New Format, Same Story
While the stage changed from the T20Is to the ODIs in the England-India series , the script remained the same . India fell the English dragon in the castle of Old Trafford to win the ODI series 2–1 .
India once again continued the trend of winning toss , a luxury rare to this side , given Virat Kohli’s rather dismal luck in the toss . Choosing to bowl , the bowlers did a thorough job to keep England from scoring high , restricting them to a chase-able 259. While most bowlers did a good job of keeping the English attack in check , Hardik Pandya was on a roll , continuing his amazing form from the previous 2 games . He returned with scores of 4/23 in 7 overs , effectively choking the middle order .
His antics did not end with the ball. While the score was relatively low , English bowlers did not want to be one-upped by Indian pacers on their own home soil . Reece Topley took out the main batting battery of Dhawan , Rohit, and Kohli in the powerplay , for a mere 38 runs , and the situation looked quite dire . But Risabh Pant stepped up to the plate , scoring his maiden century and making merry with Hardik Pandya on the crease for a 130-run partnership . With Pant as a solid anchor and Pandya reliably keeping the run rate in check , the once dismal situation was turned around quite comfortably , leaving 47 balls and 5 wickets to spare .
Hardik Pandya received Man of the Series , and quite rightfully . He has had an exemplary series , and showed his development as a player and what he learned from leading an IPL team . But the man of the hour was definitely Risabh Pant . Always known to be a boisterous hitter , his maiden ODI century being a showcase of deep thought and careful batting shows how far he has come as a batsman and as a player . If anything is to be learnt from this series , its to admire the growth and calibre of players India has now , from Pandya to Pant , and the resurgence of Chahal after the World Cup . Keeping an eye on the West Indies series , India looks to be confident , once the top order settles down and is confident once again .
Thank you , and have a great week ahead !