After that Root masterclass, things stand at one-one going to Lord’s. So at least there is a chance for one England victory on Sunday. Thanks for your messages today – see you then. Bye!
“Wouldn’t Hendrix be more appropriate than the Beatles?” asks Ian Wild.
“Hey Joe, Hey Joe, where you going with that bat in your hand?”
The TV fails at the wrong time but I catch the end of Shubman Gill saying Joe Root is “the master of those kind of totals.”
Harry Brook is happy. Says Root is a phenomenal player and a great bloke to have around, “he always turns up when we need him. He’s been one of the best in the world for a while at rotating the strike and that’s a major part of 50-over cricket.”
Player of the match - Joe Root
Of course it is. He says he doesn’t care about getting a hundred because “we want to win the series, and in those conditions on that pitch,. Very much looking foward to a big game at Lord’s now. Throughout the whole game it was difficult to bat, and our bowlers did well. Some times you have to win ugly and scrappy.”
“You have to judge the team on the here and now, not the past games. We won in Sri Lanka, similarly to this series we lost the first game and learnt lessons and the question is can we do that again at Lord’s against a brilliant team.”
A great stat from my fellow OBOer Tim de Lisle. “Joe Root was always good but at 35 he’s getting better. In ODis over the past year, he’s averaging 78. His last three innings are 111 not out, 76 not out and 99 not out.”
“Joe Root,” says Mark Butcher, “does not leave it up to other people.”
England beat India by four wickets and level the series!
44.1 overs: England 235-6 (Root 99, Atkinson 23 ) Root is stranded on 99! He gives Atkinson a hug as a wide is followed by an Atkinson boundary. An excellent win for England, skilfully masterminded by Root. He raises his bat as he walks off the field to applause from the crowd and back-slaps from the dressing room.
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44th over: England 230-6 (Root 99, Atkinson 19) The Hey Jude chant from the World Cup is transposed to Hey Joe. Though Atkinson may spoil the party as he hauls four through midwicket with only five needed. He guides the last ball down to long leg where he picks up one and nicks the strike! Four to win.
43rd over: England 222-6 (Root 98, Atkinson 13) England survive Bumrah’s last six balls. A blind top edge from Atkinson almost hits the steward sitting on a chair inside the boundary as it falls for six. Then Atkinson gets clonked on the helmet and they runs a leg bye before the physio runs out for a concussion check. Living on a Prayer plays before what could be the final over – 12 needed.
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Key event
42nd over: England 214-6 (Root 97, Atkinson 7) A couple of singles then Root flicks at a wide ball from Gurnoor like a Victorian lady with a fan, and it runs down to the rope. India think Atkinson will fall for the short ball, and he pulls and misses, but it is given as wide. Next ball he stands tall and stamps four through extra cover for four. This is the over – just 20 needed now.
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41st over: England 202-6 (Root 91, Atkinson 2) Gill plays his trump card. Bumrah, pendulum arms, sprints in. Atkinson just slams his bat down in time on a yorker. Five from it. 32 needed.
WICKET! Jacks c Kohli b Gurnoor 30 (England 197-6)
Too late? Jacks tries to tuck into a bouncer but just slaps it to extra cover where Kohli makes no mistake
40th over: England 197-6 (Root 88, Atkinson 0) Atkinson sits on the England balcony, looking pretty chilled. Jacks nearly plays on, the ball rolls like a wayward sheep just inches from off stump. Then he pulls, Gill at midwicket loses it, and picks up four. Thus pumped, he tries again and holes out. Enter the no longer chilled Atkinson. 37 needed.
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39th over: England 191-5 (Root 87, Jacks 25) Jacks is a little more animated, thrashes a couple off Prasidh, then a skimming drive for four. The overhead camera pans away to show a full house at Cardiff and a beautiful summer evening.
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38th over: England 182-5 (Root 86, Jacks 17) Axar’s ninth over brings a long-lost boundary – Root sweeping and the runs needed drops to 52. Careful accumulation will do the job.
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37th over: England 174-5 (Root 80, Jacks 15) Gill brings back Prasidh – a couple of singles tick by but not the wicket India needs
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36th over: England 172-5 (Root 79, Jacks 14) Neat as this bowling is, India need a wicket.
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35th over: England 167-5 (Root 78, Jacks 11) Bumrah is stretching, the shadows lengthening. Shivam continues his careful work. England twist and cut but keep picking out the fielders. Six singles from the over.
“Spirited Away is an all-time Top Three film!” replies Gary Naylor. I feel myself chastised.
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34th over: England 161-5 (Root 75, Jacks 8) Axar pulls up his sleeves and gets back to his work. England are respectfully watchful. Sparklers this innings, not rockets.
