Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to familiar territory as India ai…

India will shift their attention to the three-match ODI series against England, hoping to leave behind the disappointment of a 4-0 defeat in the recently concluded T20I series. While the shortest format exposed several concerns, the return to 50-over cricket will bring back India’s most experienced batting pair, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, whose records in England highlight their class and quality.

The last time when India toured England for an ODI series, they sealed the series with a 2-1 margin. As both the sides are preparing to meet again, India will look for the guidance of the veteran duo as both of them have enjoyed remarkable success in England.

Rohit’s love affair with England

Rohit has been one of India’s most consistent ODI batters in England over the years. In 27 innings, the former India captain has scored 1,428 runs at an average of 64.90 while striking at 90.78. His total also includes seven centuries and seven half-centuries, highlighting his ability to convert starts into match-winning knocks. slot-chickenroad.org

Across his ODI career, Rohit has scored 11,720 runs in 285 matches at an average of 48.83 and a strike rate of 92.97. Although his appearances have been limited this year, he has shown encouraging signs. In six ODIs in 2026, Rohit has scored 204 runs and he will be aiming to continue the momentum in conditions that he normally enjoys.

BlogMallorca Edge Real Madrid 2-1 with Dramatic Stoppage-Time HeaderReal Madrid were beaten 2‑1 by Mallorca at Son Moix in early April 2026, with Vedat Muriqi scoring a stoppage‑time header after an own‑goal by Éder Militão had given the visitor...Open →

Kohli’s consistency in England

Kohli, on the other hand, has been equally destructive in England. The former India captain has scored 1,349 runs in 33 ODI innings at an average of 51.88 and a strike rate of 91.21. While he has registered only one century in England, his 12 half-centuries highlights his consistency and ability to anchor the innings.

Overall, Kohli continues to be one of the greatest ODI batters the world has ever seen. He has accumulated 14,797 runs from 311 matches at an impressive average of 58.71 and a strike rate of 93.82.

The 37-year-old will also enter the series in encouraging form. In India’s three-match ODI series against New Zealand, earlier this year, he scored 240 runs highlighting his ability to deliver in the format. He was ruled out from the ODI series against Afghanistan after suffering a hamstring injury during the IPL, but he is now set to return to action in England.

India will begin their ODI campaign on July 14 in Birmingham, where Rohit and Kohli will look to lead the team from the front and help India end their tour on a winning note.

For latest sports updates Follow RevSportz

The post Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to familiar territory as India aim to finish England tour on a high appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.

BCCI to change Indian support staff: इंग्लैंड और आयरलैंड दौरे पर निराशाजनक प्रदर्शन के बाद टीम इंडिया की जमकर आलोचना हो रही है। टीम मैनेजमेंट और खिलाड़ियों ने इन दोनों सीरीज में कई गलतियां कीं, जिसका खामियाजा यह हुआ कि भारतीय टीम 7 टी20 मुकाबलों में एक भी मैच नहीं जीत सकी। ऐसा माना जा रहा है कि इस शर्मनाक प्रदर्शन के बाद मुख्य कोच गौतम गंभीर पर गाज गिर सकती है। हालांकि, मीडिया रिपोर्ट्स के मुताबिक भारतीय क्रिकेट कंट्रोल बोर्ड (BCCI) सपोर्ट स्टाफ में फेरबदल करने वाला है।

Antonio Rattín’s death on 11 July came in one of those twists that only fate can throw up. Just a few hours later, Argentina booked a mouth-watering World Cup semi-final against England. His passing came exactly six decades after the countries’ first meeting in the knockout stages of a World Cup – a deeply controversial encounter at Wembley that saw Rattín sit defiantly on a pitch-side red carpet meant for the Queen for several minutes before finally being escorted away.

A Boca Juniors legend who spent 15 years with the club, Rattín was an elegant midfielder and the captain of that Argentina side. The country had never lacked gifted footballers, but after more than a decade in Brazil’s shadow, a siege mentality had taken hold and their style of play had acquired a harder edge. England’s players spoke afterwards of being spat at, pulled, elbowed in the ribs and generally roughed up.

It was after a robust challenge on Bobby Charlton that German referee Rudolf Kreitlein decided to send Rattín off for the alleged ‘violence of the tongue’ – an extraordinary explanation given that Kreitlein spoke neither Spanish nor Rattín German or English. From that moment, the rivalry only intensified.

