Rohit Sharma (119 off 90) produced a blistering century, his 32nd in ODIs, to set up India’s series-clinching four-wicket win in the second ODI against England in Cuttack. Chasing a competitive target of 305, India were led by Rohit’s sparkling innings and his 136-run opening stand with Shubman Gill (60 off 52). Shreyas Iyer (44) and Axar Patel (41*) also chipped in with useful knocks to see the hosts through despite a few wickets falling towards the end.

At the halfway mark, England’s total of 304 did appear to be a tricky one on a slow black-soil surface with the odd ball stopping off the hard length. Spinners and off-pace deliveries didn’t seem easy to get away. However, as is the case with black-soil surfaces, batting under lights tend to be relatively easier. At least, that’s what Rohit made it seem as he got off the blocks in a jiffy. A couple of sixes, one over deep square leg and the other over deep cover showed that the captain was in the zone for the night. His aggression allowed Gill to take his time although the latter also dished out some exquisite strokes.

The first ten overs returned 77 for India with all ten wickets intact, and it set the tone for the chase. Even as the field spread, runs continued to flow from both the openers, Rohit in particular. During his terrific knock, he also overcame Chris Gayle to move to no.2 in the all-time six hitters list in ODIs. There was some turn on offer for Adil Rashid but by the time he came on, Rohit and Gill were so assured that they dealt him with aplomb. The ball also didn’t really hold off the pitch as it had during the afternoon when England batted.

It needed something special to break the openers’ onslaught and Jamie Overton provided it with a scorching yorker. Just a ball before, he had been smashed over mid-wicket with a powerful pull stroke by Gill and the all-rounder then beat the Indian vice-captain for pace with a terrific nut. It brought Virat Kohli to the crease but the veteran no.3 had an off day at the office. He did strike a glorious on-drive for four but looked all at sea against Rashid’s leggies. Eventually, one of them found the edge, with England reviewing successfully for the breakthrough.

It was a minor passage of play where the visitors would have had a bit of self-belief to bounce back in the game. However, so far ahead were India in the chase that it allowed Rohit to mellow down and Shreyas Iyer also could afford to play a safe game in the next few overs. The pair added still added 70 at a brisk pace, off just 61 deliveries with Rohit continuing to be the dominant partner. It seemed like the duo might be able to complete the chase by themselves before the Indian captain gifted his wicket away.

Having struck the ball cleanly and even dismissing decent deliveries to the fence, Rohit fell to a full toss, miscuing it towards mid-wicket after having stepped out to take it on the full. Liam Livingstone was the beneficiary of the gift but the wicket came just a bit too late in the contest from England’s perspective. Iyer combined with Axar to push India’s charge before the former fell to a silly run out that occurred due to terrible miscommunication. KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya both fell as India neared the target but the result was never in doubt. Axar along with Ravindra Jadeja closed out the game with 33 deliveries to spare.

Earlier in the afternoon, England put on a much improved show with the bat in comparison to their efforts in the opening ODI. Contrasting fifties from Joe Root (69) and Ben Duckett (65) followed by a Liam Livingstone (41) cameo, powered England through after Phil Salt failed to convert another start in the series. The visitors did get off to another rapid start in the first ten overs, like they had in Nagpur, before slowing down against India’s spinners. Varun Chakaravarthy, on ODI debut, was the one who broke the opening stand by dislodging Salt. He then put the brakes on the scoring although it was Jadeja who proved the toughest to get away for England’s batters.

The left-arm spinner hit the right lines, mixed up his pace and lengths, and got the odd ball to hold up with grip and turn to fox the batters. He also won the matchup duel with Duckett whose attempts to tame the spinner resulted in his downfall. It also meant that Jadeja along with fellow left-arm spinner Axar could bowl at the right-handed England middle-order without any worries. Harry Brook struggled for impetus but he did stitch a useful 66-run stand with Root who was the anchor around whom the innings revolved. The spinners choked the run flow so much for India that the rewards were reaped by their quicks.

Harshit Rana did concede a few boundaries to Brook but like in the fourth T20I, had the last laugh with a wily slower ball, taken brilliantly by Gill at mid-off. A while later, it was Buttler’s turn to fall to a pacer, Pandya this time, after being tied down by the spinners. Amidst all this, Root batted with assurance to hold one end up. Livingstone and Root got a handy partnership as England looked with a chance of getting past the 320-run mark and beyond. However, Rohit’s ploy to hold spin back for the final ten overs worked wonders as Jadeja snapped up Root in his penultimate over.

The left-arm spinner then had Jamie Overton off the final ball of his spell to a moment of atrocious shot selection from the all-rounder. This meant that England were in danger of imploding for one more time on this tour. However, Livingstone batted deep and also struck a few big blows at the back end to boost the visitors’ total. Rashid also clobbered three boundaries on the trot against Mohammed Shami to ensure that the work done by Root and Duckett wasn’t wasted entirely. The tourists, though, could have gotten past the 320-330 range if they had batted with a bit more game awareness.

However, given the way India and Rohit handled things in the second half, perhaps that total also may not have been enough. Buttler might reflect on his decision at the toss because the afternoon period was the ideal time for spinners to bowl and for the pacers to take pace off. In the evening, there wasn’t enough bite off the deck although the ball did spin even then.

The final game of the series shall be played in Ahmedabad on February 12. Technically, it is a dead rubber in the context of this series but both sides will be keen to use that as a final opportunity before the Champions Trophy.

Brief scores:
England 304 in 49.5 overs (Joe Root 69, Ben Duckett 65; Ravindra Jadeja 3-35) lost to India 308/6 in 44.3 overs (Rohit Sharma 119, Shubman Gill 60; Jamie Overton 2-27) by four wickets.