London: Rohit Sharma produced a magnificent century under pressure, but England defeated India by 27 runs in the third and final ODI at Lord’s to clinch the three-match series 2-1.
Chasing a daunting target of 388India finished on 360/7 despite Rohit’s brilliant 138Shubman Gill’s 77and Virat Kohli’s 74. England’s imposing total was built around Ben Duckett’s career-best 142, Jacob Bethell’s 91and late fireworks from If Buttlerwho smashed an unbeaten 41 off just 13 balls.
Rohit leads India’s spirited chase
Facing intense scrutiny over his future, the 39-year-old opener responded in the best possible manner with his 34th ODI century and the first by an Indian batter at Lord’s. Rohit stitched together a 147-run partnership with captain Gill before adding another 113 runs with Kohli to keep India’s hopes alive.
His 110-ball knock included 17 fours and five sixesgiving India a realistic chance of pulling off one of their highest successful run chases.
However, England struck at crucial moments in the death overs to halt India’s momentum.
England dominate with bat and ball
Earlier, Duckett and Bethell laid a strong foundation with an outstanding batting display, while Joe Root remained unbeaten on 74 to push England close to the 400-run mark.
India’s inexperienced pace attack struggled in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the match due to a left knee impact injury. The visitors also felt the lack of a second specialist spinner as England’s batters dominated throughout the innings.
Sam Curran emerged as England’s bowling hero, dismissing Kohli, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in quick succession to derail India’s chase.
Despite the defeat, Rohit’s determined innings is expected to silence speculation surrounding his ODI future, while England celebrated a deserved series victory after dominating key moments across the three matches
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