India vs England: Key stats from the 3rd ODI

Records tumbled when Sam Curran's gritty unbeaten 95 against India in the final ODI took England right on the cusp of a series win, but that just wasn't meant to be as T. Natarajan, the bowler given the onus to moderate the English onslaught, did his job in the final over as the visitors suffered a clean sweep at hands of India who, after winning the Test as well as the T20I series, clinched the ODI series too.

This was England's eighth tour of India since they last won an ODI series here and their record worsened on Sunday, March 28, as they have now lost six of them while drawing two. Their last ODI series win over India away from home came in December 1984. The three ODIs, played in Pune's Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, saw India surpassing their previous tally of five consecutive 300-plus scores in ODI. As things stand, their last night’s 329 was their sixth consecutive 300-plus total in the 50-over format.

Apart from that, the ODI series also saw as many as 70 sixes being hit by the two teams which is now the most number of maximums in any series of fewer than five games. There were several such records, and here we look at a few of them.

Sam Curran, the man of the hour

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. England were in a dire need of someone who can rejuvenate the sinking ship when they were reduced to 95/4 in 15 overs. As for India, it looked like a walk in the park as visitors kept on losing wickets, but Sam Curran went on to change the complexion. The 22-year-old scored an unbeaten 95, which is now the joint-highest score by a number 8 batsman. 

Curran scored at a strike rate of 114.45 and this is the 7th highest strike rate in an ODI innings by a number 8 batsman to face a minimum of 60 balls. He hit nine fours and this is the joint-second most fours hit by a number 8 batsman against India. The all-rounder played two 50-plus runs partnerships for the 8th and the 9th wicket and this is the first time that this has happened in ODIs for England, and 7th overall.

Indian bowlers on different spectrum

Indian bowlers outrightly dominated their England counterparts as the top-three wicket-takers from the ODI series were all Indians. Shardul Thakur, from the lot, impressed the most with seven wickets which included one four-wicket haul in the final ODI. All of the top-three wicket-takers from the series were seamers. The three, put together, scalped an impressive 19 wickets, which is a stark contrast to what the spinners delivered.

India had two spinners in their ranks, Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya, and the two picked a solitary wicket between them. This is the fewest wickets taken by Indian spinners in a series with a minimum of 39 overs. The two spinners gave away a combined total of 312 runs in three games while going for an economy of 8.00 and a bowling strike-rate of 234.00. These are the worst figures for Indian spinners in a bilateral series at home.

As far as England are concerned, the final ODI had as many as seven different wicket-takers from England. Amongst the lot, a certain Mark Wood impressed the most with a figure of 3/34, which is his fifth-best bowling figures in ODIs, and the best against India. The instance of having seven different wicket-takers is only the fifth time that it has happened in an ODI match.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Punit Paranjpe