Thanks to Root’s excellent innings, England defeated India by four wickets and leveled the ODI series 1-1.

Cardiff. On the basis of Joe Root’s responsible unbeaten inning of 99 runs, England defeated India by four wickets in the second ODI. In this match played at Sophia Gardens on Thursday, England achieved the target of 234 runs by losing six wickets in 44.1 overs. With this win, the three-match series was leveled at 1-1 and now the third ODI to be played at Lord’s on Sunday will be a decisive match.

After winning the toss, the England team came to bowl first and bowled out India for 233 runs in 44 overs. For India, Virat Kohli scored 65 runs and Shreyas Iyer scored 66 runs. Apart from these, no batsman could play a big innings. Captain Shubhman Gill contributed 31 runs, Rohit Sharma contributed 26 runs and Jasprit Bumrah contributed 20 unbeaten runs.

For England, Joffra Archer bowled brilliantly and took three wickets. Gus Atkinson also took three wickets, while Saqib Mahmood got two wickets.

Root took over England’s faltering innings

England had a very bad start while chasing the target of 234 runs. Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethel and captain Harry Brook were out cheaply, leaving the team at 53 for three. After this, experienced Joe Root held one end and took the innings forward with patience.

Root got good support from Sam Curran (26), Will Jacques (30) and finally Gus Atkinson (23 not out). Root fell just one run away from his century, but his unbeaten 99 gave England victory with 35 balls to spare. This was also his fifth consecutive score of more than 50 in his ODI career.

Indian bowlers created pressure in the beginning

Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah put pressure on England by taking a wicket on the very first ball. Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar also provided early success, but the Indian bowlers could not maintain the match in front of Root’s intelligent batting in the middle order.

Gurnoor Brar took two wickets, while other bowlers were not successful in taking wickets at regular intervals.

Kohli and Iyer took charge of the Indian innings

The start of India’s innings was also not special, but Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer took control of the team by adding 67 runs for the fourth wicket. Kohli scored 65 runs with the help of seven fours, while Iyer played a fighting inning of 66 runs. However, Archer prevented India’s innings from scoring big by giving continuous blows.

Bumrah hit some aggressive shots in the final overs, but India could not go beyond 233 runs.

short score

India: 233 all out (44 overs), Shreyas Iyer 66, Virat Kohli 65, Shubman Gill 31, Rohit Sharma 26, Jasprit Bumrah 20 not out.

Bowling (England): Jofra Archer 3/47, Gus Atkinson 3/50, Saqib Mahmood 2 wickets.

England: 235/6 (44.1 overs)

Joe Root 99 not out, Will Jacques 30, Sam Curran 26, Gus Atkinson 23 not out.

Bowling (India): Gurnoor Brar 2 wickets.

Result: England won by four wickets. Series tied at 1-1. Now the decisive third ODI will be played at Lord’s on Sunday.