The second of three One Day Internationals between India and England saw a dream start for the hosts as skipper Virat Kohli alongside the star-studded middle-order went on an absolute tear in the first half of the match, scoring a mammoth 336-run total by the end of the 50th over.
Led by KL Rahul’s phenomenal 108 and Rishabh Pant’s quickfire 77 off 40 deliveries, the Men in Blue more than made up for the fall of early wickets in the form of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. A comfortable-looking 100-run partnership between Kohli and Rahul became the strong foundation to build a well-balanced innings on top of, which the Indian batsmen successfully did.
Then came the top-order of the touring England side, living up to their name and rank in international cricket, putting on an absolute show in the middle of the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
From Jason Roy’s surgical 55 off 52 balls to Jonny Bairstow’s 124-run match-winning innings to Ben Stokes’ fiery stint, albeit with a little bit of luck and extra love shown by the third-umpire, the Englishmen punished the rival bowlers and how.
Spinners Krunal Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav were thrashed with the latter’s 84-run 10-over spell witnessing eight sixes – the most number of maximums given by an Indian bowler in the history of ODIs. Shardul Thakur also looked a bit expensive, while series debutant Prasidh Krishna’s 2/58 and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 1/63 kept India in contention until the 44th over (yes, it could have ended sooner).
Having said that, it is important to understand that the Virat Kohli-led side has been incredible during England’s tour of India. They thrashed the visitors in the four-match Test series, won the T20Is with a 3-2 lead, and also took home a 66-run victory in the first ODI in Pune.
Still, the one loss in the second ODI has led to former England skipper Michael Vaughan giving a free lesson to the Indian squad about their approach towards the 50-over format of the game.
“Today should be a lesson to India … Playing it safe for 40 overs with Bat might cost them in a World Cup at home in 2 yrs … they have enough power & depth to get scores of 375 + on flat wickets … England leading the way with this approach …” Vaughan wrote on Twitter.
