morgan joined Root to rebuild but, having put on 103 and just reached his half-century, he too fell slogging Kuldeep, toeing a full toss to the fielder on the short boundary. That sparked a collapse, with Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler – who are the wrong way round in the order – falling cheaply caught behind, the second of them MS Dhoni’s 300th ODI catch. Moeen Ali made it four wickets for 50, falling to a brilliant running catch from long-on by Rohit Sharma off the last of Yuzvendra Chahal’s 10 very tidy overs. With eight overs left, England were just 240-6.

Through all this, Root stood firm and, in David Willey, he found a suitably hard-hitting ally. Silk and steel combined to put on 83 until Root was run out by Dhoni trying to make it 84 from the final ball of the innings. By then, Willey had a maiden ODI half-century – the third time he has been unbeaten for his personal best this summer – full of heavy hoicks to leg. It was a knock that transformed the look of the innings, and the perfect foil for Root, who reached his century in the 48th over and followed Willey in freeing the arms.

Willey played his part with the ball, too. Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan looked like giving India a rapid start, fizzing through the first eight overs for 49. But England struck three times in three overs to leave India requiring an innings of inspiration from Kohli. First, Mark Wood’s slower ball fooled and bowled the slogging Sharma, then Shikhar Dhawan edged Willey to backward point, where Stokes took a fine catch. On came Liam Plunkett to have KL Rahul caught well by Buttler off the inside edge. That was the first of two fine catches he took, along with a sharp stumping; he is tough to keep out of the game, even when he fails with the bat.

Kohli and Suresh Raina consolidated but, in the 19th over, Morgan turned to spin and they became bogged down. Moeen – who bowled the perfect pace – had Kohli trapped in front, Rashid’s googly bowled Raina, slogging, and the game was all but gone. MS Dhoni’s was a curious innings of 37 off 59, ending only when he pulled Plunkett – the third of his four wickets for 46 – to deep midwicket, his first big shot having turned down countless singles. India’s tail, in Dhoni’s spirit, made England wait until the final ball to bowl them out, as that man Willey had Chahal caught on the fence.