ENG vs IND 2nd ODI: Root’s 99* Levels Series as England Pull Off Thrilling 4-Wicket Chase at Cardiff | Full Report
Root’s 99* Levels Series as England Pull Off Thrilling 4-Wicket Chase at Cardiff
In a contest that swung like a pendulum at Sophia Gardens, Joe Root produced another masterclass in chase management to guide England to a series-levelling four-wicket win over India in the second ODI. The veteran batter remained unbeaten on 99 off 133 balls โ agonisingly one run short of a well-deserved century โ but his composure under pressure ensured England chased down 234 with 20 balls to spare. Earlier, Virat Kohli (65) and Shreyas Iyer (66) had rescued India from a mid-innings wobble to post 233, but England’s pace attack, led by Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson with three wickets each, kept the total below par. The series now heads to Lord’s for a winner-takes-all finale on Sunday. This report covers every ball, every record, and every reaction from a thrilling contest in Cardiff.
Joe Root celebrates after anchoring England’s successful chase โ his unbeaten 99 levelled the series at 1-1. (Photo: Getty Images)
Key Takeaways
- ๐ Series Level: England’s four-wicket win levelled the three-match ODI series 1-1, setting up a decider at Lord’s on July 19.Sources: BBC Sport, India Today
- ๐ฅ Root’s Masterclass: Joe Root remained unbeaten on 99 off 133 balls, anchoring the chase and becoming the first England batter to finish an ODI innings stranded on 99.Source: India Today
- โก Pace Attack Dominates: Jofra Archer (3/47) and Gus Atkinson (3/45) shared six wickets, while Saqib Mahmood (2/52) provided support as England’s seamers claimed nine of the 10 wickets.Sources: ESPNcricinfo, India Today
- ๐ Kohli’s Milestone: Virat Kohli scored his 30th ODI fifty in SENA countries, surpassing Rahul Dravid’s record, and equalled Viv Richards’ tally of 14 fifty-plus scores against England.Source: NDTV Sports
- ๐ช Iyer’s Resilience: Shreyas Iyer scored a composed 66 off 71 balls, continuing his strong form in the middle order.Source: India Today
- ๐ India’s Middle-Order Collapse: India lost six wickets for 55 runs in the middle overs, including three to the short ball, exposing their vulnerability against pace.Sources: ESPNcricinfo, CricTracker
India Innings: Kohli and Iyer’s Fifties Rescue India, But Middle-Order Collapse Limits Total to 233
England captain Harry Brook won the toss and elected to bowl first on a pitch that offered early assistance to the seamers.Sources: ESPNcricinfo, Times of India India made one change, with Ishan Kishan replacing the unwell KL Rahul.Source: Times of India
India’s innings began with promise as Shubman Gill (31 off 30) set the early tempo, striking six boundaries before being caught at cover by Ben Duckett off Gus Atkinson.Sources: ESPNcricinfo, India Today Rohit Sharma struggled to rotate the strike and was tied down by England’s disciplined bowling, eventually making 26 from 47 balls before top-edging an attempted sweep off Will Jacks to Jos Buttler.Sources: ESPNcricinfo, India Today
Ishan Kishan managed just 1 run before being caught and bowled by Sam Curran.Sources: ESPNcricinfo, Cricinfo But Virat Kohli looked in sublime touch. He drove fluently through the off side, handled Jofra Archer’s pace with confidence, and brought up his 14th fifty-plus score against England โ equalling Viv Richards’ tally โ with a trademark straight drive off Sam Curran.Sources: Times of India, NDTV Sports Kohli made 65 off 66 balls before he was caught by Adil Rashid off Archer.Sources: ESPNcricinfo, NDTV Sports
Shreyas Iyer held one end together with a composed 66 off 71 balls, his innings featuring five fours and two sixes.Sources: ESPNcricinfo, India Today However, India’s middle order collapsed dramatically. Washington Sundar (2), Axar Patel (1), Shivam Dube (0), and Gurnoor Brar (7) all fell cheaply โ many of them to the short ball.Sources: ESPNcricinfo, Cricinfo Jasprit Bumrah’s unbeaten 20 off 13 balls provided some late resistance, but India were bowled out for 233 in 44 overs.Sources: ESPNcricinfo, India Today
