India captain Shubman Gill blamed his team’s inability to stem the flow of runs at the death after England amassed 388, saying the hosts’ late assault ultimately proved decisive in the visitors’ 27-run defeat in the series-deciding third ODI at Lord’s on Sunday. Reflecting on the turning point, Gill said India remained firmly in the contest until the closing stages of England’s innings, before an expensive finish with the ball swung the game decisively in the hosts’ favour.
“We were right in the game until the 45th over (when England batted). Gave away a lot of runs in the last three overs. That’s where the game went away from us,” Gill said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “We thought if we had wickets in hand after 40 overs, we would be in the game. At the same time, we didn’t want to be too far behind. After the powerplay we tried to play at 6-6.5 runs per over and chase at 10 in the last 10 overs,” he said.
Shubman Gill drew encouragement from Rohit Sharma’s fluent century, saying that Rohit once again demonstrated why he remains one of the world’s finest ODI batters despite the surface was increasingly difficult for stroke-making as well.
“They (Rohit and Kohli) have done well over the years in different parts of the world. Pleased with how Rohit batted today. The wicket got slow in the end, wasn’t easy to bat, but treat to watch. Almost everyone got runs. In this match particularly, we didn’t bowl well in the first powerplay. The way they capitalised never gave us chance to come back. At the death, they got too far away from us,” he shared.
READ HERE: Shubman Gill Breaks Silence On ODI Futures Of Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli
Meanwhile, England captain Harry Brook was happy with the fight shown by his side, which helped them bounce back after losing the opening ODI to clinch the series against India as well.
“Extremely proud. Fought hard, communicated well and manage to escape away with a series win over the world No. 1. Spoken about setting a template. Duckett and Bethell were sensational. Outstanding partnership. Rooty doing what Root does. Jos finishing the innings was awesome to watch. I went off for an over and had a chat to Baz. He said why don’t you have a crack with Beth, and bowl him for seven or eight overs straight through. It was tough at times but we got the job done,” Brook said.