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33rd over: England 157-5 (Root 73, Jacks 7) The huge party stand at Cardiff is quiet, sucked into the slow drama. Shivam, careful, England, cautious. Four singles run with puffs of dust. Joe Root calls for a new bat and Brydon Carse runs out with a selection of five yellow handled blades.
32nd over: England 153-5 (Root 71, Jacks 4) India were 179 for five at the same point in their innings, before the collapse. Axar hones in on the magic spot and concedes just one.Tension mounts.
31st over: England 152-5 (Root 71, Jacks 4) Over number four from Shivam Dube comes and goes.
30th over: England 148-5 (Root 68, Jacks 3) Another parsimonious Axar over.
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29th over: England 144-5 (Root 65, Jacks 2) Gurnoor starts with five wides and it continues to be a good over for England – a steady turnover of singles followed by a last ball Joe Root four, turned down to the rope at long leg.
Hello Gary Naylor! “You make Axar out to be a cousin of Kamaji from Spirited Away .” I’m afraid I never watched Spirited Away, though I’ve just watched an advert for Five Star Weekend which looks like some full on cheesy American entertainment for when I have the telly to myself.
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28th over: England 130-5 (Root 59, Jacks 0) Just one from Axar’s over.
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27th over: England 130-5 (Root 58, Jacks 0) Gurnoor’s sixth over. Root settles the nerves with four down to third, Jacks slashes at a bouncer but misses and they take DRINKS.
26th over: England 125-5 (Root 53, Jacks 0) At just over half way, England need 109 to win which won’t be a problem unless they have a flurry of wickets….and there’s the first. Buttler closes his eyes and droops his shoulders as he hears the stumps rattle. Axar, long limbs and sunglasses, spins his web.
WICKET! Buttler b Axar 17 (England 125-5)
Shimmy step, amateur miss, crunch of stumps.
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25th over: England 125-4 (Root 53, Buttler 17) The crowd are quiet, they know this is a crucial period. Bumrah tucks his necklace inside his shirt. Four dots, three runs – ah scrap that, another no ball. The free hit delivery is wide … Buttler reaches for it and scrapes a single.
Fifty for Joe Root!
24th over: England 120-4 (Root 50, Buttler 16) Prasidh with over number seven. Washington Sundar can’t bowl today, out with a suspected hamstring tear, so if England can see off Prasidh and Bumrah the road will become easier to travel. Another eased single brings fifty number three at Sophia Gardens for Joe Root, fifty number 67 in all– 76 balls, five fours.
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23rd over: England 117-4 (Root 48, Buttler 15) Bumrah is back for over number seven, showing how badly Gill wants the breakthrough. Zips one past Root’s outside edge – the keeper likes it but Bumrah isn’t convinced enough for Gill to review. England are exactly half way to their target.
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22nd over: England 114-4 (Root 45, Buttler 15) Gill beckons Prasidh back to counter Buttler. On the button over and just two singles from it. Root backs away from a ball very late - I think the umpires say too late – and the ball counts. Root is unusually animated.
21st over: England 111-4 (Root 43, Buttler 14) One, one, one off Axar then a huge straight happy-go-lucky six into the bushes by Buttler. More coins in the England piggy bank.
20th over: England 100-4 (Root 40, Buttler 6)The end of a nicely knitted innings from Curran, who didn’t seem in any trouble. Jos Buttler, who comes in below Curran for reasons I don’t actually know, is off the mark straight away and brings up England’s hundred with a legside flick.
WICKET! Curran c Ishan b Shivam 26 (94-4)
Another catch for Ishan Kishan, standing right up to the stumps, who throws the ball up in the air in glee. Curran pushes, edges, and is reluctantly on his way.
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19th over: England 94-3 (Root 40, Curran 26) Time for spin and the equally long legged Axar Patel, and wait while he positions his field. England are watchful – just two singles from it.
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18th over: England 92-3 (Root 39, Curran 25) Now a wristy four from Root off Shivam. I’m a big fan of the light blue shirts – though the dark blue trousers differentiate from the iconic 2019 kit.
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17th over: England 87-3 (Root 34, Curran 25) An early in the over four from Curran through midwicket, then four more, with a real swish of the skirts. Joe Root content with the anchor role here.
16th over: England 76-3 (Root 32, Curran 16) Shivam Dube replaces that two over mini-spell from Bumrah. Bumrah then loses his trousers and sunglases at midoff with a misfield that lets a gentle stroke from Curran run away to the rope. Relief for the crowd as the ground is now mostly in shade.
