Despite valiant batting efforts from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Team India went down to England by 27 runs at Lord's on Sunday, July 19 in the third and final ODI of the three-match series. The Men in Blue thus suffered their third consecutive series loss after going down in the T20Is to Ireland (0-2) and England (0-4).
Batting first after winning the toss, England put up a mammoth 387-3 on the board in their 50 overs. Ben Duckett smashed 141 off 135 balls, while Jacob Bethell scored 91 off 93, Joe Root 74* off 48 and Jos Buttler 41* off 13. In the chase, Rohit top-scored with 138 off 110, while Kohli contributed 74 off 60 and skipper Shubman Gill 77 off 84. India, however, were held to 360-7.
In the wake of India's defeat at Lord's, we look at three other instances of the Men in Blue ending up on the losing side despite significant contributions from Ro-Ko.
England beat India by 31 runs at Edgbaston in Birmingham in match number 38 of the 2019 World Cup. Batting first, the Englishmen put up 337-7 on the board and then held the Men in Blue to 306-5.
In the chase, India lost KL Rahul for a duck. However, Rohit and Kohli featured in a second-wicket stand of 138. Rohit struck 15 fours in his 102 off 109 balls, while Kohli contributed 66 in 76 balls, with the aid of seven fours.
The partnership was broken when Kohli guided a length ball from Liam Plunkett to backward point. Rohit then nicked an off-cutter from Chris Woakes to the keeper. Despite handy contributions from Rishabh Pant (32 off 29), Hardik Pandya (45 off 33) and MS Dhoni (42* off 31), India fell well short of the target.
India beat Australia by five wickets at the WACA in Perth in January 2016 in the opening ODI of the five-match series. Batting first after winning the toss, the Men in Blue posted 309-3 on the board. However, Australia cruised home in the chase, getting over the line in 49.2 overs.
Batting first, Team India lost Shikhar Dhawan for nine, but Rohit remained unbeaten on a sensational 171 off 163 balls. The opening batter's knock featured 13 fours and seven sixes. Kohli also played a fine knock, but narrowly missed out on a ton. He scored 91 off 97 balls, with nine fours and a six.
Kohli and Rohit added 207 runs for the second wicket. The partnership ended when Kohli was caught at the long-on boundary by Aaron Finch off James Faulkner's bowling. Kohli and Rohit's efforts in the match went in vain as Steven Smith (149 off 135) and George Bailey (112 off 120) starred in Australia's win.
South Africa got the better of India by 18 runs at Rajkot in October 2015 in the third ODI of the five-match series. Batting first after winning the toss, the Proteas put up 270-7 on the board as opener Quinton de Kock hammered 103 off 118. In the chase, India were held to 252 despite losing only six wickets.
After Dhawan was dismissed for 13, Rohit and Kohli featured in a second-wicket stand of 72. The Hitman smashed seven fours and two sixes in his 74-ball 65 before being caught and bowled by JP Duminy. Kohli hit five fours in his 77 off 99 balls. His innings ended when he was caught at deep midwicket off Morne Morkel.
Morkel, the current bowling coach of the Indian team, finished with figures of 4-39 from his 10 overs to stall Team India's chase. Skipper Dhoni scored a valiant 47 off 61 balls, with the aid of five fours. But, he too perished to Morkel, caught by Dale Steyn at short third man.
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