Final chance for England to break free against cavalier India

Indian cricket team's remarkable turnaround against England in limited-overs series, gearing up for ICC Champions Trophy.

In early January, Indian cricket was in doldrums. The Test team had just lost its second straight series (1-3 away to Australia after 0-3 to New Zealand at home); its premier batters were woefully out of form and its best bowlers had ominous-sounding fitness concerns.

But just over five weeks since then, across seven limited-overs internationals and a smattering of domestic cricket matches, those despondent times seem too far long in the past.

India beat England 4-1 in the T20Is and holds a 2-0 lead going into Wednesday’s third and final ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium here. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are back among the runs and speed merchant Mohammed Shami is fully fit.

If Virat Kohli regains his touch and Jasprit Bumrah miraculously recovers from his back trouble, the turnaround ahead of the next week’s ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates will be complete.

With the series in the bag, it remains to be seen if head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Rohit Sharma choose to give game time to those who have got none this series – Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar. But what augurs well is the fact that whenever they have tried to mix it up, they have hit bull’s eye.

The addition of Varun Chakaravarthy has lent a cutting-edge to an already potent spin-bowling line-up featuring Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. The variety on offer has stifled England, which despite choosing to bat first in both games, has found run-making hard.

Harshit Rana, who has been zeroed in as Bumrah’s potential replacement, has had a crazy two and a half months, having made his debut in all three formats. Though profligate, the think-tank appears to trust his wicket-taking ability, an invaluable skill that Bumrah’s absence has robbed the team of.