15th over: England 68-3 (Root 31, Curran 10) Curran ducks a Gurnoor bouncer. Then he’s squared up, but the edge falls short. Just two singes. This is still England’s maintenance era.
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14th over: England 66-3 (Root 30, Curran 9) Curran pulls Burmah, the first ball of over number six, for four. A couple of singles
Apologies if you’ve tried to send me an email, I’ve just noticed the address above was wrong. It should work now – I’m at tanya.aldred.freelance@theguardian.com
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13th over: England 60-3 (Root 29, Curran 4) Just thinking back to the days when India seam bowlers used to be about five foot six and bowl at 75mph as Gurnoor sprints in his two metre legs. An astonishing drop and roll in the deep save a boundary and just four singles from the over. They take DRINKS.
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12th over: England 56-3 (Root 27, Curran 2) Gill brings back Bumrah, with just Buttler and Jacks to come before we hit the bowlers. No chances taken – just two singles from the over.
Meanwhile Ali Martin has spotted this story – that Sunday’s ODI could be Rohit Sharma’s last.
11th over: England 54-3 (Root 26, Curran 1) Root tries another upper cut, but Gurnoor beats him for height, he’s not proving much of a relief. Root gets down the other end in time to watch Brook empty the contents of his pockets while prone on his backside. A short but very entertaining cameo.
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WICKET! Brook c Ishan b Gurnoor 16 (England 53-3)
Brook falls over for one last time, trying to scoop a 91mph ball, loses his balance, ends up in a puddle of pads on his back while Ishan takes the prize.
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10th over: England 51-2 (Root 25, Brook 16) Root is all gymnastics here, arches backwards, a nasty ball from Prasidh follows him, but he ramps four. Another four, another arched back, this time from a bottom edge.
9th over: England 42-2 (Root 16, Brook 16) Relief for England as Bumrah is put back on the shelf after four overs, 1-17. The tall figure of Gurnoor Brar is his replacement. Brook goes for a ramp second ball and like a man whose overcoat is caught in an escalator ends up flat on his back. The physio comes out as he was hit on the grill and checks he knows the prime minster’s name – tricky one that.
8th over: England 39-2 (Root 14, Brook 15) A third no ball of the innings, and a third free hit – this time Brook carves Prasidh away to the boundary. India have been brilliant but careless to bowl so many no balls. Also four dots and a four to Root down to long leg.
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7th over: England 29-2 (Root 9, Brook 11) Root scampers a single to Bumrah’s third ball- over to you mate. Brook charges down the wicket and … gets an inside edge onto his pad. But then Bumrah oversteps again and Root picks up four on the legside.
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6th over: England 21-2 (Root 3, Brook 10) Brook tries to haul Prasidh leg side but misses and gets thudded in the guts, sending his bat flying. A forward defensive to settle the nerves. Then gets hit on the back thigh as he tries to loft another. But after five dot balls, he casually ramps six like a man swatting a fly.
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5th over: England 14-2 (Root 3, Brook 4) What a thrilling start – survival is all England can grip onto at the moment. Bumrah no balls and the free hit is a yorker that brushes Root’s stumps. Root has a bit of a swish at another and Bumrah thinks it might be caught behind – but gets no support from his captain or former captain Kohli.
4th over: England 12-2 (Root 3, Brook 4) Relief – of sorts – in the form of a kamikaze charge and smack from Harry Brook – who gets an inside edge for four.
WICKET! Bethell c Ishan b Prasidh 4 (England 8-2)
Rubber ball bounce, Bethell is stranded with a defensive bat and gets a feather of an outside edge.
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3rd over: England 7-1 (Bethell 4, Root 2) Burmrah, wearing a long necklace, releases a succession of exocets, Bethell beaten twice in a row. Then a late-swinging yorker from the heavens that fells Bethell, leaving him sprawled on all fours, but Bumrah’s hands say it would have swung legside.
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2nd over: England 5-1 (Bethell 4, Root 1) Prasidh with some tricksy stuff. Root is hit one ball, chases a wide one the next. A maiden.
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1st over: England 5-1 (Bethell 4, Root 1) Bumrah is smiling his wolfish smile as Duckett trudges away having gone finishing in iron boots. But some succour for England as Bethell, squinting into the sun, cover drives four gloriously.
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WICKET! Duckett c Ishan b Bumrah 0 (India 0-1)
An outside edge first ball, and Duckett turns his head to watch the ball fly into the stand-in keeper’s gloves!
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And here come the players…
India have to hope that the pitch offers something to their bowlers or this should be easy work for England. Feeling for the spectators in that heat, there are some lovely trees in Sophia Gardens if people can exit the ground for the park and some shade between innings.
