This had it all. Well, maybe except something in the pitch for the bowlers. But otherwise, this final ODI between England and India had all the elements of a classic. With the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Joe Root batting under the bright Lord's sun, it felt wonderfully retro at times, but there was enough funk and enough runs at play to make it a thoroughly post-modern contest. A 387-plays-360 affair, the highest aggregate in an ODI at Lord's. Let's unpack it all.

Rohit isn't going anywhere ...

... for now. After a couple of days of questions, speculation and more questions, Rohit Sharma produced an evening of answers. He may already have had enough in the bank to keep his place on the road to the 2027 ODI World Cup, but he topped it up in style with his first ODI hundred at Lord's, his eighth in England and his 34th overall in the format. India's selectors now have an interesting call to make. Rohit will be well into his 40s by the time the World Cup comes around, but he is also one of the greatest ODI batters the game has seen and, as this innings showed, there is still plenty left in the tank.

Just take the way he batted in this match. Looking a notch above every other Indian batter, Rohit adapted to the slow surface better than anyone else on show. The way he adjusted his bat speed to especially counter the slower balls from Sam Curran, whose 4 for 75 eventually made the difference, was beautiful to watch. But, unfortunately for India, the opener's 110-ball 138 wasn't enough to take them home.

Which brings us to India's bowling.

The bowlers missed their mark

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah (who was out after hurting his knee during the second ODI), the lack of experience showed.

Perhaps it was the Lord's slope but none of India's quicks except Prasidh Krishna hit the 6-8 metre length consistently enough in the first Powerplay. Additionally, they strayed down the line far too often, allowing England's openers to score freely. Axar, India's only slow-bowling option, was easier to line up on a pitch that offered considerably lower bounce than Birmingham or Cardiff, bringing the sweep and reverse-sweep into play far more often. And India's bowlers looked out of wits during stands of 192 and 62 (off only 19 balls) that punctuated England's innings on either side, giving away 27 runs in the first three overs and 62 in the last three, despite the ball reversing.

Four quicks, five bowlers, plenty of questions

Four fast bowlers plus Axar Patel. Only five bowling options. No Kuldeep Yadav. This was the combination India went in. The selection, and the series loss, leave India with some serious questions one year out from a World Cup. For, this was India's fourth defeat in seven bilateral ODI series since the start of 2024, and they are yet to win back-to-back series in that period. That is quite a contrast from the previous World Cup cycle, when they won 12 of their 16 bilateral ODI series between 2021 and 2023. Their record in SENA countries has also been mediocre this decade, with just seven wins from 24 ODIs and six series defeats in eight attempts since 2020.

With a year to go for the 2027 World Cup, when the majority of India's games are likely to be played in South Africa, the bigger questions are around balance. The core of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and now Rohit Sharma looks secure, but India still need clarity over their bowling combinations, particularly the fast-bowling all-rounder's role in South African conditions. Quality spin-bowling all-rounders aren't going to cut it.

Both Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy weren't available for this series, while Shivam Dube was benched for this decider, and the lack of a quality seam-bowling all-rounder was evident. Filling that gap will be one of India's biggest tasks over the next year.

Bethell gives England's ODI side another dimension

For a side that came into this series ranked seventh and without a bilateral ODI series win over either India or Australia since 2019, England gave very good account of themselves. A large part of that was down to Jacob Bethell, who was promoted to open alongside Ben Duckett only this series and has already begun to look at home.

The pair once again laid the platform with a mammoth 192-run opening stand, England's highest partnership for any wicket against India in ODIs and their first century opening stand since the 2023 ODI World Cup. But Bethell's contribution went well beyond his 91 off 93 balls. On a surface where pace-off deliveries held up, his brisk left-arm spin gave Harry Brook another genuine bowling option as he kept Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli relatively quiet through the middle overs before finishing with 7-0-1-49.

Joe Root continues to be Joe Root

India still don't have an answer to Joe Root. They tried posting a gully to cut off his easy singles, but Root simply found other pockets of the field. In this decider, they held him relatively quiet through the middle overs, only for him to unveil a more expansive range late in the innings and power England to what eventually proved a match-winning total. Root's unbeaten half-century extended a remarkable run of consistency, with scores in his last six ODI innings now reading 61, 75, 111*, 76*, 99* and 74* (latest). It was little surprise then that he was named Player of the Series.