India vs England | Winners and Losers ft. Indian team, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul

India vs England | Winners and Losers ft. Indian team, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul

no photo

|

Getty

Despite their ODI dominance at home, very few had given England the chance to win the series the way they did, but as it turned out, they cantered home to win it 2-1 convincingly. At SportsCafe, look at the impact that the series will have on the team and the players - first team or otherwise.

Winners 

India

This choice might surprise you, but in hindsight, this series loss can actually work like a charm for India as they eye to repeat the act of 1983 at Lord’s once again next year. Sometimes, the low phase can teach someone a lot. Just think, how the nadir of England 2014 helped Virat Kohli reinvent himself and one can easily say that was the best thing to have happened to the Indian skipper. And now, one can also easily say that the loss at the hands of England can exactly be the tipping point that the Indian team needed dearly. 

While it is no more a discussion that the Indian top-three formulates the most powerful top-order in the ODI cricket at the moment, India threw the kitchen sink at the No. 4 position with two players batting there in three matches. However, it was not only the No. 4 that was the concern. Anyone that follows Virat Kohli in the batting order has somehow been under fire. India played Suresh Raina in all three ODIs ahead of Dinesh Karthik, and it somehow proved to be a body blow. Hardik Pandya could only manage to score 42 runs and picked only one wicket while giving away no less than 156 runs. So, what value he adds to the team is actually up for debate. However, the biggest concern for the team India that came out of the series is MS Dhoni. While Dhoni is still the best person to handhold India's wrist spinners to success, his batting instability has made India’s worries even deeper. A 59-ball 37 in London and a 66-ball 42 in Leeds were two bizarre innings and a bit of acceleration could've got India closer to a defendable target. 

All these issues will finally give the ever-so-energized pair of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri to sit down for introspection. Given Indian middle-order was purely untested before this, the Indian team was in a good headspace. As the adage goes, success can sometimes be the worst enemy and this failure may force the Indian team management to work on the chinks, sooner than later. 

Shardul Thakur

When Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the series and Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the first two games, India handed debut cap to Siddarth Kaul, who had been impressive with the ball for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. Although Kaul started well in the second game, he was immediately taken to cleaners. Umesh Yadav was also way too fragile as a bowler and didn't quite bring the all-round game to the fore. As a result, Kohli decided to bring in Shardul Thakur to the team which seemed like a good decision. 

The Mumbai pacer kept on varying his bowling on what was an excellent batting track and was instrumental in keeping the run-flow in check and also simultaneously added extra pressure to the hosts’ innings. He was the only successful bowler for India and also contributed a quickfire 22 off 13 balls with the bat as well. 

Losers

Suresh Raina and KL Rahul

India started their UK sojourn with a small trip to Malahide. While KL Rahul won the Man-of-the-Match award for his half-century in the second T20I against Ireland there, there was an was an equally robust performance from Suresh Raina. These were happy headaches and India thought their search for a settled middle-order was finally over. However, the ODI series against England has thrown a spanner in the works for India as the duo failed spectacularly. 

After making a return to the ODI team after a long time, the onus was on Rahul to adapt to the No.4 position sooner than later, but it appeared like he didn’t really care. The opening slot has already been booked by Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan and dethroning any one of them is not an option. So, it was better for Rahul to accustom himself to the No. 4 position, which could solve India’s problems once and for all. However, after the blistering century in the first T20I, his graph went downhill and he could manage only 34 in four innings (ODIs and T20Is combined). The numbers cut a sorry figure for someone who has been touted as one of the finest limited-overs batsmen of the current time and it might come to haunt him in the future. 

Similarly, after making it to the ODI team due to Ambati Rayudu’s failure to pass the yo-yo test, Suresh Raina needed at least one assured innings to keep him in contention. But, his innings was anything but that. Despite being the highest run-scorer in the second ODI, he danced to the tunes of England pacers’ short-balls. Sadly, there was no assured shot-selection even when he was getting pitched up deliveries. You can’t throw the chances like this, after getting a chance as a replacement. 

Ravindra Jadeja

It may seem as a surprise to people how could Ravindra Jadeja be on this list even though he was not in the team in the first place? But Kuldeep Yadav’s performance in the limited-overs leg of this series can actually work against Ravindra Jadeja, who has been a sure starter in almost all Tests, at least the ones played at home. The left-arm wrist spinner reduced the home side to a bunch of dumbfounded individuals in the series - with the exception of Joe Root - thanks to his excellent use of his variations.

Many experts in the past suggested that Kuldeep’s over-aggressive approach - that is not bowling two identical deliveries on the trot - will not reap dividends in the longest version of the game. But, Kuldeep, in the away series against Sri Lanka and the Dharamsala Test against Australia last year, proved that he can stick to the same line for long - an idea that gave Ravindra Jadeja success in his Test career. 

Kuldeep’s selection in the Test team and his recent success meant it will be very hard for the Indian team management to keep him out of the playing XI for long. It is almost a red flag for Jadeja now and by any chance, if he gets to play in the tournament, he has to make sure that he does live up to more than expected of him to be ahead of Kuldeep in the pecking order.

Predict TNPL Matches & Win Cash! Which city is the best?

Play & Win Today! Click here here to download Nostra Pro & get â‚ą40 Joining Bonus!

Predict Matches & Win Cash!! Play NostraGamus on Android - predict ANY Sport & win upto â‚ą10 Lakhs! Click here to Download & Get â‚ą40 Cash Bonus!

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all