IND vs ENG, 2nd ODI, 2024-25: Rohit Sharma's 32nd ODI hundred stuns England as India defeat them to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Brief Scores: IND vs ENG, Second ODI: India 251/6 (Rohit Sharma 119, Shubman Gill 60, Jamie Overton 2/27) beat England 304 (Joe Root 69, Ben Duckett 65, Ravindra Jadeja 3/35) by 4 wickets. India leads the series 2-0.
India made a couple of changes to their side with Virat Kohli returning to the team and Varun Chakravarthy making his ODI debut. England too made several changes from the first ODI, but the result remained the same as Rohit Sharma's Century sank them to another defeat in this tour.
His stunning knock coupled with a half-century from Gill and a 3-fer from Jadeja guided India to a 4-wicket win.
Talking Point: Is Varun Chakravarthy ahead of Kuldeep Yadav a tactic call?
The mystery spinner from India had a stellar 2024 when it came to T20 cricket. In what can be called a breakout year, he claimed 47 wickets at 21.10 in T20s, of which 17 came in India colors. His fantastic Vijay Haraze Trophy 2024/25 (18 wickets at 12.16) gave him a maiden ODI call-up and a possible Champions Trophy 2025 inclusion.
In the Cuttack he played, he played ahead of Kuldeep Yadav and returned with the wicket of Phil Salt. Given India's Games at CT are taking place in Dubai, it will be interesting to see if this was a sign of things to come or just a match practice for Varun ahead of CT 2025.
Ravindra Jadeja shines again even as England crosses the 300-run mark
England got off to a flyer with the bat after winning the toss for the second successive game running. Their openers, Phil Salt and Ben Duckett blazed away to 75 in the first 10 overs, with the latter being the aggressor. The 66-ball 81-run opening wicket partnership was broken by the debutant Varun, who accounted for Salt before Ravindra Jadeja got rid of Duckett a few overs later.
The 30-over period fetched England 155 runs, with Joe Root (69) featuring in two fifty-run stands, one with Harry Brook and another coming along with his skipper Jos Buttler. This put them in a decent position to accelerate in the last 10 overs, but some disciplined bowling at the death meant England could only make 74 runs and lost six wickets. It was thanks to the entertaining cameo of 32-ball 41 that propelled England to 304 at the end of their quota. Read More: IND vs ENG, 1st ODI, 2024-25: Gill anchors India's chase after Harshit, Jadeja limit England to 248
Rohit’s authoritative knock helped India clinch the series
Chasing a competitive total, India's openers took an aggressive approach much like their England counterparts. Rohit Sharma finally broke the shackles after a prolonged lean patch by scoring a 30-ball half-century. His opening partner Shubman Gill too brought up his second consecutive fifty off just 45 deliveries as India reached 100 in under 14 overs.
Jamie Overton broke the 136-run stand when he bowled a crunching yorker to dismiss Gill and Virat Kohli was undone by Adil Rashid’s well-flighted delivery, enduring another low score. However, the India skipper continued his merry way, reaching his 32nd ODI ton in 76 balls. He showed signs of his former self as he thwarted the English spinners and pacers alike in this magnificent knock of 119 that included seven maximums. His century helped India clinch the series, even though the hosts were marred by a slight hiccup in the end.
Statistical Highlights from India vs England, Second ODI
Ben Duckett registered the third 50+ score in his last 4 ODI innings. This was his eighth 50+ score in ODIs.
The opening stand of 81 runs between Phil Salt & Ben Duckett is the third-fastest 50+ opening partnership for England in ODIs against India in India.
Phil Salt became the maiden wicket for Varun Chakravarthy in ODIs.
Harry Brook was dismissed by Harshit Rana for the second time in this series.
Joe Root registered his 56th fifty-plus ODI score.
Jos Buttler was dismissed by Hardik Pandya for the fourth time in ODI cricket.
Joe Root was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja for the fifth time in ODIs & 13th time in international cricket.
Shami's figures of 7.5-0-66-1 are his costliest (ER of 8.42) in ODI cricket (Min 5 overs).
Rohit Sharma (338) has surpassed Chris Gayle (331) & is the batter with the second-most number of sixes in ODI cricket. Shahid Afridi has the most sixes in this format (351).
Rohit Sharma crossed the 50-run mark for the first time in his last 11 innings across formats. He registered his 89th fifty-plus score and went on to score his 32nd ton in ODIs.
The opening pair of Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill now have 6 century partnerships. It is the fourth-most century stands for an India opening pair in ODIs.
The opening stand of 136 between Rohit & Gill is the fastest opening century stand for India against England in ODIs (RR of 8.16).
India won their 12th bilateral ODI series against England.
What’s Next
India has pocketed yet another bilateral series at home and at Ahmedabad on 12 February, they would like to tick all boxes ahead of CT 2025. England, on the other hand, has things to ponder after a forgettable white-ball series in India.
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