Headingley: World Cup construction is well under way at Headingley, with the new stand at the Football Ground End coming on a treat, while on the pitch England are nicely on schedule too, with this series win a real marker for next year’s tournament.
Beating India so comfortably in a series decider satisfyingly rounded off England’s successful white-ball summer, particularly as the charge for the line was led by Eoin Morgan and Joe Root, English cricket’s two captains.
Adil Rashid’s description of his dismissal of Virat Kohli with a wonderful leg break as the most “satisfying wicket” of his career also added to England’s feeling of fulfilment at the end, particularly as their leg-spinner had sparked such controversy by opting for white-ball cricket only this summer. He has responded with 20 cheap wickets, justifying a decision that has probably ended his Yorkshire career.
Root and Morgan shared their ninth 100-plus ODI stand and were in control against Kuldeep Yadav to such an extent he went wicketless for the first time in nearly a year. Root has dominated Kuldeep ever since walking to the crease at Lord’s on Sunday and his 13th ODI hundred took him past Marcus Trescothick to No. 1 on England’s all-time list.
Meanwhile, Morgan showed a willingness to attack Kuldeep and led by example. Kuldeep has conceded runs at more than six an over since Trent Bridge but England have not slogged him. It has been composed and measured batting, watching him out of the hand, playing back and picking the right balls to go after.
Contrast the performances of England’s two senior batsmen to India’s middle order and M.S. Dhoni, who was booed at Lord’s for a puzzling go-slow innings.
The India fans were getting twitchy again here as he meandered to 42 off 66 balls before his dismissal and there is a debate to be had over whether his time is up.
Morgan said: “We started poorly at Trent Bridge but as the series has gone on we have improved. That constant improvement has been brilliant since Trent Bridge and today I thought it was clinical right from the start.
“Mark Wood got the ball swinging, so did Dave Willey, and India did not get away from us.”
England have now won eight bilateral series on the trot. This summer they have won seven out of nine ODIs, with the shock defeat in Scotland and Kuldeep’s brilliant bowling at Trent Bridge their only defeats. All of their top-order batsmen have averaged over 40 and between them scored eight centuries.
Beating a second-rate Australia 5-0 was fun for the crowds but Morgan knew this India series would give him a much better idea as to the standing of his side. The fact they showed an ability to learn quickly by combating Kuldeep will have pleased him the most.
For Root, he feels confident again and back in form as an important Test series looms. He celebrated his hundred by dropping his bat as if it were a microphone and he an entertainer leaving the action. Morgan joked he had made a fool of himself. England will hope he continues to take centre stage for the rest of the summer.
England have also handled playing in front of noisy India fans, in fact their bowlers have turned them against their own side, given the treatment of Dhoni at Lord’s.
England’s seamers have given them a great start, with India’s 32 runs in the powerplay at Headingley their lowest since the last World Cup and the squeeze carried on throughout the innings. India went 106.2 overs between sixes from Trent Bridge to the final few balls of the innings at Headingley.
“The challenge from here is staying on top of our game and showing consistency and continuing the hunger to improve,” Morgan said.
— The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2018
