'Rohit Sharma has been batting like...': Jos Buttler's bold statement after 2nd ODI defeat

Jos Buttler-led England National Cricket Team struggled in the second ODI of the three-match series against India National Cricket Team at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

A poor performance from the Jos Buttler-led England saw the visitors facing a crushing 4-wicket loss in the match on Sunday, February 9.

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England shine with the bat but fail with the ball

Jos Buttler & Co. won the toss and chose to bat first in the match. They posted a good total of 304 runs on the board, thanks to the heroics of Ben Duckett and Joe Root - both of whom hit brilliant fifties.

Also, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, and Phil Salt played decent innings to help their side register a competitive score.

However, with the ball, England were quite poor as they were taken to the cleaners by Rohit Sharma. No English bowler looked dominant and the inability to pick wickets at regular intervals cost them the match.

I thought we did a lot of things well - Jos Buttler

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Jos Buttler said that they did a lot of right things but needed to bat even better to reach the score of 350.

Jos Buttler also lauded Rohit Sharma for playing a superb innings and added that they need to be positive despite results not going in their favor.

"I thought we did a lot of things well, we got into a nice position with the bat. We needed someone to push on and get us to 350. Credit to Rohit, he batted superbly, he has been batting like this since a few years in ODI cricket," Jos Buttler said.

"Wanted to get runs on the board, it skidded on and the opposition played well. We played the powerplay brilliant, we needed someone to kick on and a score around 330-350 would have been defendable. Just keep making steps in the right direction, the results are not there but we need to keep going and be positive," Jos Buttler added.

England Struggled In the Previous ODI Against India As Well

England suffered a four-wicket loss in the 1st ODI against India in Nagpur, with their batting and bowling performances failing miserably. Despite a promising start both with the bat and ball, the visitors failed to capitalize on it and finished up on the losing side.

Batting first, England got off to a flying start as Phil Salt (43 off 26) attacked the Indian bowlers. His partnership with Ben Duckett (32) took England to 75/0, but a horrible collapse followed next. A miscommunication led to Salt’s run-out, and debutant Harshit Rana struck twice in quick succession to remove Duckett and Harry Brook, reducing England to 77/3.

Despite good contributions from Jos Buttler (52) and Jacob Bethell (51), England struggled to get going. Joe Root (19) and Liam Livingstone (5) failed to make an impact, while Jofra Archer’s late cameo (21*) helped the team reach 248 before being bowled out in 47.4 overs.

While defending, the English team dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) and Rohit Sharma (2) early. However, Shubman Gill (87) and Shreyas Iyer (59) counterattacked effectively, putting England bowlers under pressure. Axar Patel also troubled England with his 52-run knock, further deflating England’s hopes, and despite some late wickets from Adil Rashid (2/49) and Saqib Mahmood (2/47), Brendon McCullum’s England faced a loss in his first ODI as the head coach.