As for the current ODI series between England and India, a similar pattern continued. When England won the toss in the second ODI of the series at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, they chose to bat first once more. The powerplay got them off to a quick start, but they got lost in the middle overs. The visitors were ultimately knocked out for 304.
In return, the Indian openers were just as formidable in the run-chase’s opening ten overs. With a foundation of 136 runs, the openers made it easy for the remaining hitters to win. A couple middle-order wickets fell in the last moments of the match, once more. Nevertheless, with four wickets remaining and 33 deliveries to make, India ultimately surpassed the total England had recorded.
Talking Points from 2nd ODI
1. England’s assertive approach during the powerplay
During the powerplay, the English top-order batsmen led the charge against the Indian bowling attack without hesitation, much like in the series opener. Ben Duckett scored 48 of the 75 points his team scored during the powerplay. With the exception of the ninth over, at least one boundary was given up in each over.
2. Jadeja’s frugal display with the ball
Ravindra Jadeja joined the attack in the 16th over of England’s innings and didn’t take long to get involved. The coveted scalp of the well-known Duckett was the result of his very first spell. Jadeja’s penultimate over yielded his second wicket of the day, while his final over yielded his third. In his ten overs, he gave up just one boundary, which was a maiden.
3. Rohit plays a captain’s knock, finally!
In what was a very remarkable knock by the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma led from the front after a lacklustre run with the bat over the previous few months. His 32nd ODI century, which came off just 76 deliveries, was a swift knock. He scored 119 runs with 12 fours and seven maximums in a blistering knock.
Who Said What?
Winning skipper and Player of the Match, Rohit Sharma said
It was good, really enjoyed being out there, scoring some runs for the team. Important game, series on the line. I broke it into pieces how I wanted to bat. It’s a format that is longer than T20 cricket and a lot shorter than Tests. Still, you need to assess and bat according to the situation. I wanted to stay focused and bat as deep as possible. Looking at the pitch, when you play on black soil, the pitch [ball] tends to skid on a bit so it’s important that you show the full face of the bat.
Then, they were trying to bowl into the body and not give room, so I prepared my plan as well. I accessed the gaps and obviously, I got good support from Gill and then Shreyas. We enjoy batting with each other, Gill is a very very classy player.
I have seen him from close quarters and he doesn’t get overawed by the situation. The numbers are there as well if I’m not wrong. [On the importance of middle overs] It’s quite important, the game can go either side. If you manage and squeeze in the middle overs, it helps you not to worry at the death. In both the game, even in Nagpur, we squeezed in the middle overs and even here, we squeezed in the middle overs. When you take wickets in the middle overs, you can contain the opposition.
We want to keep getting better as a team. I said after the last match as well, we want to get better as a team and as players. As long guys are clear what they are supposed to do and whatever the captain and coach is saying, if they execute it, then there’s not much to think about.
Losing skipper, Jos Buttler said
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. Wanted to get runs on the board, it skidded on a bit and the opposition also 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 taking steps in the right direction, the results are not there, but we need to keep going and be positive.
India
