A sensational century from Shubman Gill and a combined effort from the bowlers helped India secure a 142-run victory in the third ODI in Ahmedabad, after a familiar middle-order collapse derailed England. The hosts completed a 3-0 sweep, days before the Champions Trophy.
After being put in to bat, India suffered an early setback when Rohit Sharma, the century-maker from the last match, fell in the second over. He was squared up by Mark Wood. Virat Kohli, after surviving nervy moments early on, found his rhythm and rebuilt the innings with Gill, who has developed a habit of scoring big in Ahmedabad.
Both batters settled in quickly, accelerating the scoring rate to six per over as they notched up their respective fifties. Kohli’s stay was cut short by his long-time nemesis, Adil Rashid, but Gill continued his dominance. He was joined by an in-form and fluent Shreyas Iyer, and together they forged another century-plus partnership, propelling India past the 200-run mark at an impressive run rate.
England’s bowlers struggled to break partnerships in the middle overs, allowing India to build two substantial stands that laid the foundation for a formidable total. In both partnerships, Gill played the role of anchor, while Kohli and Iyer batted with freedom and at their own pace.
The hallmark of Gill’s seventh ODI century was the way he paced his innings. Early on, with the ball moving around, he adopted a cautious approach. However, once he navigated the initial 10 ten overs, India’s vice-captain unleashed a masterclass in stroke-play.
Continuing his good form in the series, Iyer, too, brought up his fifty at an impressive strike rate, and just when it seemed he was on course for a century, misfortune struck. He was dismissed in unlucky fashion, caught behind down the leg side, leaving India with two new batters.
Hardik Pandya provided a brief burst of aggression, striking a few boundaries before falling to Rashid, who wrapped up his spell with outstanding figures of 4/64. KL Rahul, who had limited time in the middle during the previous two matches, finally had the opportunity to settle in and made a crucial impact with a quick-fire knock.
England, however, clawed back in the final phase of the innings. In their quest for quick runs, the hosts lost seven wickets in the last 12 overs, allowing the visitors to regain momentum.
Much like the rest of the series, England once again started well, with their openers scoring quickly and putting together a stand of 60 runs. However, as soon as the first wicket fell, they crumbled like a pack of cards, with their middle-order disappointing yet again.
Playing his first game of the series, Arshdeep Singh struck twice after conceding runs in his first three overs. He first removed Ben Duckett, followed by the dismissal of Phil Salt, both falling to well-executed slower deliveries. Tom Banton played a few good shots and was involved in England’s biggest partnership of the innings, adding 46 runs with Joe Root. Apart from this stand, Gus Atkinson provided some entertainment towards the end, hitting a few lusty blows to slightly reduce the margin of defeat.
Harshit Rana, who was expensive in the first spell, made a strong comeback, claiming the key wickets of Jos Buttler and Harry Brook. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav bowled well, while Washington Sundar, though expensive, looked threatening at times and picked up a wicket in his comeback ODI. In the end, Pandya also chipped in with a couple of wickets, capping off a comprehensive bowling effort by India.
Brief scores: India 356 all out in 50 ovs (Gill 112, Iyer 78, Kohli 52; Rashid 4/64, Wood 2/45) beat England 214 all out in 34.2 ovs.