England manager Sir Alf Ramsey famously referred to the Argentinians as “animals”, and that stereotype was reinforced by ill-tempered displays from Racing Club and Estudiantes against European opposition in the Intercontinental Cup over the following years.

Twenty years after Rattín’s dismissal, and four years after the Falklands War, the two nations met again at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico City. The whole world knows about Diego Maradona’s Hand of God goal, just as it remembers what followed: the Goal of the Century, as Maradona slalomed past half the England team before beating Peter Shilton. Victor Hugo Morales’ ecstatic commentary – “From what planet did you come?” – has become almost as iconic as the goal itself.

Twelve years later, Diego Simeone employed his own version of the dark arts to entice David Beckham into a retaliatory kick that earned the England midfielder a red card. Argentina eventually won the last-16 tie on penalties after Michael Owen’s wonder goal had given England the lead. Beckham, of course, gained his revenge four years later, his penalty helping England secure a victory that contributed to Argentina’s group-stage exit.

The teams have not met since, which is why Lionel Messi has never faced England during his glittering international career.

Rattín’s death may have closed one chapter, but the embers of this rivalry are ready to be stoked once more. Whether Thomas Tuchel or Lionel Scaloni chooses to play down the occasion is almost beside the point. Neither was even born when Rattín’s dismissal helped pave the way for the introduction of yellow and red cards at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

Yet as England and Argentina prepare to renew acquaintances on football’s biggest stage, expect the media and supporters on both sides to revisit the “animals” remark, the Hand of God and Maradona’s masterpiece. Few international rivalries carry as much history, emotion and baggage, and this latest chapter promises to be every bit as compelling as those that came before.

Follow Revsportz for latest sports news

The post England vs Argentina: A Rivalry Forged in Controversy, Fate and Footballing Folklore appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.

Boria Majumdar in Birmingham

Bazball. The hype around it has been surreal in recent times. It was as if, by being aggressive with both bat and ball irrespective of the match situation, England would simply blow the opposition away. Many believed the approach was condition-agnostic. The win in the first Test at Leeds in 2025 against India only added to the Bazball narrative and enhanced its aura.

But did it push the players towards a degree of brazen bravado? Isn’t there a very thin line between that and silliness? Putting India in to bat on a placid Edgbaston pitch in the second Test, for example, could only be described as brazenness. To play expansive shots on the second evening in Birmingham was fraught with risk, and when quality batters attempted them, it defied logic.

Coming into Birmingham, I couldn’t help but think back to the second Test last year and wonder whether that was the beginning of the end for Brendon McCullum, who was relieved of his duties as England’s Test coach on Sunday.

If there was one moment in the Birmingham Test that can, in hindsight, be labelled the turning point, it was Joe Root’s dismissal to Akash Deep off a dream delivery. Had Root stayed, England may not have lost the match. Instead, the batters around him continued to play high-risk shots.

That is why Bazball had to be questioned. If it doesn’t allow room for flexibility and prudence, it cannot succeed as a long-term strategy. Obstinacy may breed false aggression, but it cannot produce a winning formula for years.

England under McCullum never seemed to accept that Bazball would not always work. While it could succeed on certain occasions, it would invariably be tested in conditions that demanded attritional cricket.

Opponents, frankly, did not mind Bazball. In fact, they welcomed it. They knew that if they could keep England quiet for a few overs, a false shot would eventually come. The mindset was such that England simply would not change course. Did Bazball have a fall-back option? Did England under McCullum know how to play any other way? McCullum, it must be said, did not encourage his players to adapt, and that ultimately counted against him.

Perhaps it was only a matter of time. The way the last Test against New Zealand unfolded was, in many ways, a disservice to the game. Ben Stokes promoting himself to open the batting was unnecessary. However good a player he is, allowing him to do so was a strange decision by McCullum. That may well have been the final straw.

There is a lesson for India in McCullum’s story as well. It highlights the dangers of a one-dimensional approach and underlines why every team needs a Plan B. India has already seen how a high-risk, high-reward style can unravel in English conditions. Add McCullum’s sacking to the equation, and there is enough for Gautam Gambhir to reflect upon as he considers the adjustments that may be needed.

The game is always bigger than any philosophy, and no strategy can claim to have mastered all its nuances. McCullum learnt that lesson the hard way and paid the price. One hopes Gambhir gets it right – for himself and for India.

Follow Revsportz for latest sports news

The post McCullum’s Bazball downfall: Why cricket still demands a Plan B appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.