India vs England 2020-21: The biggest learnings form the ODIs as India digs deep for series win

India was involved in one of the most intense One-Day International series at home in the recent past. Against England, it won the series 2-1, as the host had to dig deep in search of a win against the reigning world champion and the number one ODI team.

India vs England 2020-21: The biggest learning form the ODIs as India digs deep for series win-ayh

Pune, First Published Mar 29, 2021, 6:09 PM IST

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Team India might have managed to walk out of the just-concluded One-Day International series against England at home with a 2-1 series win and head heal high. However, equal credit should be given to the visitor and put on a show and forcing India to dig deep in search of a win.

Despite winning the series, it was a reality check for the host, while England justified itself as the reigning world champion and the number one ODI side in the world. Consequently, there were extensive learning for both sides as we take a look and analyse them.

India vs England 2020-21: The biggest learning form the ODIs as India digs deep for series win-ayh

World champion for a reason
While England's win at the 2019 ICC World Cup might still be controversial, there is no taking away from the fact that it is indeed the world champion and put on a show in the final against New Zealand. Although it might have won on its home soil, England certainly proved that its win was no fluke, especially with the recent performance against India. It came up with a similar performance against Australia at home, only to, unfortunately, end on the losing note 1-2. Once again, England has nothing to be ashamed of.

India vs England 2020-21: The biggest learning form the ODIs as India digs deep for series win-ayh

India has a monstrous batting line-up
The Indian batsmen displayed extreme prowess as it posted a 300-plus total in all three games and four consecutive ODIs. Be it the top-order or the middle-order; every single batsman contributed his part. The only thing that lacked was consistency from some. If the Indians can master it, no team in the world is safe, whether the match is played at home or away.

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Rishabh Pant is the future of India
Pant received severe criticisms in the past couple of years owing to his inconsistent batting and immature shot selections. However, with each passing game and in each format, the wicketkeeper-batsman is proving his worth and is setting a fine example of how he can be Team India's future. While it is still too early to make a call on if he would ever be the skipper of Team India or match the likes of MS Dhoni, it truly feels like he is moving in that direction. All he needs now is consistency.

India vs England 2020-21: The biggest learning form the ODIs as India digs deep for series win-ayh

Kuldeep Yadav needs expert guidance
One of the problematic points in the entire series was India's chinaman spinner, Kuldeep Yadav. He fared extremely poor, getting smacked for 152 runs in a couple of games with no success and had the worst economy of 8.00, along with fellow spinner Krunal Pandya. Kuldeep has been on a downward spiral since the Indian Premier League 2019 and has barely impacted formats. All he needs now is expert guidance from the likes of MS Dhoni. While it might not be possible in the IPL, since both play for different teams, it would be interesting to see if Kolkata Knight riders skipper Eoin Morgan assists him. Furthermore, with veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh with KKR, he is being backed to aid Kuldeep in improving his performance and boosting his confidence.

India vs England 2020-21: The biggest learning form the ODIs as India digs deep for series win-ayh

Practice makes it perfect
Similarly to Kuldeep, wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul's performance with the bat had lacked throughout the Twenty20 Internationals, while he failed to get going in the opening ODI. Nonetheless, he bounced back in style in the second game, as he smashed a brilliant century. Although he could not keep up with the momentum in the final match, it is clear that he is back in form. Notably, Rahul was out of competitive match exposure with Team India for the past couple of months, as he did not feature in the playing XI of India's Test commitments against Australia and England. But, now that he is back to the limited-overs fray, it is proved that all one needs is practice.

India vs England 2020-21: The biggest learning form the ODIs as India digs deep for series win-ayh

Indians bowled well, England batted better
The Indian bowlers were questioned for failing to get regular breakthroughs in the ODIs. However, was it really the case? According to our analysis, although India did not have the full bowling firepower, it managed to fare well with the talent in hand. Furthermore, this is where the English batsmen deserve full credit for tackling the Indian bowlers in the best possible manner, especially picking up the weaker balls and attacking them. It also proved the amount of batting depth that the visitor possesses, making it the number one ODI side.

Last Updated Mar 29, 2021, 6:11 PM IST

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