Root, Morgan combine as England thrash India to clinch ODI series

First drop Joe Root struck a blistering century while skipper Eoin Morgan well-supported him with a fifty as England thrashed India by eight wickets in the third and final ODI to clinch the three-match series 2-1 here at the Headingley Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

Chasing a respectable target of 257 runs to win, England made a slow start to their innings as they lost openers James Vince and Jonny Bairstow lowly for 27 and 30 runs respectively.

However, Root steadied his side's innings as he not only notched a spectacular 100-run knock off 120 balls but also shared a match-winning 180-run stand for the third wicket with Morgan to help England chase down the target with 33 balls to spare.

Besides Shardul Thakur, none of the Indian bowlers was able to contribute with any wicket.

Earlier, England had won the toss and asked India to bat first.

After losing opener Rohit Sharma for merely two runs, his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan (44) and skipper Virat Kohli (71) stitched a crucial 71-run partnership for the second wicket to steady the visiting side's innings.

Subsequently, former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (42), Hardik Pandya (21), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (21) and Shardul Thakur (unbeaten at 22) also made some contributions with the bat as India posted a score of 256 for eight.

For England, David Willey and Adil Rashid bagged three wickets each while Mark Wood also chipped in with a wicket.

Rashid was adjudged 'Player of the Match' for his brilliant contribution with the ball, while Root was named 'Player of the Series'.

Earlier, India won the opening ODI by eight wickets before England bounced back to clinch the second match by five wickets.