Cuttack (Odisha) [India], February 9 : Rohit Sharma's explosive century powered India to clinch a four-wicket triumph over England in the second ODI match of the series at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday.
With the stunning victory on Sunday, the Men in Blue clinched the ODI series over England 2-0.
Sunday was all about Rohit Sharma, it was his day fully. The skipper gave a reply to his critics from his bat as he smashed a 76-ball century. The 37-year-old entertained the fans in Cuttack as he powered rains of sixes.
Rohit Sharma (119 runs from 90 balls, 12 fours and 7 sixes) and Shubman Gill (60 runs from 52 balls, 9 fours and 1 six) opened for the Men in Blue aiming to chase down a target of 305 runs. The captain and his deputy cemented a stand of 136 runs which made it easier for the hosts.
As the Three Lions got tired of conceding runs of the Indian openers, England seamer Jamie Overton drew the first blood in the second inning as he removed Gill in the 17th over.
Virat Kohli replaced the India vice-captain, but the talisman batter failed to make a mark in Cuttack. Kohli smashed just one four during his short time on the crease. Soon, Kohli was removed by Adil Rashid in the 20th over.
Shreyas Iyer came in place of Kohli and continued his solid form in the first match of the series. Iyer solidified a partnership of 70 runs with Rohit.
In the 26th over, Rohit smashed it over the long-off for a maximum and completed his 32nd ODI century in style.
However, in the 30th over England's Liam Livingstone removed the India skipper for 119 runs, giving hope to the visitors to turn around the match.
England got the upper hand in the game following Rohit's dismissal, as they picked up a few quick wickets.
Shreyas Iyer (44 runs from 47 balls, 3 fours and 1 six) was unlucky to lose his wicket following a silly run-out in the 37th over. Later in the 41st over, KL Rahul (10 runs from 14 balls, 1 four) was dismissed by Overton.
Hardik Pandya replaced Rahul on the crease and added a few crucial runs on the board. The Men in Blue all-rounder spent a short time on the crease but made a mark. Hardik scored 10 runs from 6 balls, smashing 2 fours at a strike rate of 166.67. However, he lost his wicket in the 42nd over against Gus Atkinson.
In the end, it was Axar Patel (41* runs from 43 balls, 4 fours) and Ravindra Jadeja (11* runs from 7 balls, 2 fours) who stayed unbeaten on the crease and clinched a four-wicket victory over England in Cuttack.
It was Jadeja who finished the game in a style by slamming a four between the mid-off and cover. The Men in Blue chased the given target in just 45th overs.
Jamie Overton led the England bowling attack with his two-wicket haul from the 5-over spell. Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone bagged one wicket each in their respective spells.
India will now travel to Ahmedabad to take on England in the third match of the ODI series at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday.
Earlier in the first inning, England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first. His decision proved to be the right one as the openers Ben Duckett and Philip Salt provided a magnificent start to the visitors at Cuttack.
Both players built an exceptional partnership of 81 runs before Salt was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 26 runs on the bowling of debutant Varun Chakravarthy in the penultimate ball of the 11th over.
The Jos Buttler-led side completed their 100 runs in the 16th over. Duckett was the second one to fall. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja dismissed the southpaw in the same over. The left-hand batter smashed 65 runs off 56 balls which was laced with 10 boundaries.
Following Duckett's wicket, right-hand batter Joe Root took the responsibility of scoring the runs for his national team. Root slammed 69 runs from 72 balls with the help of six fours before going back to the dressing room in the 43rd over on the bowling of Jadeja.
Liam Livingstone (41 runs off 32 balls, 2 fours and 2 sixes), Jos Buttler (34 runs from 35 balls, 2 fours), and Harry Brook (31 runs in 52 balls, 3 fours and a six) also scored some runs for their side.
Right-hand batter Adil Rashid came into bat in the 48th over of the innings. In that over, he slashed three consecutive boundaries on the bowling of right-arm seamer Mohammed Shami. Rashid was sent back after scoring 14 runs in the penultimate (49th) over of the first innings through a run-out. England were bowled out for 304 runs in 49.5 overs.
For Men in Blue, Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers. The 36-year-old player snapped three wickets in his spell of 10 overs where he conceded 35 runs and bowled one maiden over in his spell. Three wickets came through a run-out, out of which two came in the last over of the innings.
One wicket each was bagged by Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, and Mohammed Shami in their respective spells.
Brief Score: England 304 (Joe Root 69, Ben Duckett 65, Liam Livingstone 41; Ravindra Jadeja 3/35) vs India 308/6 (Rohit Sharma 119, Shreyas Iyer 44, Axar Patel 41*; Jamie Overton 2/27).