How England got stumped in their own backyard

All the people in the world were thinking that India had become lost as a side and that Dhoni should be replaced as captain after India lost 3-1 to England in the Test Series, which, according to my information, is happening for the third time that India have been washed out overseas. They had not even shown inspiration in the last two tests. God knows what had happened to the India that won the second Test at Lord's. But, history was going to be re-written. India made changes to the coaching department, bringing in their go-to man in trying times, Ravi Shastri. Even the bowling and fielding coaches were "rested", giving way to Indians Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar.
Boy, and what magic it worked. India defeated England in their own backyard, clinching the series 3-1.

The First ODI

The first ODI was washed out without a ball being bowled as rain interrupted the proceedings.

The second ODI:

This looked like the vintage, all- conquering Indian team. India put up 304/6 on the board, thanks to a 100 off 75 balls by Suresh Raina and 52 off 87 by Rohit Sharma. In response, England were shattered, with nothing going their way.And, as it happens, spinners usually struggle on foreign wickets,which support pace bowling. But, in this match, the Indian spinners spun a fine web around the English batsmen, bagging 7 of the 10 wickets. As a result, England folded up for 161, handing India a victory by a massive 133 runs by D/L method. India lead the series 1-0.

Third ODI:

England were looking to redeem themselves after their first ODI debacle, but none of that happened. India, who won the toss, put the English to bat first. Again, similar to the first match, the spinners dominated the proceedings, taking six of the ten wickets. There was one bowler who stood above all and that was India's frontline spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, taking 3 wickets and giving away just 39 runs in his 10 overs. England crumbled to 227 all out. In response, India played well, with Virat Kohli playing his highest score on the tour so far, 40 and Raina made 42, Ajinkya Rahane made 45, and the most significant contribution came from the young man Ambati Rayudu, who made 64, and deservedly bagged the Man of the Match award. Ashwin did not get it because Rayudu had also taken a wicket while bowling his 2 overs. India won by 6 wickets with 42 balls remaining and lead the series 2-0.

Fourth ODI:

Dhawal Kulkarni made his debut in this match. England had now lost hope, because the maximum they could do on this series now was to salvage a draw. But even that draw could not be salvaged. A distraught England team just did not show any interest to play, except for Joe Root who made 44 and Moeen Ali who made 67. England folded up for 206. In this match, though, the pacers showed what a pace - friendly pitch can bring about in them. Mohammed Shami took 3 wickets by giving away just 28 runs in 7.3 overs. In response, India, riding high on confidence, lost just one wicket in what resulted in a dream innings for Ajinkya Rahane. He made 106, his first ODI hundred while Shikhar Dhawan made a spirited 97. India won by 9 wickets with 117 balls to spare. India was now aiming for a whitewash, already leading the series 3-0.

Fifth ODI:

This was when England final,y woke up. Not wholly, but substantially. They kept losing wickets at intervals, but Joe Root kept on going and was ably supported by Jos Buttler who scored 49 and Alistair Cook, who scored 46. Joe Root himself scored 113. As a result, England scored 294, their highest on this tour. India could not hold England this time. They folded up for 253, despite a spirited 87 from Ravindra Jadeja and 53 from Ambati Rayudu. Now, the series stood 3-1, giving some sense of relief to the English team.

So, this is how this great series went. It was raining R's, the first match by Rain, the second by Raina, the third by Rayudu, the fourth by Rahane and the fifth by Root.

There is still one match remaining on this tour, the lone T20I. So, play on, people!