ENG beat IND by 8 wickets, clinch                             series 2-1

England beat India by eight wickets to win the third one-day international at Headingley on Tuesday for a 2-1 series win in the three-match contest. Chasing a target of 257, England rode impressive knocks from Test skipper Joe Root (100 off 120 balls) and Eoin Morgan (88 off 108 balls) as the duo shared a match-winning 186-run unconquered stand. Earlier, Virat Kohli scored 71 off 72 balls, inclusive of eight fours, but the Indian innings faltered in face of some quality spin bowling by Adil Rashid, who snapped 3 for 49 to hurt the middle order. Left-arm medium-pacer David Wiley (3/40) also claimed three wickets to contribute to his team.

5 reasons why India lost ODI series against                            England

1. Absence of Bumrah and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar

India's pace bowling got exposed, particularly in the second ODI where they couldn't keep the pressure after spinners did a good job. Lack of Bumrah meant India couldn't finish strongly. Bhuvi came back for the last match but was a shadow of himself.

2. England became better at playing Kuldeep Yadav

England showed why they are a world number one side, when they constantly improved against Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep who ran through the English defence in the first match getting six wickets, he bagged three wickets for 68 runs in the second match. However, by the third and deciding match, England seem to have got a grip of how to play Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep went wicketless conceding 55 runs as England cantered to an easy win.

3. Indian batters failed to fire

In the second and third ODI, the much famed Indian batting order couldn't live up to its potential. In the second ODI, the top 4 could only get 96 runs, virtually sealing the fate of India. Later, MS Dhoni played a bizarre slow innings for which he got booed by Lord's crowd. In the third ODI, Dhawan and Kohli got good starts but they failed to convert it to a big innings. Dhoni did the holding act to ensure India reach a respectable total, but it was always going to be tough to defend against the World No 1 team.

4. Joe Root showed his ODI calibre

At a time, when England team is packed with explosive hard hitters, some having 360 degree shot making range, Joe Root stands out. He is a poised player, who loves playing cricket the old-school way. Nothing wrong with it, except when he doesn't get going and people start to doubt his methods. But against India, he stepped up managing to score two centuries, to bury the demons of getting dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav previously.  

5. England bowlers came back well

After getting severe tapping in the first match, English bowlers showed lot of heart to make a stunning comeback. Plunkett, Willey and Rashid combined superbly to ensure that England come out on top in conditions which actually suited Indian batters more. Rashid especially deserves special credit for bamboozling top order batters.

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5. England bowlers came bac