ENG vs IND, 2nd ODI match report: Joe Root's unbeaten 99 powers England to series-levelling win
Brief Scores: England (235/6 in 44.1 ovs) beat India (233 in 44 ovs) by four wickets to level the three-match ODI series 1-1 in Cardiff.
Joe Root was left stranded on 99 not out but carried England to a four-wicket win over India in the second ODI at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Thursday as the hosts levelled the three-match series at 1-1.
After England’s pace attack bowled India out for 233 in 44 overs, Root anchored the chase with another measured innings, taking the hosts home with 20 balls to spare. He became the first England batter to finish an ODI innings unbeaten on 99 and only the 17th player overall to remain stranded on that score.
IND vs ENG, 2nd ODI: Highlights | Scorecard
More importantly for England, Root ensured the three-match series heads to a decider at Lord’s on Sunday.
Harry Brook’s decision to bowl first proved decisive as England’s seamers never allowed India to settle for long. Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson claimed three wickets apiece, while Saqib Mahmood picked up two as the hosts shared nine of the 10 wickets to fall. India had two batters with half-centuries and were well placed for a strong total before another familiar collapse left them with a total that always looked within England’s reach.
Shubman Gill set the early tempo with a brisk 31 off 30 deliveries, but Rohit Sharma’s difficult run in the format continued at the other end. The former captain struggled to rotate the strike, spent long periods tied down by England’s disciplined bowling and eventually made 26 from 47 balls before top-edging an attempted sweep off Will Jacks to Jos Buttler. It was another innings in which Rohit never looked settled, leaving Gill to do most of the early scoring before Virat Kohli arrived at the crease.
Kohli, though, looked far more assured than he has in recent weeks. He drove fluently through the off side, was quick to latch on to anything overpitched and handled Archer’s pace with confidence during a well-compiled 65 from 66 balls. At the other end, Shreyas Iyer once again showed why he has become India’s most dependable middle-order batter in the format, making 66 from 71 deliveries. England tested him consistently with the short ball, but he responded with authority, pulling Archer for six to bring up another fifty.
Their partnership put India back in control after the early wicket and, at 179 for four, the visitors appeared set for a total well in excess of 250. England, however, wrestled back the initiative through Archer. The fast bowler extracted extra bounce from a back-of-a-length delivery to force a leading edge from Kohli, and that breakthrough triggered a collapse India could not arrest.
Washington Sundar scored two, Axar Patel managed one and Shivam Dube fell for a duck as England ripped through the lower middle order. India lost four wickets for just 15 runs in 26 deliveries, undoing the platform built by Kohli and Iyer. Bumrah’s unbeaten 20 pushed the total to 233, but by the innings break it already felt 30 or 40 runs short of what India had looked capable of posting.
Archer finished with 3 for 47, Atkinson returned 3 for 50, and Mahmood claimed 2 for 52 as England’s seamers set up the chase with another disciplined display.
India’s defense could not have started any better. Bumrah dismissed Ben Duckett with the first ball of the innings, drawing an outside edge that Ishan Kishan accepted comfortably behind the stumps, before Prasidh Krishna removed Jacob Bethell after opening with a maiden over to leave England at 11 for two.
Those early breakthroughs, however, only brought Root to the crease sooner than England would have expected. The former captain absorbed the pressure without changing his method, first rebuilding alongside Harry Brook before adding important partnerships with Will Jacks and Sam Curran. He never allowed the asking rate to become an issue, rotating the strike consistently and cashing in whenever India erred in length.
Root’s innings was not built on a barrage of boundaries. Nine fours punctuated an otherwise patient knock, with the bulk of his runs coming through sharp running between the wickets and intelligent placement. Every partnership chipped away at the target and every quiet phase was followed by another spell of accumulation, leaving India searching for wickets that never came.
Gus Atkinson eventually settled the contest with a hooked six off Bumrah, completing the chase with 20 balls remaining and leaving Root unbeaten on 99. The missed century was a statistical quirk rather than the story of the evening as England responded impressively to their defeat in the series opener and head to Lord’s with the momentum for Sunday’s decider.
For India, Kohli’s return to form and another assured innings from Iyer were encouraging signs, but Rohit’s continued struggles and the collapse after Kohli’s dismissal once again exposed the fragility of the batting line-up. England, by contrast, were clinical with the ball and composed in the chase, with Root once again providing the calm head around which the innings revolved.
– Ends