Thanks Tim, great stuff as ever. Well that was a bit of a surprise, unoriginally I was expecting the Virat Kohli of whippy wrists and clean strikes who marched out today to lead India towards 300.
That’s my shift done. Tanya Aldred will be here shortly to add some sparkle to the proceedings and to see if England can level the series.
Thanks for your company and some learned correspondence. I’ll be back on Sunday for what should be the decider – but with England, especially in this format nowadays, you can never be sure.
So India really were England in disguise. From 178-3, with Kohli lording it, they lost seven wickets for just 55.
It was a great team effort from England, with Sam Curran and Will Jacks changing the game early on, the three fast bowlers (Archer, Mahmood and Atkinson) taking eight wickets between them, Jos Buttler collecting four catches, and Harry Brook cashing in his chips after gambling on a shortened innings.
Joe Root and co. should be able to chase 234 without too much fuss, but after seeing the Indians produce so many top edges and to-ends, they will be a little wary of the pitch.
India all out for 233! (Prasidh Krishna b Atkinson 0 )
If a No.11 misses, Gus Atkinson hits!
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Wicket! Shreyas Iyer c Buttler b Atkinson 66 (India 233-9)
Atkinson does well, finding just enough seam movement to take the edge as Shreyas plays a dab from deep in his crease. Shreyas played well, but he went a bit quiet and in the end Bumrah couldn’t shield him.
42nd over: India 232-8 (Shreyas 66, Bumrah 20) Brook keeps Mahmood on, betting that his pacemen can wrap things up before he needs to go back to the spinners. Bumrah goes boom-boom”! He reels off three fours – a deft on-drive, a top-edged pull and a bosh past midwicket – and then puts the icing on gthe cake with a pull for six.
Great stuff. The question now is, will Bumrah turn down a single to keep Shreyas off the strike?
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41st over: India 214-8 (Shreyas 66, Bumrah 2) After using up Archer’s allocation, Brook goes back to Atkinson, who removed the dangerous Gill before blowing a bit hot and cold. Shreyas, showing more faith in Bumrah than he did in Gurnoor, takes a single off the first ball. There are three more singles, including one that pops up off the splice and lands safely, as so many edges have today.
“Not much sympathy from England for Gurnoor,” says Jon Salisbury, “after his send-offs in the last game.” Good spot!
41st over: India 210-8 (Shreyas 64, Bumrah 0) The great Jasprit Bumrah, who will be looking forward to bowling on this pitch, now has to bat on it. Brook greets him with a slip, a gully and a short leg. Bumrah responds with some elegant blocks. And Mahmood collects a wicket maiden: he has 8-1-34-2.
Wicket! Gurnoor c Atkinson b Mahmood 7 (India 210-8)
Gurnoor’s flashing blade turns out to be his undoing as a top edge sails out to Atkinson, who makes up for the catch he dropped early on.
40th over: India 210-7 (Shreyas 64, Gurnoor 7) Brook, going for broke, gives Archer his tenth and final over. That short leg who was needed for the hat-trick ball is now in place, and so is a man out for the top edge. Archer, double-bluffing, gives Gurnoor a couple of full deliveries, each steered away for two. When the short ball comes, Gurnoor takes a blow to the arm, which looks painful. A caption tells us that England’s seamers went from one-third short stuff in the first 28 overs to two-thirds since.
Archer gets a big hand from the crowd as he finishes with fine figures (10-0-47-3) and the scalp of Kohli again. He’s been bowling beautifully, in red, white or blue. It’s just a worry that his various captains are making him work so hard.
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39th over: India 205-7 (Shreyas 64, Gurnoor 2) Brook keeps Mahmood on too. Shreyas cover-drives him, handsomely, but only for two as Duckett scampers round the boundary. Four off the over, which will suit England nicely.
38th over: India 201-7 (Shreyas 61, Gurnoor 1) Brook keeps Archer on for his ninth over, which is a surprise. Better from Shreyas, who gets four off the first ball with a swivel-pull, à la Rohit, and doesn’t turn up his nose at a single off the second. Gurnoor responds to this show of faith by taking a single himself with an unexpectedly dashing cut.
37th over: India 194-7 (Shreyas 55, Gurnoor 0) What do you do now, if you’re Shreyas? Possibly not turn down singles, which is what he does off the first two balls of Mahmood’s over. He may as well hold up a sign saying “Our No. 9 can’t bat.”
Perhaps thinking better of the policy, he takes a single with a dab off the third ball, leaving the second half of the over to Gurnoor, who has little trouble surviving. But India may have to lower their sights. “They’ll do well here,” says Ravi Shastri, “to reach even 260.”
