Shubman Gill captivated all with his seventh ODI hundred, and under-pressure Virat Kohli registered a vital half-century as India crushed England by 142 runs in the third and last game, completing a 3-0 series win for a perfect conclusion to their Champions Trophy build-up on Wednesday.
Gill's match-winning 112 from 102 balls walked away with the spotlight, but support from Kohli (52) and Shreyas Iyer (78) saw India amass a strong 356 after being asked to bat.
India's bowling then took over to finish off England's demolition, dismissing the visitors for only 214 in 34.2 overs. The comprehensive win was India's second-largest in ODIs by runs over an old enemy.
For England, the script was deviated from after a good start against pace, thanks to Ben Duckett (34) and Phil Salt (24). Their momentum collapsed, though, against India's spinners on a slow track that only got harder to bat on as the game went on.
Duckett spearheaded England's early onslaught but played one shot too many. Following a six-wham against Arshdeep Singh (2/33) in four consecutive boundaries in the fifth over, he tried another lusty stroke but was tricked by a slow knuckleball, mistiming his shot against Rohit Sharma at mid-off. Arshdeep dismissed Salt with another short-of-a-length delivery soon, and Axar Patel took an easy catch.
Tom Banton, in his ODI debut against India, looked promising with a nicely constructed 38 off 41 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes, but could not carry on from where he started.
Joe Root was cheaply dismissed for 24 when an inside edge from Axar Patel (2/22) hit his stumps. Harshit Rana (2/31) then picked up wickets in rapid succession, getting rid of Harry Brook (19) and Jos Buttler (6), further breaking England's resistance.
From 84/2 in 10 overs, England's resolve wavered as India's bowlers squeezed tighter, knocking over batsmen at regular intervals while the visitors could not get used to a pitch that promised no extreme fluctuation but asked for perseverance.
Earlier, Gill established the tempo with an ornate century, while Kohli and Iyer took advantage of benign batting conditions in India's last game prior to the Champions Trophy. Their performance powered India to a menacing total of 357.
Gill anchored the innings with a elegant 112 off 104 balls (14x4s, 3x6s), taking his ODI average past 60. He also became the first player to have scored a century in all three international formats in a single stadium. Interestingly, Gill had also scored an IPL century at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Assuming both pace and spin, Gill's innings was graced with beautiful strokes, especially down the ground. He showed excellent footwork in the initial stages and was aggressive against spin until he was finally bowled by Adil Rashid (4/64).
Kohli, meanwhile, eased into the game slowly but when he did, he appeared to be in great touch. He got into the reckoning with a smooth cover drive off Mark Wood, a forceful pull off Saqib Mahmood and an elegant cut for a boundary. His 50 in 50 balls came smoothly in what was his 73rd ODI fifty, but he was in trouble a little bit while playing against Rashid's leg-spin.
Rashid eventually dismissed Kohli for the fifth time in ODIs, tempting him with a loopy leg-break that took the outside edge and was caught behind. Kohli, now just 37 runs away from the 14,000-run milestone in ODIs, missed out on a personal achievement—just as Rohit Sharma had earlier in the match. He is expected to reach the landmark during the Champions Trophy.
India's skipper Rohit (1), who had just been involved in a century in the second ODI, couldn't make a mark as Wood got him on the outside edge early, Salt taking a sharp catch.
Iyer, on the other hand, was heading towards a century before he was caught for 78 while being tempted by a leg-side delivery from Rashid, unnecessarily edging it behind.
With dominating performances in all departments, India completed a dominating series sweep, issuing a strong warning before the Champions Trophy.
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