By Manoj 
For the second time in a row, Joe Root displayed how he is still England’s most dependable batsman as he led his team to victory by four wickets against India in the second ODI match played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. The 99 not out scored by him helped England chase down 234 runs in the match, making the scoreline of the three-match ODI series 1-1.
It took England 35 balls to complete their chase, ending up with 235 for 6 runs. Despite Root failing to score his 21st century in ODI cricket by just one run, his composed batting ensured that the hosts did not lose their way after a poor start to the game.
England faced some initial difficulties in the form of Ben Duckett getting out off the first delivery bowled by Jasprit Bumrah. Also, Jacob Bethell failed to play a long innings, while captain Harry Brook’s positive attitude turned out to be negative as he got out for 16 runs.
Root was back to rebuild the innings through some useful partnerships. Curran made 26 runs, while Jacks made 30, with Atkinson staying not out at 23 to complete the chase for England with Root. The seasoned player made another 50-plus score with great patience and steered the innings through the middle overs before taking England home.
Before that, India had been dismissed for 233 in just 44 overs, having been asked to bat first. Only two Indian batsmen made useful scores, as Kohli scored 65, and Shreyas Iyer made 66 runs each. The captain of India, Shubman Gill, gave a good start to India with 31 runs. But, India were unable to make any useful partnerships after their top order.
Kohli seemed likely to make yet another century in a classy innings that had many characteristic straight drives and boundaries from him. But finally, he was dismissed by Jofra Archer, who delivered a ball that took an outside edge of Kohli’s bat and broke the most useful Indian partnership of 67 runs with Iyer.
Archer was England’s best bowler of the game, taking three wickets for 47 runs following an excellent performance in the last overs. He removed Kohli before dismissing Axar Patel and Shivam Dube to exert some pressure on the Indian side. Gus Atkinson also took three wickets for 50 runs, while Saqib Mahmood picked up two wickets late in the innings.
The Indian lower order tried to build the total at the end of the innings, with Bumrah managing an unbeaten 20 runs with four boundaries but falling far from the score that looked to be competitive on a good batting track.
Root proved to be the answer to England’s needs following the top-order dismissal by applying his experience. His calmness helped the team to cope with the initial bowling attack from India and take charge of the situation slowly.
This victory means that the series remains alive for England following the win by India in the first ODI. Since the two teams are tied 1-1 at the moment, the next and last ODI in Lord’s is going to be crucial for the series winner.
In the meantime, reports emerging after the match pointed out that Sunday’s ODI in Lord’s could very well be the last game for Rohit Sharma in the format, though there has been no confirmation from the Indian team management yet.
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