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36th over: India 193-7 (Shreyas 54, Gurnoor 0) The Indians, who went into their shell when Curran and Jacks came on earlier, have done it again now against Archer and Mahmood, only more so, as there’s been a tumble of wickets too. They have lost four for 15 in the last 26 balls, three of them to Archer – who would have a hat-trick if Brook had given him a forward short leg, as Gurnoor Brar fended uncertainly at his first ball.
Wicket! Shivam Dube c&b Archer 0 (India 193-7)
Two in two balls! Dube goes for a golden duck as Jofra takes a sharp return catch.
Wicket! Axar Patel c Buttler b Archer 1 (India 193-6)
One brings three! Archer’s lifter is too much for Axar, who wafts at it and gives Buttler another simple catch. So England have seen off both the men who added an unbeaten hundred on Tuesday.
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35th over: India 191-5 (Shreyas 53, Axar Patel 1) We’ve seen so many top edges and toe-ends that the pitch must be more treacherous than it looks. Shreyas, facing Mahmood, cloths a pull and is lucky to find Brook, who has such sharp eyes, failing to pick it up.
“Nice to see the term ‘fighting back’,” says John Starbucks. “Michael Parkinson, in his book Cricket Mad, told us how, whenever Yorkshire CCC were not winning, they were always, according to the local newspaper sellers, ‘Yorkshire fighting back,’ no matter how disastrously the match was going. Sheer bloody-mindedness was how they played the game.”
That’s a nice tale – and John gets extra marks for doing his own single quotes.
Fifty to Shreyas!
34th over: India 188-5 (Shreyas 51, Axar Patel 0) Amid all that palaver, Shreyas just stood at the other end. Now he’s back in the limelight, flicking Archer off his hip for six to reach a fine fifty off only 42 balls. His task now is to boss the rest of the innings.
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33rd over: India 181-5 (Shreyas 44, Axar Patel 0) Brook, seeing Archer make the breakthrough, brough back his other new-ball bowler, Saqib Mahmood. And suddenly there were incidents and accidents, as Paul Simon would have observed. First, there was Washington Sundar’s injury – and the shot he played, a clip to leg, hit a seagull. It was tenderly carried off the field by Jacob Bethell, making good use of his upbringing on an island famous for its beaches. Then Sundar was out. Well bowled Saqib, who conceded only two on top of taking the wicket.
Wicket! Washington Sundar c Buttler b Saqib Mahmood 2 (India 181-5)
One brings two! Washington, after pulling up lame and needing strapping, can’t cope with a sharp bouncer and flaps it towards the vacant leg slip, where Buttler takes an easy catch.
32nd over: India 179-4 (Shreyas 42, Sundar 1) Well bowled Jofra. He had nearly got Kohli the ball before, drawing the edge, only to see the ball land just in front of Buttler’s outstretched gloves.
About 20 minutes ago, Mark Butcher asled Eoin Morgan if he would bring back Archer now. Yes, he said, because at this stage of a one-day innings it’s all about taking wickets, to keep the runs down later. Brook will get some credit for the wicket, but he may have missed a trick there.
Drinks: India 178-4, England fighting back
That’s drinks, with England delighted to have got Kohli out for 60 rather than 120. India have a strong middle order, as they showed on Tuesday, but England have shown good fight twice – first when Curran and Jacks put the plug in, then with Archer bagging Kohli for the second time in three days.
WICKET!! Kohli c Rashid b Archer 65 (India 178-4)
Jofra Archer comes back with one job: to break this partnership. And he does! Kohli skews a pull, gets a leading edge and presents a catch to Rashid at third man.
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31st over: India 177-3 (Kohli 65, Shreyas 42) That spell from Jacks was a one-over job. Brook brings back Rashid, which is music to Shreyas’s ears: he plays a lap for two and a straight drive for six. Rashid almost bites back, drawing a chip which he can’t quite turn into a caught-and-bowled. The partnership is already 65, off 63 balls.
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30th over: India 168-3 (Kohli 65, Shreyas 33) Kohli, itching to impose himself, pulls Atkinson’s first ball for four, well in front of square. He likes that shot so much he tries it again, hitting it well but straight to the man in the deep. Then there’s yet another top edge – and another that India get away with as Shreyas’s mis-pull plops to the ground well in front of Archer.
29th over: India 160-3 (Kohli 58, Shreyas 32) Jacks was just changing ends as Brook gives Curran a rest (6-1-23-1). And Jacks is still over-performing for a part-timer, keeping both batters honest – four singles, two dots and a wide off the over. The only worry is the thought than anything Jacks can do, the Indian spinners can probably do better.
