The three-match ODI series between India and England came to an end on Wednesday (February 12), with the hosts registering a 142-run win to seal the series 3-0. Here are the takeaways from the three ODIs.
England
More reliance on Adil Rashid than ever
Varun Chakravarthy came straight out of England's T20I nightmares into the second ODI in Cuttack. As Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook struggled to get him and Axar Patel away, Ravindra Jadeja tore through the other end. While they may have breathed a sigh of relief when both Jadeja and Chakravarthy were left out for the final ODI, the latter through injury, they were thrown straight back into the trenches by Kuldeep Yadav.
In contrast, England relied solely on Adil Rashid as their frontline spinner, making up the overs with Liam Livingstone and playing four pacers in every game. While England had one match-winning spinner in their attack, India had four - a fault-line that will likely be exposed more in just over a week's time in the Champions Trophy, which England will begin days after Rashid's 37th birthday.
What happens when his time in an England shirt ends is still a question being avoided, with Rehan Ahmed's sole job on this leg of the tour being a drinks a carrier. But dealing with just the here and now, how easily Rohit, Shubman Gill and Iyer were able to biff a one-dimensional bowling attack around speaks to a dearth of match-winners across England's attack.
Carse front-runner to third pace place
When fit, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood make-up the first two places in England's pace attack. The pecking order for the third and fourth members of that group was up for grabs on this tour. While Gus Atkinson potentially occupied the higher of those positions before, he leaves India not in either. The image of No.9 Harshit Rana launching a missed yorker back over Atkinson's head for six in his last over of the series sums up the position he's now in, as does that he conceded runs at almost 10 an over across both matches he played, averaging almost 70.
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Without a standout performance, Carse now likely finds himself occupying that position, vying with Jamie Overton for the middle-over workhorse slot. The failure of the Overton No.7 experiment means one he, Carse and Saqib Mahmood compete for two places in a four-pronged pace attack.
Risk vs Reward groundhog day
Despite the return of Joe Root, England's ultimate anchor and arguably their best ODI batter ever, their batting tempo was the most outstanding problem in India. They were schooled by India's new faces and returnees in how to pace an ODI innings, when to attack and when to sit in, and of course how to play high-class spin. Perhaps it was most obvious in England openers, at least one of whom got off to a flier in every game but only came away with one 50-plus score between them. Or in the zero centuries recorded by an England batter in the series compared to India, or the collapses that were a feature of every game.
The desperation to score a lot of runs quickly harks back to England's 2019 dominating best, without the muscle-memory or nous to make scoring 400 look easy. Now, with Jacob Bethell out of the Champions Trophy, question marks over Jamie Smith's fitness and several players carrying injuries through the final ODI, they could be facing a personnel crisis as well.
India
Rahul v Pant ends decisively
With Rishabh Pant returning to the ODI fold after his lengthy injury layoff, there were questions over whether he might find a place in the XI in place of KL Rahul – particularly as a left-handed option in the middle-order.
That question seems to have been answered emphatically. Rahul played all three matches in this series as Pant warmed the bench. The first two matches didn't go his way with scores of two and 10 when he should have finished off a couple of easy chases, but Rahul showcased his range when India batted first in Ahmedabad, with 40 off 29 balls.
Is Harshit Rana a worthy Bumrah replacement?
With Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of the Champions Trophy, India chose to call up Harshit Rana, rather than turn to Mohammed Siraj. The decision remains confusing – India stated that Siraj wasn't picked as they felt his effectiveness dipped when he took the old ball.
In Rana, they have an energetic, broad-shouldered pacer who can hit the deck hard and rush batters with pace and bounce. He's also got an excellent slower ball. But in all three games, Rana has struggled with the new ball (2-75 from eight overs in the Powerplay), his strengths becoming vulnerabilities with the hard, swinging ball and fielding restrictions.
Given Shami's slight rustiness and another inexperienced pacer in Arshdeep Singh, Siraj's Powerplay effectiveness may have been the better call here.
Rohit, Iyer dispel any lingering doubts
India's top four for the Champions Trophy is now set in stone. Yashasvi Jaiswal played the first match of the series but has since been removed from the squad for the tournament as each of India's top four – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer got themselves at least one half-century in the series.
It's not a bad move. In a tournament which lasts five matches, the backup opener is unlikely to play at all. In case of a tournament-ending injury, Jaiswal can be flown in as a replacement, and in any other scenario of unavailability, India could even push KL Rahul up to open and bring Rishabh Pant into the XI.
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The combination is clear, the choices – not yet
In all three matches, India's bowling combination had three specialists and three all-rounders. In true Gautam Gambhir fashion, the squad selection has ensured they have multiple options available here. The only sure thing is that Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja will start (although even that could be uncertain, as Washington Sundar might be preferred against a team with several left-handers, for his off-spin).
The likely seam-bowling pairing is Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh, although there is no hard evidence to say Harshit Rana will not be preferred to the latter. Varun Chakravarthy's late inclusion to the squad indicates that they are still not committing to Kuldeep Yadav as the specialist spinner – whether this could be a form or fitness concern is unclear.
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