crazywin IND Vs ENG, 2nd ODI: Rohit Leads India To Comfortable Series Win Over England

slot infini88India's Rohit Sharma India's Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma's century powered India to a four-wicket win over England on Sundaycrazywin, giving them an unassailable 2-0 lead in their ODI series. (More Cricket News)

The tourists had made a bright start but missed the chance to level the series in Cuttack as they once again struggled on the attack.

England were dealt an injury blow before the match, with Jacob Bethell missing out due to a hamstring injury that could rule him out of the ICC Champions Trophy.

The tourists started on the front foot though, as Phil Salt and Ben Duckett put together an opening partnership of 81 before the former was dismissed for 26 by Varun Chakaravarthy in the 11th over.

Their momentum stalled somewhat after Duckett (65) was taken by Ravindra Jadeja (3-35), though Joe Root's second stand of this series saw him top score with 69, a marked improvement on his 19 from Thursday.

Harry Brook (31), Jos Buttler (34) and Liam Livingstone (41) all kept England steadily pushing forward, but the lower order failed to build on that, with the tourists all bowled out for 304 with just one ball of their 50 overs remaining.

Any hopes they had of winning the game on the attack were quickly put to bed as Rohit and Shubman Gill (60) opened with a combined 136 before the latter was bowled by Jamie Overton (2-27) in the 17th over.

Rohit proved difficult to shake, as he plundered 119, including 12 fours and seven sixes, to propel India towards victory before miscuing a Livingstone delivery, with Shreyas Iyer (44) and Axar Patel (41 not out) doing more damage.

Though KL Rahul (10) and Hardik Pandya (10) were dismissed in quick succession late on, it only delayed the inevitable, as India reached 308 with 33 balls left.

𝙄. 𝘾. 𝙔. 𝙈. 𝙄RunsBallsFoursSixesCaptain Rohit Sharma dazzled and how!Relive that stunning 𝗧𝗢𝗡 #TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @ImRo45 | @IDFCFIRSTBank https://t.co/0cabujjxah

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 9, 2025

Data Debrief: Leading from the front

India had last defeated nemesis Australia way back in the 1972 Munich Olympics before the playing surface shifted to astroturf.

Skipper Harmanpreet Singh (13th, 32nd minutes) netted a brace en route his sixth goal in the Games so far and his 26th of the year, while Abhishek gave India the lead in the 12th minute.

It was a much-improved England performance with the bat from their first ODI, in which they managed just 248, but it was not enough to get Brendon McCullum a first ODI win.

Rohit silenced any doubters as he hit his 32nd ODI century, and his first for India in 11 months, reaching the landmark from 76 balls.

Root may have finished on the losing side, but he did rack up another record for himself along the way. He scored his 56th fifty-plus score in ODIs, the most for England, breaking Eoin Morgan's record.

England have now lost six of seven matches on this tourcrazywin, with McCullum yet to find a winning formula.