IND vs ENG: 5 biggest positives for India after ODI series win over England

India won the IND vs ENG ODI with a 3-0 score line, whitewashing England.

After a tough time in the test arena, India bounced back with dominant displays in white-ball cricket by thrashing England 4-1 in the T20I series and whitewashing them 3-0 in the ODI series.

India made their selection and strategic calls in the IND vs ENG ODI series with the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in mind. India won all three ODIs with comfortable margins.

This series gave them plenty of positives in terms of individuals and huge confidence heading into the Champions Trophy.

IND vs ENG: 5 biggest positives for India after ODI series win over England

1. Shreyas Iyer once again cements his place at No. 4

It was a shocking revelation made by Iyer that he was supposed to be benched in the first ODI as Yashasvi Jaiswal made his ODI debut, but Kohli’s injury allowed him to play.

He grabbed the chance and smashed 59 runs off 36 balls in Nagpur. In Cuttack, he scored 44 off 47 and was at his best in Ahmedabad, where he scored 78 off 64. Despite a stellar World Cup 2023, Iyer had to audition for No. 4 spot once again, which he sealed with authority.

2. Rohit Sharma is not done yet

After dropping himself for the Sydney test amid poor form in test cricket, Rohit Sharma showed that he still remains a beast in ODI cricket with a blazing knock of 119 off 90 balls in Cuttack, helping India gun down the target of 305 with more than five overs to spare.

3. Axar Patel’s gives middle-order respite

At the World Cup, India’s top six considered all of right-handers and it seemed it would be the same in the Champions Trophy as well. But Gautam Gambhir’s punt of using Axar Patel as a middle-order floater has worked.

Axar batted at No. 5 in the first two ODIs and returned with impressive scores of 52 (47) and 41* (43). This, of course, is also influenced by the fact that England had leg-spinner Adil Rashid and left-arm spinner Jacob Bethell in their ranks, against whom Axar did well.

Axar’s left-handedness gives India a good option when they want to disrupt opposition’s leg-spinner and left-arm spinner’s rhythm.

4. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul do well in third ODI

After failing earlier in the series with the bat, senior players Virat Kohli and KL Rahul produced scores of note in the third ODI. Kohli was scratchy at the start, yet managed a fifty at a good rate, scoring 52 off 55.

Rahul was conservative at the start of his innings – his place in the line-up seemed to be on the line – and then played aggressive shots to end up with 40 off 29.

These are all great signs for the batting order ahead of the Champions Trophy.

5. Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh show promise

Finally to the bowling department, India seemed to have been planning for the absence of Jasprit Bumrah as they played Harshit Rana all three games. Rana took six wickets at an average of 24. Although he was whacked a few times for boundaries, he managed to bounce back with wickets. Arshdeep played in the third ODI and dismissed the dangerous openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett.

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