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Rohit Sharma’s blazing ton helps India thrash England in 2nd ODI, clinch 7th straight series

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Rohit Sharma’s blazing ton helps India thrash England in 2nd ODI, clinch 7th straight series
Rohit Sharma’s blazing ton helps India thrash England in 2nd ODI, clinch 7th straight series

New Delhi: Skipper Rohit Sharma roared back to form and ended his 16-month-long century drought with a blistering knock of 119 runs to help India beat England by 4 wickets in the 2nd ODI at the Barabagti Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday. India sealed the three-match series with an unassailable 2-0 lead after bagging their second win on the trot against the Jos Buttler-led side.

India recorded their seventh straight ODI series victory against England at home with their win in Cuttack to continue their dominance on home soil. Thanks to Rohit’s return to form, India made light work of the 305-run target in Cuttack with a dominant batting display. The Indian skipper notched up his 32nd ODI ton and his second-fastest hundred in ODIs.

Amid questions over his form and future, Rohit responded to his critics in style with a knock that will give him a new lease of life ahead of the all-important Champions Trophy. Rohit’s 119 off 90 balls was laced with 12 fours and 7 sixes as he made a mockery of the England bowling attack on a flat track at the Barabati Stadium.

Rohit, Gill shine in chase

In pursuit of the tricky 305-run target, openers Rohit and Shubman Gill got India off to a flyer with a 136-run stand for the first wicket. While Rohit played the aggressor in the partnership, Gill played the anchor’s role to perfection on his way to notching up his second successive half-century in the series. The duo took the attack to the England bowlers from the word go in the chase and never looked back.

Rohit completed his fifty off just 30 balls while Gill took 45 balls to reach his half-century en route to their 136-run opening stand. Their partnership set the stage for a thumping victory for India as the other made sure to capitalise on the momentum set by the duo. While Rohit went on to notch up his first ton in 16 months, Gill scored 60 off 52 balls before getting cleaned up by Jamie Overton in the 17th over.

It was Gill’s second fifty on the trot after he hammered a brilliant 87 in the series opener against England in Nagpur earlier this week. Gill was back opening the innings for India in the 2nd ODI on Sunday after Yashasvi Jaiswal was dropped from the playing XI to make way for Virat Kohli. However, Kohli flopped on his comeback as he was dismissed cheaply on 5.

Kohli fell once again to Adil Rashid, who got him caught behind the wicket with a drifting outside-off delivery as the India star’s woeful run with the bat continued. However, Rohit combined with Shreyas Iyer (44) to share another important stand of 70 runs for the third wicket before getting dismissed on 119. It was a terrific knock from the Indian skipper, who surpassed Rahul Dravid to become India’s 4th highest run-getter in ODI history behind Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli and Sourav Ganguly.

After Rohit’s departure, Iyer missed out on another well-deserving fifty following an unfortunate run-out. However, Axar Patel slammed an unbeaten 41 and combined with Ravindra Jadeja (11*) to guide India to a comprehensive victory with 5.3 overs to spare.

Ravindra Jadeja spins a web against England

Jadeja continued his impressive run with the ball as he spun a web around the England batting line-up after the visitors won the toss and opted to bat first in the game. Jadeja got the important wickets of half-centurions Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Overton to finish with excellent figures of 3/35 off his 10 overs.

Mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy also impressed on his ODI debut as he returned with figures of 1/54 off his 10 overs, dismissing the dangerous Phil Salt to hand India their first breakthrough in the game. Pacers Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana picked up a wicket apiece to help the hosts bundle out England for 304 runs in 49.5 overs.

Root top-scored for England with a 69-run knock while Duckett slammed 65 runs to give the visitors a strong start at the top. Liam Livingstone played a crucial knock of 41 runs off 32 balls in the lower middle order to help England finish strongly and cross the 300-run mark. However, 304 was not enough as India mauled the visitors again to bag their second win on the trot.

 Rohit Sharma smashed a brilliant knock of 119 runs to help India chase down the target of 305 runs comfortably and beat England by 4 wickets in the 2nd ODI to clinch the three-match series with an unassailable 2-0 lead.  Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today

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