Best five Ballebaaz in India-England series

ByPokerbaazi, SportsCafe Editor

07/26/2018

Now that the India-England ODI series has come to an end, it has made one thing crystal clear that none is a finished article ahead of the next summer’s World Cup. However, some players from both the sides showed a lot of guts and here, we present you the five best batsmen in the series.

Joe Root: Thanks to his majesty to score runs like anything with the red-ball, Joe Root has always been touted as a Test specialist, despite averaging a bloody good 51.61 at a decent strike rate of 86.83 in ODIs. In a line-up that has out and out power-hitters, Root is an anomaly and although England team management knows that what the Test skipper brings to the table, he was increasingly under pressure due to a poor run of form in the limited-overs cricket.

While Alex Hales’ side strain somehow took some pressure off Root’s mind, his two consecutive centuries has taken his confidence to yet another level. In a team full of power-hitters, Root stands out as a stylist and perhaps that was the most pleasing aspect in his batting. Not only, was he the highest run-scorer in the series, he was the most technically sound batsman as well. While others attempted to innovate with strokes, he, like a poker player, simply played the game situation and led England to victory in two consecutive games.

Virat Kohli: The Indian skipper’s romance in ODI cricket just took another step forward as he accumulated 191 runs at an average of 63.33 in three matches. While he lacked the assuredness in the second game and unlike the past, couldn’t steer the run-chase till the very end, there is so much he could do. Kohli has not just glued the team together, but his dismissals also brought Indian middle-order’s fragility to the fore, which can be a huge concern going forward. But, with three powerful innings, Kohli has made a fine start to his UK tour, which may finally see him score runs easily in the Test series.

Eoin Morgan: While the top-order gave the host fiery starts in the powerplay, Eoin Morgan stood as the fulcrum in the middle-overs. His unbeaten 88 in the Leeds ODI and 53 in London came under trying circumstances and at a time when Indian spinners were spewing venoms. However, the Irish man didn’t falter at all and negated the spinners with his brilliant footwork and forward movement. There were enough instances to show that Morgan is not the best player of the spin bowling, but this series was surely not one to show. His application was top-notch and one that showed his supreme skill-set in the 50-overs version of the game.

Rohit Sharma: While the Indian vice-captain failed to get going in the last two ODIs, he was at his terrific best in the first ODI that India won easily. He made a mockery of the 268-run target by treating the bowling with the disdain befitting the pitch and the small boundaries. The innings was another validation of his immense ability, but it also needs to be noted that he can’t throw his wicket like the way he did in the last ODIs. The moving ball troubled him more and more and his failure to come to the pitch of the ball - which is a surprise because Rohit is damn good at it - made him struggle in the last two games.

Shikhar Dhawan: One of the reasons that India rely heavily on Gabbar is once he gets going, it is very difficult to stop him. However, it is always subjective as Dhawan has never been consistent enough to be solely relied on, pretty much like a game of poker in which no one can be trusted to deliver success always. This series is a prime example. Despite getting explosive starts in all three matches, he failed to translate that to big scores and got out by playing either reckless shots or the lack of athleticism between the wickets.

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Best five Ballebaaz in India-England series

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