There was the occasional overpitched delivery that was put away, but they were exceptions. Bumrah’s lengths were consistently challenging, forcing England to earn almost every run. He dismissed Duckett off the very first delivery at Cardiff and even when wickets did not come, he ensured the batters were under pressure and unable to play with complete freedom. With no room to work around, dot deliveries piled up forcing them to attack the rest.

At Lord’s, India could not produce the same sustained pressure in the first 10 overs in Bumrah’s absence.

Arshdeep Singh, playing his first match of the series, generated some movement with the new ball but struggled to find the right lengths consistently. Duckett drove an overpitched delivery through the covers before punishing another full ball on the pads. Bethell, too, picked up a boundary with a flick through the leg side after Arshdeep drifted onto his pads. By the end of his first three overs, Arshdeep had conceded 19 runs, giving England enough scoring opportunities to settle into their innings.

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Prasidh Krishna’s spell followed a different pattern. His first over cost 12 runs as Duckett capitalised on deliveries down the leg side and on the pads. However, the tall fast bowler quickly corrected his lengths. Bowling from the Nursery End, he extracted bounce, beat the bat regularly and bowled three consecutive maidens. Bethell repeatedly played and missed outside off as Prasidh found a fuller, more probing line that finally brought some control back into India’s attack. However, he could not make the inroad that India were looking for, conceding 21 runs in the five overs in the powerplay.

Prince Yadav, introduced before the end of the powerplay, also struggled for consistency. He sprayed deliveries down the leg side, conceded wides and gifted Bethell another boundary on the pads, allowing England to maintain the momentum they had built.

Whether the famous Lord’s slope played a role in India’s new-ball bowlers drifting too straight is difficult to say. India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel had spoken before the match about how batters often need time to adjust to the slope. It was India’s bowlers who found it hard to adjust to the slope in the first 10 overs and ensured England reached 58/0.

What was beyond doubt, however, was the difference Bumrah makes. His value lies not only in wickets but also in his ability to build pressure ball after ball, forcing batters into mistakes and allowing the rest of the attack to operate with fields that remain attacking. Without that early squeeze, England’s openers were able to settle quickly, and India spent much of the powerplay trying to regain the control that Bumrah so often provides naturally.

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The two pillars of Indian cricket began their careers around the same time, Rohit in 2007 and Kohli in 2008. Over the last 18 years, they have been the bedrock of India’s batting, leading the country to three T20 World Cups, one ODI World Cup, and two Champions Trophy titles. Both have now retired from T20Is and Tests, with ODIs remaining their only active format. Kohli and Rohit are India’s second and third highest run-scorers in ODIs, with 14,867 and 11,757 runs respectively.

The milestone, however, comes amid intense speculation over Rohit’s international future. According to The Indian Express report, the selectors have decided to move on from the 39-year-old opener, with the Lord’s ODI potentially being his last appearance in India colours. Despite the uncertainty, Rohit took the field alongside Kohli to achieve the historic feat.

The series is locked at 1-1 heading into the decider after India won the opening game, chasing down 259 comfortably courtesy of Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 80 and all-round show from Axar Patel. The host struck back, beating the Men in Blue by four wickets in the second game to equalise the series.

Most Matches Played Together in International Cricket

Pair	Matches
Kumar Sangakkara/Mahela Jayawardene (SL)	550
Tillakaratne Dilshan/ Mahela Jayawardene (SL)	426
Kumar Sangakkara/Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL)	418
Sanath Jayasuriya/Muttiah Muralitharan (SL)	408
Jacques Kallis/Mark Boucher (SA)	407
Rohit Sharma/Virat Kohli (IND)	400*
Sachin Tendulkar/ Rahul Dravid (IND)	391
Sanath Jayasuriya/Chaminda Vaas (SL)	391