Best Gendbazz in India-England ODI series

07/25/2018

BCCI

Despite being a batting heavy side, India suprihatsed hosts England with some mind-boggling displays that had just left the well-acquainted home side dumbfounded. However, England bowlers did brilliantly to control the damage and get back their mojo just in time to eventually seal the series 2-1.

Kuldeep Yadav: The left-arm wrist spinner reduced the home side to a bunch of dumbfounded individuals in the first game, thanks to his excellent use of the variations. Given the fact that his wrong’un are not easy to read out of the hand - the same trait that also defines the game of Poker - it made English batsmen's life a hell in the game at Trent Bridge. However, the middle-order led by Joe Root, started picking his variations in the last two games and reduced him to a mere puppet, which cost India dearly. However, that hardly come on his way of being the best bowler in the series as the boy from UP picked up a total of nine wickets at an average of 16.44 in the series which is anyway an insane number.

Adil Rashid: If next to Kuldeep, there is a bowler who gave the opposition a run for their money, it has to be Adil Rashid. The leggie not only troubled Virat Kohli, but got out to him twice in three matches, with Rashid making sure that he was economical throughout. Given the wicket was helpful for spinners, Rashid stuck to his length and bowled more pitched up deliveries to strangulate Indian batsmen. His six wickets at an average of 24.83 makes him the second best bowler in the series.

David Willey: Always competitive and with a feisty approach, David Willey was the stand-out pacer in the series. Constantly taking the ball away, the all-rounder didn’t allow Indian batsmen to get more gaps on either side of the wicket. To go with the fact that his swing balls created a lot of problems for India, he was successful in bowling short balls which made the top-order, especially Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, uncomfortable. Suresh Raina continuously tried to fend him and severely failed in his pursuit at guiding Willey behind the stumps. Willey ended up with five wickets from three matches, but underlined his importance as a new-ball bowler for England.

Liam Plunkett: While Willey was the spearhead for a change, Plunkett assisted him really well and his raw pace troubling Indian batsmen big-time. It was an established fact that the wicket was more on the slower side, but Plunkett bowled with panache and didn’t drop his pace at any cost. The pressure generated by the Yorkshire man also helped the spinners to bowl with more freedom.

Mark Wood: The pacer has been the fastest in this series with an average bowling speed of 136.82, but more than that for the first time in any bilateral series, he donned the role of the enforcer with elan. In the last game at Headingley, he - just the way a Poker player suddenly surprises the opponent with his manoeuver - built pressure by conceding only 14 runs in his five overs to Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, two of the world’s best opening batsmen. Wood also remained successful in cramping the Indian batsmen inside the crease that helped the English spinners be successful. It was a one-off occurrence in the series, but by putting Indian batsmen in a shell, he won half the match for his country.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all