Jasprit Bumrah got six wickets for 19 runs as England were bowled out for 110 runs in 26 overs, followed by Rohit Sharma’s merciless 76-run knock of just 58 balls, which enabled India to win by ten wickets.
Perhaps good fortune in English cricket is a limited supply. Perhaps there is only so much to go around, but Brendon McCullum used more than his fair share in reorganizing the Test team.
Bumrah was unplayable throughout his first five overs, during which he took four wickets for only nine runs. Mohammad Shami was equally threatening as India’s elite quicks wreaked havoc on England’s scoreboard: 0 7 0 0 0 is not the number for a batting coach, but rather the contributions of Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Liam Livingstone.
At 26 for five, there were echoes of England’s defeat at Lord’s against South Africa in 2017 when Kagiso Rabada went on a similar spree. But that 153-point anomaly was an island in a sea of record-breaking totals. This loss followed two awful batting displays in last week’s Twenty20 series loss. The beginning of Jos Buttler’s stint as white-ball captain has been rocky.
“[It’s] certainly a pretty frustrating day, it’s a terrible loss,” said a sullen-looking Buttler as India was about to bat.
Not that it’s necessary to press the panic button just yet. Bad days at the office are accounted for, and opposing players will occasionally excel. Thus, it was demonstrated that a capacity crowd was deprived of 56% of the promised entertainment.
“Over the previous five or six years, our hitting has been our greatest strength in this format of the game,” remarked Buttler. “We’ll continue with what we know, and there’s tremendous trust within the locker room. There are outstanding guys in there.”
Roy was the first to be dismissed after dragging a drive onto his stumps. In four innings against India this summer, the normally proficient opener has scored 31 runs. Two balls later, Root was dismissed after swinging his bat at a rising wide delivery. Stokes was next dismissed for a golden duck, caught behind off the inside edge by Shami, and Bairstow was caught by Rishabh Pant’s outstretched right hand after Bumrah’s fizzer straightened off the pitch at the ideal length. Bairstow might have lost the opportunity had he not been in such excellent form.
Livingstone was bowled round his legs by Bumrah as he advanced down the pitch, and Moeen Ali was caught by Pravesh Krishna on the follow-through. Buttler, who was observing, stayed calm throughout the chaos.
He drove uphill and ran over his hips. Even after the scoreboard read 59 for seven, he accepted Shami’s short ball and swung it behind square for four. Instead of adjusting and going longer, Shami went shorter and rushed Buttler’s pull. The ensuing top edge soared into the steamy air before landing in Suryakumar Yadav’s clutches on the deep square boundary, with the England white-ball captain on 30.
Thus, England’s hopes for a competitive score were dashed. Shami bowled Craig Overton for his third wicket, and Bumrah bowled David Willey and Brydon Carse for the greatest ODI statistics recorded at the Oval: His score of 7.23196 barely reflects his sizzling performance. Every ball seemed meaningful. Every staccato step of his run-up was accompanied by a breath intake. From what appeared to be a shoulder made of rubber, he delivered a masterclass in rapid bowling.
“He has been one of the world’s best bowlers for several years,” Buttler remarked of his former partner at the Mumbai Indians, whose skill was unmatched by his English contemporaries. Willey and Reece Topley were clean at the top of the order, but once Sharma got going and Shikhar Dhawan (31 off 54 balls) assumed the role of anchor, the possibility of an unusual snatch-and-grab vanished.
Overton and Carse were particularly punished, allowing 8.50 and 10.36 runs per over, although neither England bowler posed a threat of taking a wicket. Throughout his six-ball set, Stokes rotated his arm but appeared uncomfortable. Buttler denied the existence of an injury worry.
Thankfully, there is little time to linger on this failure until Thursday’s sequel. Buttler may wonder whether there is any luck left in the world if he loses this.