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28th over: India 155-3 (Kohli 56, Shreyas 30) After three good overs for India, Harry Brook feels it’s time to take off Jacks (4-0-16-1) and bring back Gus Atkinson. The change almost works as Shreyas plays a lofted flick but he’s dropped. Duckett, racing to his left from deep backward square, can only help the ball on its way to the rope.
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Fifty to Kohli!
27th over: India 149-3 (Kohli 55, Shreyas 25) Kohli, who started so imperiously, has been almost humble in the past half-hour. But now there’s a fifty to be reached and he gets there in style with a straight drive for four off Curran. That is the 132nd time he has waved his bat for a fifty in ODIs alone, and the 232nd time in all international cricket. The crowd roar as if they’ve never seen him do it before.
England retort with a fine stop from the feline Jacob Bethell, followed by a direct hit, but Shreyas is in. And India are back on top.
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26th over: India 140-3 (Kohli 49, Shreyas 22) Shreyas, revved up now, tricks Jacks by shaping to go down the track, then rocking back and pulling a long hop for four. After a slow start, this partnership is threatening to get big.
25th over: India 133-3 (Kohli 48, Shreyas 16) Curran continues, with Buttler standing up to the stumps for Shreyas, but not for Kohli. The batters take a few singles before Shreyas pulls for four – the first boundary Curran has conceded, off his 28th delivery.
Shreyas follows up with a dab for two to make ten off the over, the first good one India have had for some time. At the halfway stage, they’re still well placed and have their eye on 300. But much depends on whether Kohli can make a hundred.
24th over: India 123-3 (Kohli 46, Shreyas 8) As abruptly as he was taken off, Will Jacks returns. And he does well enough to restrict two fine players of spin to three singles. Off the last eight overs, India have scraped 20-2.
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23rd over: India 120-3 (Kohli 45, Shreyas 6) Curran does continue and almost bags another scalp as he bangs the ball into the pitch, drawing a leading edge from Shreyas that just drops short of backward point.
“Another outstanding over from Sam Curran,” says Eoin Morgan. In a perfect world, those two would be in charge of this 50-over side – Curran as captain, Morgan as coach.
22nd over: India 118-3 (Kohli 44, Shreyas 5) Brook springs a surprise by taking Jacks off and bringing back Rashid. Kohli takes a single and Shreyas doesn’t mess about, going inside-out to drive over extra-cover for four. India have so many captains in this team: Rohit and Kohli, who used to run the show; Gill, who does so now; and Shreyas, who does so in T20s.
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21st over: India 111-3 (Kohli 42, Shreyas 0) Sam Curran, who so often makes an impact with bat or ball, has changed the game here. He came on after 16 overs with India sailing along at 103-1. Since then, India have made 8-2 off five overs. Are they England in disguise?
WICKET! Ishan Kishan c&b Curran 1 (India 111-3)
Curran strikes! And again it’s a toe-end job as Kishan, befuddled by a bouncer, can only pop it back to the bowler.
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20th over: India 110-2 (Kohli 41, Kishan 1) Jacks, not content with defeating one old gent, is bothering the other. Coming round the wicket with his off-breaks, Jacks fires one in and draws Kohli into a Harrow drive. Jacks has 2-0-6-1, so maybe the decision to dump Liam Dawson was harsh but wise.
19th over: India 105-2 (Kohli 37, Kishan 0) Sam Curran is still bang on the money with his 57 varieties of seam. Only one run off the over and still none from the new batter, Ishan Kishan. His name, by the way, is not the rhyme you might assume: at the toss, Shubman Gill called him I-SHAN Kishn.
18th over: India 104-2 (Kohli 36, Kishan 0) Sky have Ravi Bopara commentating and he’s just made a good point about that dismissal. There was no fielder on the 45, as the pros say – at short fine leg – which may have lured Rohit into the sweep.
Correction: a replay shows that it wasn’t a top edge, it was a toe-end. So maybe Jacks deceived Rohit in the flight.
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WICKET! Rohit c Buttler b Jacks 24 (India 104-2)
The breakthrough England badly needed! Will Jacks comes on and does the business. Rohit, after getting away with top-edging a couple of pulls, does the same with a sweep and gives Jos Buttler the simplest of catches.
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17th over: India 103-1 (Rohit 26, Kohli 35) Kohli has been asking questions with his urgency and one of them is this: what have you got, Harry? The answer for now is Sam Curran, who – long before Brook’s time – bowled well to Kohli as a teenage Test rookie in 2018. Curran, bowling to Rohit, starts so well that Kohli doesn’t get to face him in this over: it’s a maiden!
