India vs England 2017 ODI Series: 2nd ODI Scorecard

2nd ODI, Match Facts

India v England 2017 ODI Series, second ODI
Match date and time: 1:30 PM (19th January 2017)
Match Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack

India v England 2017 ODI Series, 2nd ODI Scorecard

Toss was won by Eoin Morgan, who opted to field first
Match scores: India 381/6 (50 overs); England 366/8 (50 overs)
Match Result: India won by 15 runs and went 2-0 up in the three-ODI series. Yuvraj Singh, who came back into the Indian ODI side for the first time since 2013, was awarded the man of the match for his 150, his highest ODI score and his first hundred in any format for India since the 113 he scored at the MAC Stadium in Chennai, against the West Indies at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

India v England 2017 2nd ODI Summary

Despite posting a mammoth 381/6 batting first, with Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni scoring their 14th (150) and 10th (134) ODI hundreds respectively, India only managed a narrow 15-run win at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. Most importantly, however, India, by way of this victory, the hosts took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-ODI series.

Having been asked to bat, the Men in Blue didn’t get the start they were looking for from their openers, Lokesh Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan, who let their team down again like in the Pune ODI. To worsen matters, Virat Kohli, the transcendent chaser in the modern game, fell cheaply too, for eight, and India slumped to 25-3 inside the first five overs. Chris Woakes was the damage causer, giving England not only early wickets but also the most important of all the Indian wickets, Kohli. He finished with figures of 4/60 in his 10 overs, by far the best bowling spell in the Cuttack ODI.

The Poms, though, failed to make further inroads until the 43rd over of the Indian innings and by then, the Yuvraj-Dhoni combo had well and truly handed India complete control of the game, through a mixture of brutal hitting and sweet timing. By way of their 256-run partnership, which became the second-highest fourth-wicket partnerships in ODIs, this duo proved to themselves that they might still be able to contribute to Indian Cricket.

England made one change to their playing XI from the side which lost by three wickets in Pune, with Adil Rashid dropping out and Liam Plunkett, who is a bowling all-rounder, being drafted in. The English bowling attack, though, remained toothless after the initial burst from Woakes and by conceding 381, the English bowlers didn’t do their batsmen any good whatsoever.

Learn:

With the series in the bag, what is the playing XI India could field in the third ODI?

Heavy dew was expected in the lead-up to the 2nd ODI in Cuttack, but contrary to expectation, dew wasn’t really a factor and if anything, the pitch slowed down a little in the second half of the match. From India’s perspective, the lack of dew helped and was a major reason for their going on to win the second ODI by 15 runs. Without dew, Jadeja and Ashwin could get a nice grip on the ball and the pitch too, remained dry.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who replaced Umesh Yadav in the Indian playing XI from the Pune ODI, had a reasonably good game with the ball and provided India the crucial wicket of Ali at the end. Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Hales early, as an outswinger induced an outside edge of the England opener and flew to Dhoni, who took a comfortable catch behind the stumps. Root and Roy, though, batted solidly and kept England going at a good rate while they themselves were involved in a 100-run partnership for the second wicket.

Ashwin, who was introduced into the attack in the 20th over of the England innings, provided India the much-needed wicket at that time, of Root, and also control, an aspect which he failed in in the first ODI.

Jadeja and Ashwin operated well in tandem and the England batsmen weren’t keen on attacking the Indian spin twins. The required run rate, obviously, kept climbing, but England, with the calibre of batsmen at their disposal, kept themselves in the hunt by finding the boundaries and sixes at regular intervals to avoid coming under too much of pressure.

The likes of Roy (82), Stokes (1) and Buttler (10) were going to be crucial to England’s chances of hunting down India’s 381. But a touch of naivety in playing spin cost this trio and the visitors dearly, as Jadeja and Ashwin took the wickets of this English trio to put India in a commanding position going into the final 20 overs.

Ali (55) and Eoin Morgan (102) showed great doggedness and skill to give England an outside chance of upsetting India. Morgan, in particular, played a great hand at No. 4, but his ninth ODI hundred went in vain because he and the rest of the England middle order batsmen were left with too much to do as the end neared.

The visitors’ long batting line-up ensured that Kohli and India never felt comfortable in defending 381, but taking into account the nature of the pitch and size of the ground, the Men in Blue were relieved to win the 2nd ODI against England and go 2-0 up in the series.