Duckett's century seals series win for England over India

England clinched their first bilateral one-day international series win against India since 2018, triumphing by 27 runs in a thrilling, high-scoring encounter at Lord's. The hosts secured the series 2-1 after posting a colossal total of 387-3 in their 50 overs.

“

That's pretty cool to me. Very precious. But all that I'm really bothered about today is that we've beaten the best side in the world.

Opener Ben Duckett laid the foundation for England's formidable score with a career-best 141 runs from 135 balls, a knock that included 18 fours and one six. This innings surpassed Viv Richards's 138 not out from the 1979 World Cup final as the highest individual score at Lord's in an ODI. Duckett expressed his satisfaction, stating, "All that I'm really bothered about today is that we've beaten the best side in the world." He added, "We've probably had a fair few critics over the last 12 to 18 months and a lot of that has been rightly so at times but now we can build on this."

“

We've probably had a fair few critics over the last 12 to 18 months and a lot of that has been rightly so at times but now we can build on this.

India's chase was spearheaded by captain Rohit Sharma, who provided a glimmer of hope with a rapid 138 off 110 balls. However, despite Sharma's valiant effort and a 147-run opening partnership with Shubman Gill (77), the tourists ultimately fell short. Sam Curran proved instrumental for England, taking 4-75, including the key wickets of Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, and Virat Kohli (74) in a crucial seven-ball span that effectively ended India's pursuit.

“

We've shown what we're capable of, we are just trying to be as consistent with it as possible moving forward.

England's innings also saw significant contributions from Jacob Bethell, who scored 91 in a 192-run opening stand with Duckett, and Joe Root, who continued his excellent form with an unbeaten 74. Jos Buttler added a quickfire 41 not out off just 13 balls, pushing England to their highest ODI total at Lord's. India's bowling attack, notably missing Jasprit Bumrah, struggled, with Gurnoor Brar conceding 0-97 and Prince Yadav taking 1-79. "We gave a bit too many runs in the last three overs - around 60 runs. That's where the game went too far ahead from us," admitted Gill, reflecting on the missed opportunity.

“

The bowlers have been pretty good this series. With the bat, we've let ourselves down a little bit so it was really nice to put that performance together today.