IND vs ENG: Joe Root missed a century, victory snatched from India’s mouth, England returned to the series by winning the second ODI

New Delhi. In the second ODI played at Sophia Gardens ground in Cardiff, England made a spectacular comeback and defeated the Indian team by 4 wickets. The English team, which came to chase the target of 234 runs set by India, had a very bad start when Jasprit Bumrah sent Ben Duckett (0) to the pavilion in the very first over and soon Jacob Bethel (4) also became the victim of Prasidh Krishna. At a very critical juncture, England’s most reliable batsman Joe Root took charge. Root held one end firmly and played a match-winning inning of unbeaten 99 runs in 133 balls with the help of 9 fours. Although he missed his century by just one run, his classic and captaincy innings made the path to victory easier for the host team.

In the middle order, Joe Root got good support from captain Harry Brook (16), Sam Curran (26) and Will Jacques (30), who made small but important contributions while batting intelligently. In the end, Gus Atkinson scored an unbeaten 23 runs in 16 balls, taking England to the winning score of 235 runs at the loss of 6 wickets in 44.1 overs. In India’s bowling, Gurnoor Brar took maximum 2 wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Axar Patel and Shivam Dubey got 1-1 success. With this spectacular victory, England has leveled the three-match ODI series 1-1, making the last match of the series very exciting and decisive.

Collapse of Indian innings and deadly bowling of England
Despite half-century innings by Virat Kohli (65 runs) and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer (66 runs), the Indian team was reduced to 233 runs in 44 overs. Kohli’s innings reminded him of his good old days, but captain Rohit Sharma (26 runs) was seen struggling. Due to the deadly spell of Joffra Archer (3 wickets for 47 runs in 10 overs), the middle order of the Indian team faltered badly, in which four wickets fell in just 15 runs. Apart from this, for England, Gus Atkinson took three wickets for 50 runs while Saqib Mahmood took two wickets for 52 runs.

Kohli’s classic innings and Iyer’s courageous struggle
Kohli’s 66-ball innings included eight brilliant fours, of which the ‘back-drive’ off Archer’s ball was the most beautiful. On the other hand, Rohit played 47 balls which included nine dot balls and he lost his wicket easily. In such a situation, vice-captain Shreyas Iyer proved to be the real hero of batting for India. He played an excellent innings, hitting five fours and two sixes in 71 balls. Iyer bravely faced England’s short balls and completed his half-century by hitting a six off Archer, although he did not get much support from the other end. Earlier, England captain Harry Brook had won the toss and decided to bowl first.

Gill’s good start and Rohit-Kohli’s partnership
Indian opener Shubhman Gill made a good start by scoring 31 runs (six fours) in 30 balls, while Rohit Sharma was seen struggling to find the gap at the other end. Ultimately, Gill was caught out after playing Atkinson’s ball in the air. Kohli, who came to the crease after Gill’s dismissal, did not take much time to pick up the rhythm. He hit a brilliant straight drive off Archer and a four in deep mid-wicket. When Adil Rashid came to bowl, Kohli also played a unique ‘slog sweep’ towards the ‘cow corner’. On the other hand, Rohit hit a six on Atkinson’s ball but he could not find his rhythm and was eventually out on Will Jacques’ ball. However, before getting out, both of them added 60 runs in 61 balls for the second wicket.

Kishan’s technical weakness and middle order surrender
The technical shortcomings of Ishan Kishan (1 run) were once again exposed, in which his inability to play short and high bouncy balls was clearly visible. He gave away his wicket on a simple bouncer from Sam Curran. After this, Kohli and Iyer together made an important partnership of 67 runs for the fourth wicket.

But here an extra bouncing ball from Joffra Archer changed the entire match. Archer’s ball touched the upper part of Kohli’s bat and bounced in the air and the fielder standing at third man took an easy catch. Iyer was looking in great form and it seemed that he had improved his technique against the short ball. But at the other end, batsmen like Washington Sundar (2), Akshar Patel (1) and Shivam Dubey (0) looked completely helpless. Within no time, India’s score reached 194 runs for 7 wickets, which dashed the team’s hopes of reaching a big score.