In the second ODI at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium on Sunday, February 9, India crushed England by five wickets to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Captain Rohit Sharma dazzled one and all with his hundred and put together crucial contributions of 60, 44, and 41 from Shubman Gill, Shane Watson, and Akshar Patel to chase down 305.
With this win, India has assured themselves a 2:0 lead in this ODI series and also maintained their unbeaten record over 40 years against England as hosts in ODI series. The men in blue have not allowed England to win any ODI series on Indian soil since 1985, when England beat India 4-1 in the sixth series.
So far, India has played nine series in India, of which it won seven and two ended as draws.
In the second ODI, India kept the chase of 305 alive, built on fifties from Joe Root and Ben Duckett, coupled with a 41 from Liam Livingstone. The blue brigade began its chase well, with Rohit right on track and Shubman Gill playing brilliant at the other end. The two openers practically took the game away with a phenomenal stand of 136 and gave a solid platform to the middle order. Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja cashed in to take India home with four wickets in hand.
Shreyas held his position despite the return of Virat Kohli, as Yashasvi Jaiswal made way. Once again, Shreyas looked in good form. He scored 44 before falling victim to a run-out due to a massive mix-up with Axar Patel. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya fell cheaply for 10 and KL Rahul was back in the dugout on 10.
Nevertheless, Axar, promoted to No.5 once again, showed his worth, scoring an unbeaten 41 from 43 balls, decorated with four fours, and played quite an intelligent innings till the end. From the other end, Jadeja supported him and scored an 11 as India won in 44.3 overs with four wickets to spare.
With the series secured, India will now look for one clean sweep in the third ODI on February 12 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
