Ahmedabad: Shubman Gill dazzled with his seventh ODI hundred, while the embattled Virat Kohli got a crucial fifty as India hammered England by 142 runs in the third and final match to complete a 3-0 series sweep for a perfect end to their Champions Trophy preparations here on Wednesday.
Gill’s 102-ball 112 was the highlight but middle-order mainstays Kohli (52) and Shreyas Iyer (78) were also instrumental in pushing India to a formidable 356 in the first half after being put in to bat.
Indian bowlers then took over the mantle to complete England’s demolition, bundling out the visitors for a mere 214 in 34.2 overs to complete a comprehensive victory — their second largest in ODIs in terms of runs — against a familiar opponent.
There was no change in the script for English, who came crashing down against spin after a sparkling start against pace, which was provided by the pair of Ben Duckett (34) and Phil Salt (24) in tow.
The slowness of the surface aided Indian bowlers as strike-making became difficult as the match progressed.
Duckett took charge of England’s response early on but played one shot too many. After smacking Arshdeep Singh (2/33) for four consecutive boundaries around the park in the fifth over, he again went after the left-arm seamer but was deceived by the ‘pace off’ knuckle ball.
The mishit was collected cleanly by India skipper Rohit Sharma at mid-off and Arshdeep soon bounced out Salt, albeit off a slower one which the batter hit meekly to Axar Patel for a simple grab.
Tom Banton gave a good example of himself playing his first ODI against India, hitting a couple of attractive reverse sweeps against spinners but he could not push on beyond a 41-ball 38 with four fours and two sixes.
Joe Root perished for just 24 when an inside edge off Axar (2/22) crashed into his stumps and Harshit Rana (2/31) hastened the end of England’s resistance by getting the rid of Harry Brook (19) and Jos Buttler (6) in quick succession.
From 84/2 after 10 overs, England’s resolve petered out as Indian bowlers tightened the screws with regular strikes and the visitors also lacked gumption on a pitch which remained true in its nature.
Earlier, Gill led the way with a fluent 112 while Kohli and Iyer also cashed in on ideal conditions in their last outing before the Champions Trophy, helping India set a 357-run target.
Gill anchored India’s innings en route to his seventh ODI ton — 112 off 104 balls (14x4s, 3x6s) which also took his average past 60 in the format — while putting on two century stands with Kohli and Iyer to consolidate for India.
The India vice-captain Gill also achieved the unique feat of scoring a century each across the three international formats at the same venue. Gill, meanwhile, has also scored an IPL hundred here at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Attacking the fast bowlers and spinners alike, Gill’s knock was replete with rich strokes particularly down the ground. The opener displayed immaculate footwork at the crease early on to take the attack to the opposition and remained resolute to score off spin, until he was cleaned up by Adil Rashid (4/64).
On his part, Kohli took his time to find the rhythm and when he did, the batting mainstay looked hitting his strides.
Kohli made the most of a juicy overpitched delivery from Mark Wood which he drove through the covers for his first four, then got on top of the ball from Saqib Mahmood to swat it for another boundary through mid-wicket and punished the England pacer for being wayward as he cut him for his third four.
While his stroke play was compelling in the run-a-ball fifty for his 73rd half-century, there were elements of struggle against leg-spinner Rashid.
Rashid continued to have wood over Kohli as soon after he raised his bat for fifty, the England spinner had him caught behind with a loopy leg-break that took an outside edge before settling in the wicketkeeper’s gloves. This was the fifth time Rashid has dismissed Kohli in ODIs.
Kohli was stranded 37 runs short of becoming only the third batter ever to make 14,000 ODI runs, missing a personal landmark like his teammate Rohit Sharma earlier in the innings. It is expected to be completed during Champions Trophy.
Coming off a terrific century in second ODI, Rohit (1) could not even get a start as a delivery from Wood which was angled in, straightened enough to take the outside edge and Phil Salt collected a sharp catch.
Iyer only had himself to blame for missing out on a triple-digit score after he was caught behind on a delivery fired down the leg stump by Rashid, one that he needlessly chased and edged.
