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Big Picture: Series on the Line at Lord’s
The tension in Cardiff was palpable, but as the action moves to London, the stakes have risen to an absolute fever pitch. With the bilateral ODI series currently deadlocked at 1-1, England and India are set to clash in what promises to be a blockbuster finale. The narrative heading into this encounter is heavy with speculation, placing the legendary Indian opening batter Rohit in the spotlight with series on the line at Lord’s. The iconic Home of Cricket will serve as the battleground where legacy, tactics, and survival converge in a high-octane encounter.
Rumours swirled offstage in Cardiff, where England’s own old master, Joe Root, made an unbeaten 99 to help level the series. Rohit played one of his less-fluent innings—though he was not alone in that on a challenging pitch—to encourage talk that India’s selectors were set to call time on him 15 months out from the 2027 World Cup. However, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has since scotched that idea, saying unequivocally: “Lord’s ODI won’t be his last match.”
India’s next ODI series is not until late September, so either way Yashasvi Jaiswal probably isn’t sitting expectantly by the phone right now. And we all know what a giant of the format Rohit has been; whether chief selector Ajit Agarkar and his colleagues are prepared to stick with him through to the World Cup, when he will be 40, is probably not going to be decided at Lord’s on Sunday.
What will be decided is who wins this, the 22nd bilateral ODI series contested between England and India. England have only claimed seven of them previously, the most recent in 2018, but would dearly love to take another big scalp—having nabbed a rare away win in Sri Lanka in January. After victory at Sophia Gardens, Root was strident in his belief that this current iteration of England under Harry Brook are a better team than they are being given credit for, and a come-from-behind series win would make that argument more persuasive.
So too, mind, would another batter other than Root making some runs. Root has scored 175 without being dismissed, adding back-to-back half-centuries to his illustrious record; the next-highest individual score from anyone in England’s top seven is Ben Duckett’s 43 from Edgbaston (Liam Dawson made 68 in that game, but was left out in Cardiff because his bowling wasn’t required).
Things might have been different in the second ODI if Shubman Gill had not picked out cover when looking in ominously good touch. Or, indeed, if Gill had won the toss. But Lord’s could be another test for India’s batters in seam-friendly conditions and if the world’s No. 1 ODI side can’t see off the team ranked No. 7, then the focus won’t solely be on Rohit.
Form Guide
England: WLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India: LWWWW
In the Spotlight: Jos Buttler and Rohit Sharma
It is an anomaly that arguably England’s greatest white-ball player, Jos Buttler, has such a poor ODI record against India (average 21.96, strike rate 84.07). But what is becoming less anomalous is Buttler’s underwhelming record in this format: it is over three years since his last hundred, and since the start of the 2023 World Cup he has averaged 26.44 across 31 innings. At Cardiff he dropped down to No. 6 but could only provide a fleeting reminder of his quality before being bowled middle stump.
There is simply no escaping who will be the center of attention in India’s ranks. Rohit Sharma has been there, done it all, and earned every accolade. But he is not ready to walk away just yet. We are only three innings removed from Rohit creaming 79 off 69 balls against Afghanistan, after which Gill welcomed the “good kind of headache” presented by India’s top-order options. Another scratchy knock here, however, might result in headaches of a completely different kind.
Team News: Washington Sundar Ruled Out
Tom Banton and Liam Dawson were released from the squad for the T20 Blast finals day on Saturday, so they are highly unlikely to feature at Lord’s. England could opt to bring back Josh Tongue in place of Saqib Mahmood to bolster their seam attack.
England (Possible XI): 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Jacob Bethell, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Jofra Archer/Josh Tongue, 10 Saqib Mahmood/Josh Tongue, 11 Adil Rashid
India will have to make at least one forced change for this game, with Washington Sundar ruled out due to a hamstring strain picked up in Cardiff. While left-arm spin allrounder Harsh Dubey was drafted into the squad as a replacement, Kuldeep Yadav remains a strong option for the series decider. KL Rahul is also likely to return to the starting lineup after recovering from illness, replacing Ishan Kishan behind the stumps.
India (Probable XI): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Axar Patel, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Kuldeep Yadav/Harsh Dubey, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Gurnoor Brar, 11 Prasidh Krishna
Pitch and Conditions: Bat First, Bat as Big as You Can
Anyone who remembers the historic 2019 World Cup final can tell you that Lord’s is not a venue that typically encourages free-flowing, fluent one-day strokeplay. The Test pitch for New Zealand’s visit earlier in the summer was officially marked down as “unsatisfactory,” and the surface used for the T20 World Cup final hardly favored the batters. Batting first is undoubtedly the optimal choice here, as the surfaces tend to get increasingly tacky as the game progresses. In fact, not since 2017 has an ODI been won at Lord’s by the side chasing—unless they had recourse to a dramatic Super Over. That lone chasing win came back when Eoin Morgan’s team suffered one of their periodic batting collapses, bowled out for 153 against South Africa.
Stats and Trivia
- India’s last ODI victory at Lord’s came all the way back in 2004—a match where Dinesh Karthik, who now features on Sky’s commentary panel, made his international debut.
- Overall, India have emerged victorious in four of their nine ODIs at Lord’s, a record that famously includes the historic 1983 World Cup final. They also registered a dramatic tie in the rain against England here in 2011.
- During the clash in Cardiff, Joe Root became the sixth English batsman to finish unbeaten on 99 in an international fixture, and the very first to do so in ODI cricket.
- Root has compiled an outstanding 286 runs without being dismissed across his last three ODI innings, with consecutive scores of 111* (in Colombo), 76*, and 99*. The English record for the most runs scored between dismissals stands at 309, set by Root himself back in 2018.
- Indian fast bowler Prasidh Krishna needs just two more wickets to reach the milestone of 50 ODI wickets.
In Quotes: Inside the Camps
“Hopefully, the boys can learn from what he’s doing – myself included – and realise how easy he’s making batting look to be able to just rotate the strike.”
— England captain Harry Brook emphasizes the massive inspiration his young squad can draw from Joe Root’s masterclass in ODI batting.
“It was hard work against the new ball, batting up front is not easy, no doubt Rohit will work it out with his experience. He brings that calmness to the batting line up.”
— India bowling coach Morne Morkel remains confident in Rohit Sharma’s ability to bounce back ahead of the decider.
