Rohit Sharma’s 138 not out as England clinch the series 2-1 at Lord’s

Quick results: England (387/3) beat India (360/7) by 27 runs in Lord’s ODI to win three-match ODI series 2-1

There are days when a man walks away to a standing ovation with his head bowed, having done all that was required of him, and still ends up on the losing side. Sunday at Lord’s belonged to Rohit Sharma for long stretches. However, by the time the last ball was bowled, it belonged to England.

Chasing a mammoth 388, India were given hope by an opening stand of 147 between Rohit and Shubman Gill and were then kept alive by Rohit’s partnership with Virat Kohli. Ultimately, however, the gap created in the first 30 innings of England’s innings proved too wide to bridge and the hosts wrapped up a 27-run win to follow up a 4-0 T20I demolition with a 2-1 series victory in the 50-over format. It has been an educational tour for the Indian side that arrived in England as the world’s No. 1 ODI team.

If this was to be the last time Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played together in England, then Lord’s provided a fitting scene. Those packing the ground for the series decider watched two of India’s best ODI Tests show that they still belong at the top level.

Rohit made a magnificent 138, his 34th ODI century, while Kohli chipped in with a smooth 74, his 133rd fifty or more in the format. Between them, they dragged India back into a chase that seemed unattainable. The only thing they failed to accomplish was victory.

That definitely belonged to England.

The hosts piled up 387 for 3 after Ben Duckett’s top 141 and Jacob Bethell’s 91 laid the platform before Jose Buttler’s explosive 41 not out from just 13 balls lifted them to a daunting total. India replied with 360 for 7 despite Rohit’s 138, Gill’s 77 and Kohli’s 74 as England sealed a 2-1 series win, their first ODI series victory over India since 2018 and only their eighth in 22 bilateral contests.

With his back against the wall and an illustrious career in the limelight, Rohit silenced the retirement rumors in the only way he knows how, with one of his most memorable ODI centuries. It was an innings worthy of winning the match. Instead, it became the defining performance in defeat.

DUCKETT, BETHELL LAY PLATFORM

The damage was done in the first two-thirds of England’s innings. Ben Duckett hit a brilliant 141 and put on 192 for the first wicket with the rampaging Jacob Bethell as England raced to 387 for 3. It was carnage of the most clinical kind. The innings alone yielded 58 runs and between overs 11 and 30 the innings simply ran away from India’s attack.

Duckett littered the boundary with eighteen fours and a six, while Bethell, fluent from the outset, hit eleven fours and a maximum before finally getting to Prasidh Krishna. Bethell reached his half-century off just 51 deliveries and by the time England crossed 100 in the 16th over, India had already made fifteen boundaries with their lines well off the mark.

Even after the platform builders left, there was no respite. Joe Root, in the form of his life, managed an unbeaten 74 off 48 balls, his third half-century in as many games on this tour, to take his total past 350. Jos Buttler then blasted 41 not out from just 13 deliveries, taking a toll on Gurnoor Brar, who finished with figures of 0, 6 and 6 hits.

NO BOOM, NO MAGIC

India’s bowling had no answer and a lot had to do with who wasn’t there. The absence of Jasprit Bumrah, ruled out with a knee problem, was a body blow from which India never recovered. Prasidh Krishna finished with 2 for 69 from his ten overs, Arshdeep Singh went for 72 not out, Prince Yadav took one wicket but conceded 79 and Axar Patel, the lone spinner in the XI, went wicketless for 61. There was barely 50 collective experience between the four seamers, who had never shown an ODI against them to fear. settle down.

Young walker Prince, still finding his feet on Lord’s slope, was taken at deep mid-wicket at six and then sent through the gap in the middle of his first spell. That set the tone. Arshdeep struggled for discipline with his lines and even Prasidh, despite beating Bethell’s bat more than once, mixed his good deliveries with too many loose ones. By the time the innings was over, it was clear that this was one of those days when nothing went right for the bowlers at the same time.

ROHIT STANDS HIGH

If the first innings was of uneven quality, the chase had real drama. Rohit and Gill gave India exactly the start they needed, matching England’s pace for 147 runs in the opening stand. Gill made a fluent 77 before falling, but Rohit kept going until he scored a brilliant hundred, his first at Lord’s, silencing every question that had been asked about his form on this tour. With speculation surrounding the selectors’ long-term plans and a head coach poised to walk away from him, the 39-year-old former captain entered the series decider under immense pressure.

Rohit entered the hallowed turf at Lord’s with a dual goal: to win the series for India and protect a legacy that has come under increasing scrutiny.

He did not pick up the bat after completing his 34th ODI hundred, the first by an Indian batsman at Lord’s. He didn’t even acknowledge the standing ovation from the deputies’ balcony after hitting 110 balls stitched together with heart, pain and sweat.

There were 17 boundaries and five sixes for Rohit, three of them off Josh Tongue, including a pull, one straight down the ground and one over long-on. He also pulled Sam Curran into the stands, but the left-handed dude had the last word.

Rohit and Kohli added 113 for the third wicket and for a long time it looked like India would do the impossible. Kohli played one of his most confident knocks in the series, his 74 being his highest international score at Lord’s.

But cricket has a habit of turning on one ball and this game turned on Jacob Bethell. Introduced as what looked to be little more than a change of pace, Bethell produced the spell of his life as he conceded just 49 runs in seven overs after the 30th over. Inside that spell came the wicket that mattered most, Rohit for 138. It broke a partnership that threatened to wrest the game away from England and changed the face of the chase.

From there, Bethell and Sam Curran strangled the game. The pair mixed the pace intelligently and refused to offer India anything loose, stifling the flow of runs when India desperately needed momentum. Curran removed Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and Kohli in seven deliveries to end India’s hopes.

Even with the game gone, India refused to go quietly. Jofra Archer found the edge of Arshdeep Singh’s bat but Jos Buttler couldn’t hold on. Adil Rashid kept his cool in the final over before Gurnoor Brar hit a six and a four to reduce the lead, although the result was long in doubt.

This became the first ODI in which all four opening batsmen scored 75 or more. Still, Duckett’s 141 surpassed Rohit’s 138 as the highest score of the day, perhaps fitting for a match England controlled from the first ball to the last, even as India refused to let go until the very end.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Apart from the score sheet, the afternoon had even more significance. If that turns out to be the last time we see Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli batting together, at Lord’s, in England or anywhere in the world, then it was a fitting scene to pay our respects. The two old warriors stood tall long after many had written them off, pulling the chase back from the brink before cutting themselves agonizingly short.

For India, the questions from this tour run deep, about the over-reliance of the bowling attack on one bowler, the balance of the team and the road ahead. However, none of these questions have anything to do with the form of Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli, who both leave English shores with their reputations, if anything, enhanced.

For Harry Brook’s England, the job is well and truly done. A 4-0 sweep in T20Is followed by a 2-1 ODI series win over the world No.1, sealed in front of a Lords crowd that came, saw and left convinced.

– The end

Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

20 Jul 2026 0:26 IST