Hosts go up 2-0 in 3-match ODI series versus England
Cuttack, Feb 9: Under pressure with questions over form and mounting retirement speculations, skipper Rohit Sharma silenced it all with a vintage 32nd century, firing India to a dominant four-wicket series-clinching victory over England in the second ODI, here on Sunday.
Opting to bat on a belter, England were bowled out for 304 in 49.5 overs with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (3/35) continuing his stranglehold over the visitors.
The 37-year-old Indian skipper made the chase a lopsided affair, returning to his World Cup 2023 best with impeccable timing and effortless strokeplay en route to his 90-ball 119 — his century No 32 in ODIs that came just in time ahead of the Champions Trophy in less than two weeks.
His 90-ball masterclass, studded with seven sixes and 12 fours, set the tone as India cruised to the target in 44.3 overs to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead going into the final ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Shubman Gill also made a fluent 60 off 52 balls (9×4, 1×6) but it felt overshadowed in comparison to Rohit in their solid opening partnership of 136 runs — their sixth century-plus stand together.
Back after missing out the Nagpur ODI because of a swollen knee, star batter Virat Kohli (5) fell cheaply edging a Adil Rashid leg-break. Rashid has now got Kohli four times in ODIs.
Rohit then had a fruitful 70-run stand with Shreyas Iyer (44) before he was dismissed off a full toss with Rashid taking a fine backward running catch.
Iyer soon departed following a runout, while KL Rahul (10) and Hardik Pandya (10) also fell cheaply.
But there was hardly any run-rate pressure and Axar Patel (41 not out) held his ground as he along with Ravindra Jadeja (11 not out) completed the formalities with 33 balls to spare.
Rohit’s knock also saw him surpass (10,987) Rahul Dravid’s 10,889 runs to enter the top-10 ODI run-scorers’ list. He now requires 13 runs to complete 11,000 ODI runs.His pull shots had precision, his cuts carried flair, and there were no mishits. He even unleashed a cool reverse sweep off Rashid, pure dominance written in his innings.He signalled his intent early, charging down to Gus Atkinson for a four before flicking a six over mid-wicket with ease that had the Rohit-esque flair.
Against Saqib Mahmood, he opened the bat face to loft a stunning six over cover as he seemed to have got his mojo back.
A 35-minute floodlight failure when Rohit was on 29 couldn’t disrupt his rhythm.
Resuming with the same intensity, he glanced Mahmood for a fine boundary and then took charge of Mark Wood’s 140-plus deliveries with disdain.
Luck also played its part — on 36, he survived an LBW call against Wood on the umpire’s call, with the ball clipping the top of leg stump.The very next delivery, he responded in style, launching an over-pitched delivery over mid-on for a six as he raced to a 30-ball fifty.Against Rashid, he was equally assured, cutting and sweeping the leg-spinner for boundaries.He brought up his three figures in 76 balls, spanking Rashid over long-off — his first in 14 innings.
This was also his second fastest hundred. His fastest was a 63-ball hundred against Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup.
Earlier, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja continued his stranglehold over English batters with brilliant figures of 3/35 as India bowled out the visitors for a sub-par 304 after opting to bat. (PTI)
Brief Scores
England: 304 all out in 49.5 overs (Ben Duckett 65, Joe Root 69, Liam Livingstone 41; Ravindra Jadeja 3/35).
India: 308/6 in 44.3 overs (Rohit Sharma 119, Shubman Gill 60, Shreyas Iyer 44; Jamie Overton 2/27
England to fly in Banton as cover for injured Bethell
Cuttack, Feb 9: England on Sunday called up batter Tom Banton as a cover for injured all-rounder Jacob Bethell for third ODI against India at Ahmedabad.
Bethell, who scored a half-century and took a wicket in England’s four-wicket defeat in the first ODI at Nagpur, had sustained a left hamstring injury.
“The injury will be assessed further when the team arrives in Ahmedabad on Monday (for the third ODI on Wednesday),” said an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) release on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Banton, a wicketkeeper-batter has played six ODIs, scoring 134 runs with a highest of 58.
“Banton, who last played for England in an ODI in August 2020, has been in outstanding form in T20 franchise cricket. He is currently the leading run-scorer in the UAE ILT20 competition, where he has amassed 493 runs from 11 innings at an average of 54.77, including two centuries,” said the release.
Baton will arrive in India on Monday. India are 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series.
They made three changes to the side for the second ODI here, bringing in Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton in the playing XI in place of the injured Bethell, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer. (PTI)
Rohit Sharma surpasses Chris Gayle’s record
Cuttack, Feb 9: The moment India captain Rohit Sharma found his groove he didn’t waste much time to surpass the former West Indies explosive opener Chris Gayle for the record of second-highest sixes in the ODIs.
During the ongoing second ODI between India and England in Cuttack on Sunday, Rohit finally showed signs of returning to his usual destructive self. It was a batting paradise in Cuttack and the seasoned opener made the most of everything on offer during India’s 305-run chase.
Till the 22nd over, Rohit’s tally of sixes in the ODIs stood at 336, bettering Gayle’s record of 331. Pakistan’s former deadly all-rounder Shahid Afridi still holds the record for the most sixes in ODIs. Known for his raw power, Afridi had tonked 351 sixes in the ODIs.
Former Sri Lanka batter Sanath Jayasuriya slipped to the fourth spot with 270 sixes in the ODIs. Former India skipper MS Dhoni moved to the fifth position with 229 sixes in the format.Unlike the previous occasions, Rohit didn’t rush into aggression from the very first ball. He waited for the right moment to open his arms and eventually found it on the fifth ball of the second over.Rohit demonstrated his timing and power with a flick of his wrists to smoke the ball past the boundary rope. The Indian skipper went past Gayle for the record of most sixes in the ODIs. (ANI)