16th over: India 103-1 (Rohit 26, Kohli 35) The usually steady Atkinson comes up with a bag of licorice allsorts, straying down the leg side to concede four leg-byes and a wide. There are two dots in there too, but when Atkinson tries a yorker, Kohli dismisses it with a straight drive that bounces up and over the bowler’s head. That’s quite an altitude.
Drinks: India cruising
15th over: India 90-1 (Rohit 23, Kohli 29) Kohli, who usually prefers to keep his bat upright, suddenly slog-sweeps Rashid for four. Like the cut in Rashid’s previous over, it was brutal. And that’s drinks with India’s old guns firing nicely.
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14th over: India 84-1 (Rohit 23, Kohli 24) Atkinson is bowling well enough to bother the usually serene Rohit. He starts this over by going past the edge and finishes by finding it as Rohit skies a pull – but it lands harmlessly between two fielders at deep backward square.
13th over: India 76-1 (Rohit 21, Kohli 23) All three of these veterans are in the mood, no mean feat when you’ve played a million games. Rashid, tossing the ball up nicely, gets a moral victory over Kohli by finding his inside edge. But Kohli has the last laugh for now, picking the googly and dispatching it with a savage cut.
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12th over: India 73-1 (Rohit 19, Kohli 17) Atkinson continues and Rohit suddenly accelerates by playing his signature shot, the front-foot swivel-pull for six.
The next email has the subject line “Rolling Stones’ tongue symbol,” surely an OBO first. “Keith Richards,” says John Starbuck, “once denied that the tongue logo was based on Mick Jagger’s. It’s supposed to be the tongue of Kali and therefore a nod to Indian culture.”
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11th over: India 64-1 (Rohit 12, Kohli 16) Brook brings on his spinner, Adil Rashid, who is as much of an old stager as these two batters. It’s like going to see the Rolling Stones.
Rashid starts strongly, allowing only three singles, but England need wickets.
10th over: India 61-1 (Rohit 10, Kohli 15) Yes, Kohli is up for this all right. After treating Atkinson with respect in the eighth over, he is dismissive now, hitting two fours of different stripes – a funky swing over midwicket and an old-school cover-drive, with a tuck for two in between. The powerplay ends with India on top – even though Rohit has been crawling along in the slow lane. He has made 10 off 18 balls, handing the spotlight to his partners, who have 46 off 42.
9th over: India 50-1 (Rohit 10, Kohli 5) Brook keeps Jofra Archer on, hoping he’ll nab Kohli again after getting him plumb LBW for 5 on Tuesday. Kohli looks as if he’s acutely aware of it too, moving his feet decisively and driving for four down the ground.
8th over: India 44-1 (Rohit 9, Kohli 0) So that was a textbook start from Gus Atkinson: 1-1-0-1. And hre comes Virat Kohli, greeted by a banner saying “I’ll buy you dinner Virat, if you don’t retire”. Not sure it will make all the difference.
WICKET! Gill c Duckett b Atkinson 31 (India 44-1)
The big one! A change of bowling, and a fine catch, do the trick. Gill sees a half-volley outside off. His eyes light up but his feet aren’t quite there and his drive is uppish. It heads straight for Duckett, who takes it very coolly, just in front of his right shoulder.
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7th over: India 44-0 (Rohit 9, Gill 31) England need a spark, a great catch or a direct hit or a bold bit of captaincy. Brook keeps his faith in Archer, who keeps Gill honest with three dots and a single, helped by a fine stop in the covers from Duckett. Archer again bothers Rohit with a lifter as a pull turns into a leading edge, but it doesn’t fly upwards and England are still empty-handed.
6th over: India 42-0 (Rohit 9, Gill 30) This is now a one-man show. Saqib Mahmood persists with his full length, making it all too easy for Gill, who tucks him away for four, four and three. After making 11 off his first 17 balls, Gill has added 19 off the past five. He’s in a league of his own.
5th over: India 30-0 (Rohit 9, Gill 19) Good again from Jofra, who keeps Gill in the crease and reels off four dots. But the fifth ball is too full and Gill helps himself to an on-drive for four. The sixth is good enough to keep most batters quiet, but Gill’s eye is in now and he turns a length ball into a long hop, cutting it for four with princely timing. This could be another long afternoon for England.
4th over: India 22-0 (Rohit 9, Gill 11) Mahmood starts his over with a couple of dots. Gill, often so classical, responds by dancing down the track and blasting a drive over cover. Start Me Up!
Mahmood hits Gill’s pad and the umpire shakes his head. Brook opts to review, unwisely, as there was an inside edge that could be heard in London.
3rd over: India 17-0 (Rohit 9, Gill 6) Archer continues, pitching full, finding swing, troubling both these master batters. Then he goes short, rushing Rohit into a top edge, and the catch is dropped by Gus Atkinson at long leg. Archer has been so unlucky, in all formats, since he returned from the IPL.
