England vs India ODIs: 5 instances when England got bamboozled by an Indian spinner

On 19 June 2018, England bludgeoned the Aussies in Nottingham, scoring a world record of 481-6 and won the match by a huge margin of 242 runs. Nearly a month later, the same England team has been deceived by an extraordinary spell of 23-year old Indian Chinaman.

Since the 2015 World Cup, the England team has depicted fearless brand of cricket under Morgan's captaincy. But when it comes to Indian spin bowling, they have always been vulnerable to its precision and uncertainty.

The T20I series between England and India provided an exciting start to the long tour and gave us a glimpse of the current Indian team's versatile nature building up to the ODI series.

ODI series

Winning the toss and deciding to bowl first in the series opener, Kohli realized that bringing in the Chinaman early was necessary after the blistering start by England openers in the powerplay. Kuldeep got rid of Jason Roy in the 2nd ball of his spell, starting a landslide in their innings.

Ending with magical figures of 10-0-25-6, he registered the best bowling figure in a match by a left-arm spinner, restricting England to an under par score of 268. With Rohit's unbeaten 137 off 114 balls, India recorded their second best-ever win against England (in terms of no. of balls left to spare) in ODIs.

Jos Buttler getting out down the leg-side, caught by MS Dhoni

At the post-match presentation, Eoin Morgan said- "Playing against spin is a challenge we will hopefully continue to improve on. Kuldeep extracted more turn than any other spinner. Our playing against spin will have to improve. To be honest, between now and the World Cup we need to expose our areas of weakness and this is one of them."

Though Morgan's concern is right at the moment, the England team's vulnerability to Indian spinners goes way long back into decades. So its time to have a look at some intriguing spells by Indian spinners against England.

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#5 Ravindra Jadeja (8-0-33-4), Kolkata (2010)

Jadeja celebrating after the wicket of Kieswetter in Kolkata

Coming into the team after some good performances in U-19 World Cup, Jadeja made his mark as an allrounder in a 5-match ODI series against England in 2010. Being 0-4 down in the series, England looked for a consolation win in the last match.

Keeping in mind that the Indian team are good chasers, Cook won the toss and decided to bowl first on a spin pitch in Kolkata. Chasing a total of 272, England were cruising towards the target with ease as Cook and Kieswetter notched up a 100-run opening partnership in 16 overs.

Jadeja with his supreme accuracy gave India a crucial breakthrough with Kieswetter's wicket. He along with Ashwin created a havoc in England's innings and reduced them to a paltry score of 176 from 129-1. With his hostile spell of 8-0-33-4, Jadeja won the man of the match award.

#4 Ravindra Jadeja (7-0-28-4), Cardiff (2014)

England v India - Royal London One-Day series 2014

Being on the verge of losing a home series with 0-1 down, Cook decided to field first in the 2nd game of a 3-match ODI series. Though India struggled at one stage with 132-4, a classy century from 75 balls by Raina propelled the Indian team past the 300-run mark.

With 304 on the board, the pair of Shami-Bhuvi gave India the perfect start with 3 wickets at the top. After a perfect platform laid by the new ball bowlers, Jadeja came into the attack. His accurate length and arm-balls deceived the England middle-order batsman.

Struggling to pick his line, star players like Stokes, Buttler, and Hales failed against Jadeja. In 7 overs, he picked up 4 wickets and helped India to clinch the series with an unassailable lead of 2-0.

#3 Yuvraj Singh (10-0-28-4), Indore (2008)

Yuvraj Singh, the Part-time spinner rattling the England line-up

Termed as one of the best performances by an allrounder, it came in one of the controversial 7-match ODI series (Mumbai 26/11 incident) against England. Batting first on a bouncy pitch in Indore, India were struggling at 29-3. Yuvraj thrived under pressure to score a wonderful century (118 off 122 balls), helping India to post a match-winning total of 292.

After losing their opening wicket cheaply, England regrouped very well to reach 102-1 at the end of 23 overs. And again the man with a golden arm (Yuvraj) came to rescue, breaking the 96-run partnership.

With his slingy action, Yuvraj bagged four top-order wickets, leaving England stumbled at the end. Yuvraj was adjudged as man of the match for his one-man show, leading India to a 2-0 lead in the series.

#2 Harbhajan Singh (10-1-43-5), Mumbai

Harbhajan Singh- The Punjabi Turbanator

Each and every Indian fan would remember this most electrifying 6-match series against England (mostly due to Flintoff's behaviour after the 6th match).

With the series on the line at 2-3, England decided to bat on a spin turf in India's fort (Mumbai). Harbhajan (Bhajji) with his stock delivery (off-spinner) and doosra, was unplayable in the dust-bowl. After a fascinating spell, Bhajji ended up with a 5-wicket haul which included important wickets of Trescothick and Collingwood.

Though India restricted England to a par score of 255, the Indian team found it difficult to chase down the total, falling short by 5 runs. By this win, England drew the series 3-3 and Flintoff came out with the famous shirtless celebration.

#1 Harbhajan Singh (10-2-31-5), Delhi (2006)

Highest wicket-taker in the 7-match ODI series against England

After winning the toss, Flintoff decided to field first on a day match in Delhi. The Indian team struggled to find the rhythm and were reduced to 146-7, leaving Dhoni and Bhajji in the crease. Both of them stitched a crucial 55-run partnership for the 8th wicket to put up a decent total of 203 on the board.

Having to defend a meagre total of 204, India had the best start provided by Irfan Pathan, picking up 2 wickets in the 1st over. Bhajji with his variations, dried up the runs with crucial wickets and 2 maidens in his spell.

The enormous pressure built up in the middle overs by him resulted in another 5-wicket haul, guiding India to a 1-0 lead by 39 runs. With 37 runs and 5 wickets in the match, Harbhajan was rightfully adjudged as man of the match.