India outmuscle England in Cuttack to pocket ODI series with a game to spare

Team India dished out a whirlwind of a display in the Barabati Stadium as England were blown to oblivion again in a high-scoring blockbuster. Winning the toss in the second ODI, England opted to bat first and found a rhythmic start to their innings as Ben Duckett (65) and Phil Salt (26) looked in solid touch.

It was Varun Chakravarthy, making his ODI debut, who provided a crucial breakthrough, removing Salt while Ravindra Jadeja joined the party to get the better of Duckett. However, the fall of the English openers did very little to dampen the visitors’ spirits as an incoming Joe Root (69) and Harry Brook (31) arrested the slide and put forth a robust show of resistance.

Harshit Rana got rid of Harry Brook which ushered in the English captain, Jos Buttler. Buttler carried the charge forth alongside Root, adding 51 runs for fourth wicket. Pandya dismissed the English skipper which paved the path for Liam Livingstone to come out to bat. Root and Livingstone did propel the visitors to a solid position before India could suddenly crack open the floodgates.

England lost their last six wickets for a span of 56 runs, totting up 304 on the board. Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the Indian lot with figures of 10-1-35-3 while Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana, Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy claimed a wicket apiece.

Much to the woes of England, the Indian openers, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill almost ran away with the game. The duo piled up 136 runs from 16.4 overs with Gill hammering 60 from just 52 balls. The Indian captain was back to runs as he kept on hacking away at the English bowlers mercilessly.

Rohit racked up his 32nd ODI ton to spearhead the Indian battery while Shreyas Iyer played another sparkling innings to blow the visitors out of contention. Rohit smashed 119 off just 90 balls, clubbing 12 fours and seven sixes while Iyer belted 44 off 47, whamming three fours and a six.

Despite a sudden slide at the other end that saw India lose KL Rahul (10) and Hardik Pandya (10) in quick succession, Axar Patel’s unbeaten 41 helped India cross the finishing line comfortably. India secured another four-wicket win to pocket the ODI series, asserting their positive form ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy. The Indian captain clinched the Player of the Match award for his reckoning show with the bat.