England vs India, 2nd ODI: Hosts Make Stunning Comeback Courtesy Joe Root Century

England produced a magnificent all-round performance in the 2^nd ODI against India as they won it quite convincingly by 86 runs to level the series 1-1. The victory was largely built around a brilliant century from the blade of Test skipper Joe Root. He roared back to form with a 113. It was David Willey who provided the much-needed flourish in the late overs and scored a quickfire 50 off 31 deliveries. The bowling from England was quite impressive as well, as they defended the total of 322 with utmost comfort in the end.

The start was quite similar to that of Nottingham. The opening duo of Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow shared a brilliant 67 runs partnership which set the tone for England. However, it was Kuldeep Yadav yet again who halted their progress with twin strikes in quick succession. Both the openers were snapped up by Kuldeep as England were reduced to 86/2.

Root and Morgan’s impressive stand 

There was a great partnership of 103 runs between Joe Root and Eoin Morgan. Root was troubled on a few occasions by the two wrist spinners. However, he battled through the initial phases to get in confidence. Eoin Morgan also scored a fluent half-century and looked England would post a really huge total. However, Kuldeep came back into the attack and bagged the wicket of Morgan.

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David Willey played a cameo of 50 runs towards the end which propelled England to a highly competitive score of 322 runs in their allotted 50 overs. Kuldeep was again the pick of the Indian bowlers bagging 3 wickets. The Indian openers began quite strongly. Dhawan, in particular, struck some wonderful shots.

However, a horrendous shot from Rohit Sharma saw India losing their 1^st wicket. Dhawan and KL Rahul were also dismissed in quick succession as India were reduced to 60/3. From there on the onus was on Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina to get India back on track. They did exactly that and shared a brilliant stand of 80 runs. Adil Rashid bagged the prized wicket of Raina while Moeen Ali dismissed Kohli.

England put the final nail in the coffin for India when Hardik Pandya was dismissed down the leg side. MS Dhoni reached his 10,000 ODI runs. However, it was a painstakingly poor innings from him. There was no intentions to go after the target and it was pretty unfortunate to see that from one of the best finishers of a certain time.

The English bowlers eventually bowled out India for just 236 runs in 50 overs. Kohli was the top scorer for India with 45. With the ball in hand, Liam Plunkett was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets. Adil Rashid and David Willey chipped in with a couple of wickets each.

Also Read: IND vs ENG 2018: Twitter Reacts As England Crush India To Level Series

Brief Scores

England 322/7 in 50 overs (Joe Root 113, David Willey 50, Kuldeep Yadav 3/68)

India 236 all-out in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 45, Suresh Raina 46, Liam Plunkett 4/46)

England won by 86 runs