Rohit Sharma’s historic ton goes in vain as India lose ODI series at Lord’s | Cricket News

With his back against the wall and an illustrious career on the line, Rohit Sharma silenced his critics in the only way he could, smashing one of his most famous centuries in recent memory, although it was not enough to prevent a 27-run defeat in the third ODI against England, as India surrendered the series 1-2 at Lord’s on Sunday. Despite Rohit’s magnificent 138, Shubman Gill’s 77 and Virat Kohli’s 74, India managed only 360 for 7 in pursuit of a mammoth target of 388 built on the back of a career-best 142 from Ben Duckett and 91 from Jacob Bethell. A 13-ball 41 from Jos Buttler proved to be the decisive factor as England scored 82 in their last five overs. With speculations about the picks and the head coach ready to move on from Rohit forward, the 39-year-old former captain faces immense pressure in the third and final game. Rohit walked onto the hallowed turf of the Lord with two goals: to win a series for India and to save his legacy, which has been tarnished by constant speculation from a section of the media. He did not raise his bat after completing his 34th ODI hundred — the first by an Indian batter at Lord’s. Nor did he acknowledge the standing ovation from the suits in the Members’ Balcony after a 110-ball knock laced with heart, pain, and sweat. It was the last time he played an ODI in England, and people will be talking for the longest time about how an aging star appeared determined when the powers that be made him feel unwelcome. A stand of 147 with skipper Gill and 113 with his old friend Kohli raised visions of an improbable victory. For Rohit, there were 17 boundaries and five sixes — three from Josh Tongue — a pull, one down the ground, and one wide at long-on. There was a pulled six from Sam Curran (4/75 in 10 overs), who proved to be the bowling hero for England. Curran’s pace of deliveries at the death accounted for Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and Kohli in the space of seven deliveries to end any hopes India harbored. Curran got support from left-arm spinner Jacob Bethell (1/49 in 7 overs), a luxury India have never played with a lone spinner in Axar Patel. While India lost the series, one thing is certain: neither Rohit nor Kohli are going anywhere until the 2027 World Cup in South Africa. That day, Gambhir and Gill’s planning went awry and playing four pacers with a combined experience of 51 matches backfired. The absence of Jasprit Bumrah due to an impact injury to his left knee was a blow for India. The four pronged pace attack consisting of Prasidh Krishna (2/69 in 10 overs), Arshdeep Singh (0/72 in 10 overs), Prince Yadav (1/79 in 10 overs) and Gurnoor Brar (0/97 in 10 overs), lacked skill and experience against the in-form batting line-up. Duckett and Bethell were outstanding in terms of planning and execution. The batting powerplay in the first 10 overs yielded 58 runs but the wheels came off between overs 11 to 30 when they literally ran the bowlers to shreds. With head coach Gambhir having used Kuldeep Yadav in just 38 games out of a total of 103 matches (across three formats) since his appointment in 2024, the lack of a second spinner apart from Axar Patel (0/61 in 10 overs) has hurt India. While Duckett hit 18 boundaries apart from a six, Bethell, who looked more fluid at the start, hit 11 fours and a six, before being bowled in the deep off the bowling of Prasidh Krishna. Joe Root (74 not out off 48 balls) continued his golden run with another half-century — his third in three games — to take the total past the 350-run mark. Jos Buttler (41 no off 13 balls) also joined in the fun as Brar got a hard lesson in international cricket, close to 100 runs. To begin with, it didn’t help matters that rookie Prince, bowling up the famous Lord’s slope, struggled with his length as Bethell pulled him for a six over deep mid-wicket and then slapped him in the gap between deep mid-wicket and mid-on for a boundary. The rusty Arshdeep Singh couldn’t hold his line while Prasidh Krishna, despite beating Bethell’s bat several times, also bowled the odd loose delivery.However, Bethell did well to complete his half-century off 51 balls as England reached the team’s total of 100 in the 16th over. By that time, the Indian bowlers had conceded 15 boundaries and the lines were horribly wrong, allowing the opening pair to settle well into a rhythm. In total, they scored 42 boundaries and six sixes.It also establishes the fact that all the other Indian pacers look good when the brilliant Bumrah is working at one end and that effectiveness is lost in his absence. One has seen that in T20Is and now in ODIs too.