On a muggy Lord’s Sunday in mid-August, the long shadows cast by the stadium’s hallowed trees seemed to stretch out over an equally long campaign.

England were just finishing their exhausting tour and, after rain stopped play on the final day of the third One-Day International, they celebrated a famous 27-run victory over India. But for all the noise of the home fans, and the full house at Lord’s which witnessed England’s 387-3 to India’s 360-7, the real story was the brave chase by the Indians which came unstuck with a disastrous opening and a total failure to make the most of their final day.

A thrilling finale to a series was always likely, given the high stakes, but it proved a doubly painful defeat for India, who had looked so strong in the two preceding matches at Worcester and Southampton.

Top 3 reasons why India lost the third ODI:

The Absence That Echoed

The mood was set even before the toss as it was revealed that India’s lead pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah failed the fitness test. Green and inexperienced Indian pace bowling had to face the English lions at their own home.

India struggled without the experience and fire of their main man Bumrah as the opening pair of Duckett and Bethell made a mockery of India’s attack.

Arshdeep, Prasidh, debutants Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar failed to produce any magic as Axar’s left-arm failed to trouble the English opener. Duckett and Bethell raced to a 192-run opening stand as England made a mockery of India’s bowling line-up.

The first signs of a comprehensive England victory came when Bethell was caught at deep square leg by Prasidh for a well-deserved 91. Duckett remained the anchor as he remained unbeaten on 141 off 135 balls while Joe Root came in to score an unbeaten 74 off just 48 deliveries.

Death Over Carnage

If the initial 30 overs were a slow bleed, the final five were an absolute haemorrhage of runs.

A score of 305-2 after 45 overs was already an imposing total, but England then accelerated to an astonishing score of 82 runs in the final 30 balls as Jos Buttler hammered out a ridiculous 41 from 13 deliveries.

Every bowler on India’s roster was taken for a ride in that final stand: Gurnoor Brar was massacred for 23 in the 48th over alone, having bowled the most expensive over of his career (0-97) and one of the most expensive by any Indian in an ODI.

Prasidh Krishna gave up another 23 in the penultimate over, while Prince Yadav allowed 16 in the 50th.

In a contest that was eventually decided by a mere 27 runs, India’s inability to produce yorkers and variations of pace in the death overs proved crucial.

A Valiant Chase Undone by Guile

Faced with a mountains-to-climb situation, India put up a valiant fight. Sharma and Curran played the decisive roles as England pulled off an emphatic win over India at Lord’s.

After a tentative beginning, India’s skipper played a captain’s knock in the reply to England’s mammoth score. He answered his critics by hitting a fluent 138 in 110 deliveries. Sharma, along with Shubman Gill (77) and Virat Kohli (74), added big runs to keep India in the game. When Sharma and Kohli were at their destructive best, the target of 388 looked very feasible.

Had India not lost the crucial wickets after Sharma’s departure, they might well have pulled off a remarkable victory. The left-arm spinner Sam Curran had the bowler’s end as his pacemen’s yorkers and cutters were finding their length to dismiss the Indian tailenders. The chase was turning out to be a cakewalk as far as England was concerned. India’s middle-order tried to take the game to the lanky spinner but fell prey to the bowler’s variations. Even Kohli, usually the best at such chases, failed to read the bowler’s variations.

By the time Curran trapped Axar Patel, the Indian innings’ backbone was taken out.

India’s 360-7 was a morale booster of sorts, but their performance, especially in the chase, was very disappointing. The 27-run loss meant that the team management will have to have a hard look at their options in the Bumrah-led attack as well as the middle-order partnerships.
While England celebrated Lord’s glory, India realized how far it has to go to keep up with the Batsmen’s paradise.