Five Areas of Concern for Kohli After ODI Series Loss to England

Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj

Virat Kohli and his men’s winning streak in bilateral ODI series was interrupted by England, who, on Tuesday, 17 July, sealed the three-match series 2-1.

After clinching the T20 series against England, India carried that winning momentum into the ODI series by winning the opener at Nottingham. However, Eoin Morgan and his men staged a valiant fight-back, won the next two games and subsequently their first bilateral ODI series against this opposition since 2011.

“We need to move on and improve as a side,” said captain Kohli in the presentation ceremony after losing the series decider at Leeds. But what could be the areas of concern for the captain?

1. Middle-Order Muddle

India’s problem of a weak middle-order has almost become a perennial one. And this series was no different. While the top-order completed a majority of the chase in the series opener, none of the middle-order Indian batsmen managed to stick around till the end in the other two games.

In the three games, India’s middle-order managed to score 198 runs at an average of 24.75, while England scored 309 at an average of 38.62. In addition, none of the five Indian batsmen, who played in the middle-order in the three games, could score a half-century while their opponents scored four.

2. Dhoni Debate Rekindled

After the match where he became the fourth Indian to cross the 10,000-run mark in ODIs and also completed 300 catches as the wicketkeeper in the format, MS Dhoni’s place in the Indian team was once again in question.

In the second ODI, the senior wicketkeeper-batsman scored 37 off 59 during India’s unsuccessful chase of England’s 322/7. And in the series decider, Dhoni kept India’s ship steady but managed to make just 42 off 66. With India losing both these games, critics once again found reason to speak about the former captain’s strike rate, not realising that the entire middle-order had failed!

3. Joe Root Threat

After getting out for just 3 in the series opener, Joe Root came into his own in the next two games.

He scored two back-to-back centuries, taking his tally to 13 ODI hundreds which makes him England's highest century-maker in ODIs. His 186-run stand with captain Eoin Morgan in the third ODI became England's most productive partnership in ODIs.

With India next playing a five-match Test series against England, captain Joe Root’s form could pose a big threat to the visitors.

4. Lacklustre Pace Attack

With Bhuvneshwar Kumar missing in the first two ODIs against England, India’s pace attack just couldn’t make a mark in this series. While India’s spinners picked up 11 wickets, the pacers claimed just 5 scalps at an average of 102.

And no it wasn’t the wicket because England’s fast bowlers picked up 11 wickets at an average of 40.54.

Debutant pacer Siddarth Kaul failed to pick up even a single wicket in the two games that he played, and was dropped in the third match. Bhuvi replaced Umesh Yadav in the series decider but didn’t manage to pick up any wickets.

5. Weak Powerplay

Though the Indian top-order managed to play some good innings, including a century by Rohit Sharma and a 50 by Virat, India’s first powerplay scores were just not up to the mark.

In all three games, England scored more runs in the powerplay overs. In fact, India lost at least one opener during the powerplay in all three innings, while England did not lose a single wicket in the first two games.