Rohit Sharma hit an imperious century as India clinched a four-wicket victory over England in the second ODI in Cuttack to clinch an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
Chasing 305 for victory, Sharma’s inspired 119 off 90 balls and 136-run opening stand with Shubman Gill (60) laid such sturdy foundations for the Indian run chase it was able to weather a flurry of late wickets and still be completed with 5.3 overs to spare.
England looked to have established a firm foothold after winning the toss and electing to bat, with Ben Duckett (65) orchestrating an 81-run opening partnership with Phil Salt before Joe Root hit his 40th ODI half-century on his way to scoring 69.
Duckett and Root fell victim to spinner Ravindra Jadeja (3-35), with England’s best performers with the bat unable to match the heights of Sharma, whose 32nd ODI century ensured India made light work of chasing down the 304 England posted in 49.5 overs.
India secure series with ruthless display of firepower
Duckett smashed nine boundaries inside eight overs to spearhead an important 81-run first-wicket stand for England. His partner Phil Salt, who scored more modestly, was gifted a huge reprieve when he was inexcusably dropped on six by Axar Patel in the sixth over.
It didn’t prove too costly for India, with Salt only adding 20 runs before falling to Varun Chakravarthy in the same over as Duckett clinched his half-century in 36 balls and Root survived a first-ball scare and lbw review.
Ben Duckett enjoyed a 61-run opening stand alongside Phil Salt
Duckett would add another boundary and 14 more runs before he was undone by the varying pace of Jadeja, who tempted him into a lunging slog-sweep which fell into the hands of Hardik Pandya at long-on.
His replacement Harry Brook could have departed for a five-ball duck, but umpire Chris Brown’s dismissal of India’s lbw appeals saw him survive the subsequent appeal.
It was a reprieve England took advantage of, with Brook and Root piling on 66 runs for the third wicket, with Brook taking a particular liking to Harshit Rana, who he hit to the boundary on two occasions.
Harshit would hit back and secure India a timely wicket, with variation in pace doing for Brook as he looped a shot towards the boundary where the sprinting Shubman Gill took a sublime catch over his shoulder on the dive at long-on.
Joe Root hit 69 off 72 balls in Cuttack
Out came Buttler and he would go at a run-a-ball, steadying the ship alongside Root, who brought up his 40th ODI fifty off 60 deliveries before the England captain took their partnership to 50 off 52 balls.
The celebrations were swiftly curtailed, with Buttler falling to another fine Gill catch in the same Hardik over, though there was still hope of England posting a competitive score after reaching the 40-over mark on 230-4.
Root was chiefly tasked with making those objectives a reality, but he departed on 69 after picking out Virat Kohli at long-off off the bowling of Jadeja, who sent Jamie Overton packing for just six in his next over, as Gill was presented with his easiest catch of the day.
Ravindra Jadeja finished with figures of 3-35, including the wickets of Duckett and Root
Livingstone led the England charge towards 300, hitting Harshit for two sixes, and received support after Gus Atkinson had departed from Rashid, who chipped in with valuable late boundaries as England were bowled out for 304 in 49.5 overs.
India, though, flew out of the gates and Rohit took centre stage, with Saqib Mahmood, twice, and Atkinson, once, taken the distance before a floodlight failure led to the players briefly going off.
The delay might have disrupted Rohit, who bludgeoned Mark Wood high over long-on for six having survived an lbw review the ball before, with the not-out decision upheld despite the delivery clipping the stumps.
Even Rashid’s introduction in the powerplay failed to stem the boundaries, swept and cut for fours as Rohit reached a 30-ball fifty, and the leg-spinner was slog-swept for six by Gill in his next over.
Gill had been in the shadow of Rohit but brought up a 45-ball fifty shortly after two lofted cover drives for four off Rashid before his off-stump was uprooted on 60 by Overton’s superb yorker.
Shubman Gill supported Rohit Sharma in a 136-run stand for India’s first wicket
Kohli lasted eight deliveries before nibbling at Rashid, the not-out decision overturned on review to pin-drop silence.
The crowd were celebrating again when Rohit danced down to Rashid and planted him over long-off for his seventh six and a 76-ball hundred, although the opener was dismissed with 85 needed when he toe-ended a Livingstone full toss to midwicket.
As in Nagpur, India stumbled rather than steamed to victory, Shreyas Iyer chipping in with 44 and Axar surviving a run-out chance on six when Salt failed to gather cleanly to make 41 not out.
But a dramatic finale never seemed to be in the offing and England now head to Ahmedabad for their final outing before the Champions Trophy in Pakistan this month.
Buttler: No batter caught fire for us
🎤 England captain Jos Buttler:
“I think we did a lot of things well and got in some nice positions with the bat. We just needed a few of us to catch fire and kick on and push up towards 350, which may have been defendable.
“Credit to Rohit, he played a fantastic knock under a lot of pressure and he has been doing that a lot in ODI cricket for some time.”
Rohit: I wanted to bat as deep as possible
🎤 India captain and Player of the Match, Rohit Sharma:
“I really enjoyed being out there and scoring runs for the team with a series on the line. I broke it down into pieces about how I wanted to bat.
“I wanted to assess things at regular intervals as it was important for a set batter to go as deep as possible and that was my focus.
“The middle overs are crucial and in both games so far we have squeezed and taken wickets. But we want to keep getting together as a team.
“If guys are clear in what is expected of them from coach and captain, there is not too much to think about.”
England will aim to bounce back in Wednesday’s third ODI in Ahmedabad ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy
Prior: Same frustrations again for England
🎤 Former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior, speaking on TNT Sports:
“I feel today was like the last match. England’s opening pair did well with the bat but India chased down a total again.
“Jos [Buttler] said after the last game they need to play better for longer and I was trying to work out what he means – but he’s right.
“England batters have to go and get bigger scores – 30s, 40s and 50s don’t win you matches, so I am sure that is something they will talk about.
“The bowlers then have to somehow build pressure so batters play bad shots and get out. They need wickets in the middle overs.”
England in India – results and fixtures 🏏
All times UK and Ireland ⏰
- First ODI (Nagpur): February 6 – India won by four wickets 🔵
- Second ODI (Cuttack): India won by four wickets 🔵
- Third ODI (Ahmedabad): Wednesday February 12 (8am) 🕗