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2nd over: India 11-0 (Rohit 4, Gill 6) Another lesson from Tuesday might be: don’t stray onto Shubman’s pads. Saqib Mahmood gives him a straight half-volley and pays the price as Gill’s wrists do the rest. But Saqib too finds the edge of Gill’s bat as another controlled nick squirts away for a single. Rohit comes to the party with a languid push for three, well retrieved by Harry Brook, two inches from the Toblerone. Dinesh Karthik reckons it should have been given as a four, so bear it in mind if England win off the last ball.
1st over: India 3-0 (Rohit 1, Gill 1) Archer’s first ball is in the corridor of uncertainty and Rohit Sharma edges it, safely, for a single. That gives the strike to the alarmingly in-form Shubman Gill. Archer greets him with a wide – something England kept dishing up on Tuesday – but then he’s back on the money, swinging the ball and drawing a thick inside edge, then another outside edge. A pretty good start for England.
The players are out there and Jofra Archer has the ball. He’s having to do a lot of work these days.
The first email comes from an old friend. “At least,” says Brian Withington, “today’s match format denies any opportunity to play Tuchelball by parking the bus with ill-judged defensive substitutions mid-game, even in the most unlikely event of England’s other foreign coach being tempted to exhibit such craven behaviour.
”Unlike in Test cricket, you can’t even pack the boundary areas either and desperately try to buy a wicket with a barrage of short stuff. Just need to get the selection right up front, play well, be brave and demonstrate astute captaincy throughout. Easy game really.
”What could possibly go wrong?”
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England have a problem – well, lots of them, but the most pressing one is at the top of the order. They have somehow turned Ben Duckett into Alastair Cook, making steady runs while his opening partners come and go.
Since Brendon McCullum took over the 50-over team in September 2024, Duckett has played 24 games and made about a thousand runs (993 at an average of 41). His partners in those games have done about half as well (510 at 21). Duckett has passed fifty eight times, the rest only three times. There have been five of them – Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Zak Crawley, Rehan Ahmed and now Jacob Bethell – and only the first two have had a decent run, though Bethell may yet get one
Bethell was all at sea on Tuesday, trudging to 14 off 31 balls, and he does seem a strange choice, given that he’s a left-hander like Duckett. As Mike Atherton has just pointed out on Sky, England players seldom appear in 50-over cricket for their counties, so someone like Bethell is having to learn the ropes on the big stage. It will be impressive if he can make 40 today.
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The sponsors’ mat that comes out for the toss was carrying an unexpected logo oday: the tongue that represents the Rolling Stones. “One of the iconic bands of the world,” said Ravi Shastri, sounding a little out of his comfort zone.
“No shit, Shastri,” muttered a cricket writer who also does music reviews.
Teams in brief: Dawson ditched, Rahul indisposed
England make two changes and tacitly admit that they got it wrong at Edgbaston by replacing a spinner with a seamer. In come Gus Atkinson and Saqib Mahmood; out go Josh Tongue and Liam Dawson, whose batting may be sorely missed.
For India, there’s just one change and it's enforced. KL Rahul, who is unwell, hands the wicketkeeping gloves to Ishan Kishan.
Toss: England win and bowl first
Shubman Gill calls wrong and Harry Brook opts to have a bowl on a ground where chasing tends to be the way to go. Gill says he would have bowled first too.
Preamble
Afternoon everyone, or is it still the morning after the night before? There’s only one way to cope with sporting heartbreak and that is to get back on the horse. You may wonder whether a bilateral ODI, quite likely to be forgotten by next week, can heal the wounds of a World Cup semi-final in which England’s German manager threw away a lead and became more English than the English. But maybe it can provide a distraction, and at least we know that today the England coach won’t be indefensibly defensive.
This is a game that has to be won, or the three-match series will be gone in three days flat. Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum, so successful in T20s (bar the odd World Cup semi-final), haven’t come close to mastering the 50-over game. On Tuesday at Edgbaston they made a big mistake, picking three spinners on a surface that was crying out for four seamers. Brook confirmed it by bowling his three seamers out and barely using Liam Dawson, who might have thought it was going to be his day after making his first international fifty.
It wasn’t all down to that misreading of the pitch. India’s old guns, led by the great Jasprit Bumrah, made far steelier foes than their young blades. God help England when Rohit, Virat and Rahul add some runs to their magisterial presence. But England have the blazing talent of Brook, and the quiet excellence of Joe Root, and surely their middle order can’t be quite that flaky again.
Play starts at 1pm and the forecast, I regret to report, is for yet more of this tedious sunshine.
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