India vs England: 3 Masterstrokes From Virat Kohli That Helped India Win The 3rd ODI

India staged a good comeback in the ODI series and sneaked in with a victory in the final game to win the series 2-1 against the number one ODI side England. India managed to get to totals more than 300 in all three games and they managed to come out on the winning side on two of those games.

England did give a tough fight and they deserved a lot of credit to have put up some good performances despite the likes of Joe Root, Jofra Archer, Eoin Morgan, and Sam Billings not available. India on the other hand was well marshalled by Virat Kohli who won the four-match Test series, five-match T20 series, and three-match ODI series against England.

Going With An Additional Bowler In The Form Of T Natarajan:

T Natarajan held his nerves in the final over when England needed 14 to win off the last over and he defended it giving away just seven runs. Sam Curran despite being in destructive mode couldn’t get the much-needed boundaries in the last over and Natarajan’s yorkers were so accurate and breathtaking.

He continued to impress in international cricket and Virat Kohli has shown a lot of belief in the youngster which has paid off brilliantly. Natarajan got the important wicket off Ben Stokes too who had a big impact in England’s win in the second ODI and he is expected to play a big part in the Indian bowling setup. Virat Kohli brought in Natarajan for Kuldeep Yadav who was very expensive and the move did reap benefits.

Using Krunal And Hardik Pandya As The 6th Bowling Option:

Virat Kohli wanted to keep Hardik Pandya fit and he did not risk him by bowling in the first and second ODIs. But he did use him wisely in the last ODI and Hardik bowled splendidly to bring back India into the game. It wasn’t easy for Hardik to take the responsibility straight away but he did the job to perfection.

Krunal Pandya was very expensive in the last ODI and he looked to be out of confidence. Kohli did not want to risk him more and he stopped with Krunal after giving him for overs. Hardik bowled 9 overs for just 48 runs and together, the brothers completed 13 overs which was an added advantage for India as he did not have to use Prasidh Krishna for his full quota.

Giving The 49th Over To Hardik Pandya:

Hardik Pandya bowled a great 49th over which almost sealed the victory for India. India had a tough task of defending 23 of just 18 deliveries and all the odds favoured England’s win. But Hardik continued the momentum from Bhuvneshwar’s 48th over which went only for five runs.

Virat had two options in the bank for the 49th over with Hardik Pandya and T Natarajan. Kohli kept Natarajan for the 50th over and used Hardik in the penultimate over with 19 runs to get. The move came out really well and Hardik conceded just five runs in the 49th over with 14 runs to defend for Natarajan.