Cardiff: A steadfast Joe Root anchored England’s series-levelling four-wicket win over India in the second ODI here after the visitors’ batting once again seemed vulnerable with senior player Rohit Sharma’s struggles triggering fresh speculation around his future.
Root delivered an unbeaten 99 off 133 balls to steer England home and keep them alive in the three-match series that will conclude at the Lord’s on Sunday. That game could well be Rohit’s final in India colours after he struggled to a 47-ball 26, adding to the pressure on him.
He looked out of touch as India were dismissed for 233 in 44 overs on Thursday. Virat Kohli (65) and Shreyas Iyer (66) ensured that the bowlers had something to fight with after other batters disappointed.
In reply, Root’s was a model innings that showed how to control a chase on a track that offered sharp bounce, making the Indian pace troika menacing during the early part of the run chase.
His 72-run stand for sixth wicket with Will Jacks (30) sealed the game after England had their own struggled after being reduced to 125 for five. The chase was completed in 44.1 overs.
Root used the big square dimensions of the field to keep the scoreboard ticking. Since the target was a small one, England were never under scoreboard pressure which allowed Root to score runs at a slow pace.
He came tantalizingly close to a hundred but Gus Atkinson hit the winning boundary to deny him.
Earlier, Rohit once again found himself under intense scrutiny with every dot ball adding to the pressure. Opposition teams have decoded the flaws in his technique and left-arm seamers, who create awkward angles, are quickly introduced to pose problems for the former India skipper.
Save a six off Atkinson, not one stroke from Rohit inspired any confidence.
After six deliveries from Sam Curran went without a single, he was also unable to negotiate Adil Rashid. His misery was ended by Will Jacks when his nothing short of a lap sweep turned into a top edge dolly for Jos Buttler.
While Kohli’s confident innings reminded all and sundry of his salad days, Rohit’s form only indicated that he is nearer to the end than ever before.
Kohli’s 66-ball-knock had eight delectable hits to the fence but none more aesthetically pleasing than the bowler’s back-drive off Jofra Archer.
However, it was painful to see one of India’s greatest ODI stalwarts struggle to a painstaking 26 off 47 balls which included nine dots in a row before he surrendered in a meek fashion.
Together, Rohit and Kohli added 60 in 10 overs but everyone present in stands at the Sophia Gardens would agree there was nothing called a partnership. Only Kohli scored as Rohit gasped for breathing space.
The middle-order caved in inexplicably with four wickets lost for 15 runs in a space of 26 deliveries as Jofra Archer (3/47 in 10 overs) breathed fire in each spell that he bowled.
Saqib Mahmood (2/52 in 9 overs) and Atkinson (3/50 in 9 overs) were also among wickets.
Vice-captain Iyer turned out to be the batting hero for India as he countered the short ball well but didn’t get much support from the other end.
India nonetheless started their 233-run defence confidently as Bumrah got one to move a shade from length forcing Ben Duckett to nick one to Ishan Kishan behind stumps.
Prasidh bowled an even better delivery to Jacob Bethell which reared up from length while Harry Brook’s short but sweet 16 ended with a poor shot off Gurnoor Brar giving Kishan his third catch.
However, Root was unperturbed by the help that Indian pacers extracted off the surface. He took the least risk while batting against Bumrah and attacked Prasidh.
In company of Sam Curran (26), he added 41 runs before Kishan stood up to stumps to prevent the all-rounder from giving Shivam Dube’s military medium the required charge.
The result was a smart catch to dismiss Curran.
With Washington Sundar ruled out of the series due to a hamstring niggle, onus was on Axar Patel, who cleaned up Jos Buttler. But Root too control to take England past the finishing line.
