“I have played a lot of cricket, and I have seen a lot of cricket. On a day, there are a lot of batters who don’t get the momentum they are looking for, and that can happen. You might see a completely different innings from Rohit Sharma at Lord’s. So, I wouldn’t use the word “struggling”. Maybe the shots he normally plays on the up, because of the double bounce, he probably felt they were not comfortable.”

“Shubman (Gill) got a quick start, then Virat got a quick start, but Rohit probably didn’t get balls in his areas or didn’t get going. That’s what I felt. So I wouldn’t say he was struggling because you could definitely see a completely different innings from a player like Rohit. I have seen that happen to a lot of batters. So it’s not just Rohit. I wouldn’t use the word “struggling,” he added.

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On batting first on the Cardiff surface, Kotak said that Virat Kohli had sent a message across to the dressing room about the short deliveries not going through on the surface and admitted that Washington Sundar’s injury, followed by the quick dismissals of Axar Patel and Shivam Dube, derailed India’s innings.

“When there is double pace or double bounce, it’s more about adapting better. Everybody knew because Virat, while he was batting, sent a message to us and also told the head coach that the short balls were actually not going through. So, we knew. Personally, I felt that Washington’s injury happened when he ran the first run towards mid-off. It looked like a hamstring injury, and it looks like a bad injury. Then, the next ball, he got out. From there, we again wanted a partnership, but unfortunately, we lost Axar and Shivam.”

“That is the only thing I feel. In the second half, the wicket may have gone a little slower, and Joe Root just stayed on the wicket. But I think 233, which is around five and a half an over, if one batter gets 100, I don’t think it’s a big score to chase. If we would have got Root out, it would have been interesting. Or if we had got another 35-40 runs, it would definitely have been interesting,” Kotak said.

Rohit Sharma fell for a 47-ball 26 in the second ODI in Cardiff. (BCCI/Creimas Photo)

Having won the first ODI at Edgbaston, there was an opportunity for India to close the series at Sophia Gardens. Put in to bat, when they were 103/1 with Virat Kohli (65) in his full majestic form. Shreyas Iyer, batting at number five, complemented Kohli with a 71-ball 66.

The turning point was Kohli’s untimely and uncharacteristic dismissal – playing a loose shot across the line and top-edging the delivery – which prompted a mini collapse. The three left-handers to follow – Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube – managed just 2, 1, & 0 respectively as India ended up with 233 in 44 overs, which proved to be well below par. And despite a spirited effort from the bowling unit, which had just five options with Washington missing out in the second innings with a hamstring injury, it left Shubman Gill to rely on other options to take the game deep.

Bumrah magic

If Edgbaston was the first glimpse of a revitalised Jasprit Bumrah, then Cardiff gave more evidence of a bowler who seems to have found his mojo back. The 32-year-old put England on the back foot straightaway by dismissing Ben Duckett off the first delivery of the chase – the new ball angling away and kissing the edge en route. And when Prasidh Krishna had Jacob Bethell edge to Ishan Kishan in the fourth over, India were right in the game.

Harry Brook once again showed his adventurous side to gain some momentum, but eventually paid the price for it. He lined up to play the scoop, but Gurnoor Brar’s pace and extra bounce meant he could only guide it to Ishan Kishan. Having made only 1 with the bat, he was effective behind the stumps, taking four catches, including that of Sam Curran while standing up to Dube.

Despite losing Washington’s services, Gill stayed on the offensive. India had no option but to claim all 10 England wickets, and they went searching for them aggressively. Yet, without the extra wicket-taking option, they remained slightly behind the eight ball.

That was the one glaring aspect of the bowling performance. Beyond Bumrah, India still lacks an X-factor bowler who will maintain the pressure on the opposition from the other end. Brar tested England with several short-pitch deliveries, but remained on the expensive side with 2/67 in 10 overs. Whether Kuldeep Yadav plays at Lord’s is to be seen.

Given the conditions on offer at Cardiff, the stage was tailor-made for Root. He took his time, and with India short on bowling options, he preferred to take the game deep. He may have wished one of the frontline batsmen to forge a big partnership, but even without significant support, he found the gaps and struck timely boundaries. Even when India tempted him to open his shoulders, he showed the discipline to bat according to the situation. A hundred was there for the taking, but Gus Atkinson didn’t hand him the opportunity, scoring the winning runs off Krishna.

Earlier, no Indian batsman except Kohli and Iyer could kick on and make the big score. Take out the two of them, who made 131 runs combined; the rest managed only 102 between them. After Gill timed one straight to Duckett at cover while driving on the up, Ishan was undone by a short delivery, top-edging a return catch to Sam Curran.

Brief scores: India 233 in 44 overs (Shreyas Iyer 66, Virat Kohli 65; Jofra Archer 3/47; Gus Atkinson 3/5) lost to England 235/6 in 44.1 overs (Joe Root 99 n.o, Will Jacks 30; Gurnoon Brar 2/67).

“Now, if Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir are not working together, this is not a good sign for India. If they are not in the same page, this is bed news for Indian fans. Because in this England tour, we are focussing on the 2017 World Cup. It won’t be easy to win in overseas conditions so you have to maintain unity in the team. Senior players have a very big role. You need to go to the senior players’ room and talk to them on how you can fix the problem. This is the job of a coach,” he added.

Gambhir’s tenure as the Indian head coach started in 2024 when he succeeded Rahul Dravid at the helm. In the following two years, India have gone through numerous ups and downs under him with the Men in Blue winning the 2025 Champions Trophy, the 2026 T20 World Cup as well as the 2025 Asia Cup.

However, the team’s Test form under him has left a lot to be desired with India getting whitewashed by New Zealand and South Africa at home in 2024 and 2025 respectively. They also failed to retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy, losing the series 3-1.

Recently, with a new T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer at the helm, the shortest format has also shown concerning results with India getting whitewashed by Ireland and then by England, losing two consecutive series.

In the 1st ODI vs England on Tuesday, India finally went back to winning ways with a 6-wicket victory over the hosts. They will face England in 2 more matches and will hope to win this series and leave English soil on a high, like they did in the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Test series where an Indian team in transition drew 2-2 with the hosts.