With our backs to the wall and an illustrious career at stake, Rohit Sharma He silenced his critics by smashing one of his most famous centuries in recent memory, although it was not enough to prevent a 27-run defeat in the third ODI against England as India won the series 1-2 at Lord’s on Sunday. Despite Rohit’s brilliant 138, Shubman Gill’s 77 and Virat Kohli’s 74, India could only manage 360 ​​for 7 while chasing the mammoth target of 388 runs, aided by Ben Duckett’s career-best 142 and Jacob Bettel’s 91 runs. Jos Buttler’s knock of 41 off 13 balls proved decisive as England scored 82 runs in their last five overs. With speculations that the selectors and head coach were ready to move on from Rohit, the 39-year-old former skipper faced immense pressure in the third and final game. Rohit took to the hallowed grounds of Lord’s with a dual goal: to win the series for India and save his legacy, which was being tarnished by constant speculation from a section of the media. He did not raise his bat after completing his 34th ODI century – the first by an Indian batsman at Lord’s. Nor did he stand up from his suit in the members’ balcony and applaud after an innings of 110 balls filled with heart, hurt and sweat. It was the last time he played an ODI in England, and people have long talked about how an aging star showed determination when the powers that be made him feel unwanted. A partnership of 147 runs with captain Gill and 113 runs with his old friend Kohli raised the imagination of an impossible victory. For Rohit, there were 17 fours and five sixes – three off Josh Tongue – a pull, one down the ground, and one outside long-on. A pull six was hit off the ball of Sam Curran (4/75 in 10 overs), who proved to be the bowling hero for England. Curran’s fast deliveries in the death overs saw Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and Kohli end India’s hopes in the space of seven balls. Curran got capable support from left-arm spinner Jacob Bethel (1/49 in 7 overs), which India never got with Axar Patel playing a lone spinner. While India lost the series, one thing is certain: neither Rohit nor Kohli will be going anywhere until the 2027 World Cup in South Africa. That day, Gambhir and Gill’s plan went awry and playing four fast bowlers with a combined experience of 51 matches failed miserably. Jasprit Bumrah’s absence due to a left knee injury was a blow for India. The four-pronged pace attack of Prasidh Krishna (2/69 in 10 overs), Arshdeep Singh (0/72 in 10 overs), Prince Yadav (1/79 in 10 overs) and Gurnoor Brar (0/97 in 10 overs) lacked both skill and experience against an in-form batting line-up. Duckett and Bethel were brilliant in terms of planning and execution. The first 10 overs of batting powerplay resulted in 58 runs, but the wheels came off between overs 11 to 30 when they really troubled the bowlers. With head coach Gambhir using Kuldeep Yadav in only 38 out of a total of 103 matches (across three formats) since his appointment in 2024, the lack of a second spinner apart from Axar Patel (0/61 in 10 overs) hurt India. While Duckett hit a total of 18 fours apart from one six, Bethel, who looked comparatively more fluent early on, hit 11 fours and a six before being out in the deep off Prasidh Krishna. Joe Root (74 not out off 48 balls) continued his golden form with another half-century – his third in three matches – taking the total past 350 runs. Jos Buttler (41 off 13 balls) also joined in the fun as Brar got a tough lesson in international cricket, getting out after scoring almost 100 runs. Early on, it didn’t help that rookie Prince, bowling on the famous Lord’s slope, was struggling with his length as Bethel pulled him for a six over deep mid-wicket and then hit him for a four in the gap between deep mid-wicket and mid-on. The rusty Arshdeep Singh did not hold his line, while Prasidh Krishna, despite beating Bethel’s bat on several occasions, bowled the odd loose ball.However, Bethel did well to bring up his half-century off 51 balls as England took their team total to 100 by the 16th over. By that time, the Indian bowlers had already hit 15 fours and the lines were extremely inaccurate, leaving the opening pair well into the groove. Overall, he hit 42 fours and six sixes.It also established the fact that when the brilliant Bumrah is working at one end all other Indian fast bowlers look good and the effectiveness disappears when he is absent. One saw it in T20Is and now in ODIs too.