India Innings โ Full Scorecard (44 overs, 233 all out)
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shubman Gill (c) | c Duckett b Atkinson | 31 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 103.33 |
| Rohit Sharma | c โ Buttler b Jacks | 26 | 47 | 1 | 1 | 55.31 |
| Virat Kohli | c Rashid b Archer | 65 | 66 | 8 | 0 | 98.48 |
| Ishan Kishan (wk) | c & b Curran | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12.50 |
| Shreyas Iyer | c โ Buttler b Atkinson | 66 | 71 | 5 | 2 | 92.95 |
| Washington Sundar | c โ Buttler b Mahmood | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Axar Patel | c โ Buttler b Archer | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Shivam Dube | c & b Archer | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Gurnoor Brar | c Atkinson b Mahmood | 7 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 46.66 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | not out | 20 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 153.84 |
| Prasidh Krishna | b Atkinson | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Extras: 14 (lb 6, w 8). Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Gill, 7.4 ov), 2-104 (Rohit, 17.5 ov), 3-111 (Kishan, 20.3 ov), 4-178 (Kohli, 31.4 ov), 5-181 (Sundar, 32.4 ov), 6-193 (Axar, 35.4 ov), 7-193 (Dube, 35.5 ov), 8-210 (Brar, 40.2 ov), 9-233 (Iyer, 43.3 ov), 10-233 (Prasidh, 43.6 ov).
Sources: ESPNcricinfo, Cricinfo
| Bowler | O | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jofra Archer | 10 | 47 | 3 | 4.70 |
| Gus Atkinson | 9 | 52 | 3 | 5.77 |
| Saqib Mahmood | 9 | 52 | 2 | 5.77 |
| Will Jacks | 7 | 34 | 1 | 4.85 |
| Sam Curran | 6 | 32 | 1 | 5.33 |
| Adil Rashid | 3 | 10 | 0 | 3.33 |
England Chase: From 8/2 to Victory โ Root Anchors the Run-Chase
India made an ideal start with the ball. Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Ben Duckett with the first delivery of the innings. Prasidh Krishna added to India’s advantage by removing Jacob Bethell soon after, leaving England in trouble at 8/2 in 3.4 overs.Sources: Tribune India, ESPNcricinfo
Joe Root then played a crucial role in stabilising the innings, combining for a 45-run partnership with captain Harry Brook (16) before Brook was dismissed by debutant Gurnoor Brar.Source: Tribune India Shivam Dube and Axar Patel picked up key wickets to leave England struggling at 125/5 in 25.4 overs, giving India hope of defending their total.Sources: Tribune India, India Today
However, Root remained firm and built a match-winning partnership of 72 runs with Will Jacks (30), with Root bringing up his fifth consecutive ODI fifty.Sources: Tribune India, India Today After Jacks was dismissed by Brar in the 40th over, Gus Atkinson (23*) provided valuable support at the end.Source: Tribune India
Root missed out on a deserved century, remaining unbeaten on 99 off 133 balls as Atkinson’s boundary sealed England’s four-wicket win.Sources: Tribune India, India Today He became the first England batter to finish an ODI innings unbeaten on 99 and only the 17th player overall to remain stranded on that score.Source: India Today
England Innings โ Full Scorecard (44.1 overs, 235/6)
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Duckett | c Kishan b Bumrah | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jacob Bethell | c Kohli b Prasidh | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 42.85 |
| Joe Root | not out | 99 | 133 | 9 | 0 | 74.43 |
| Harry Brook (c) | c Gill b Gurnoor | 16 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 64.00 |
| Jos Buttler (wk) | c Axar b Dube | 15 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 65.21 |
| Sam Curran | c Sundar b Axar | 22 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 78.57 |
| Will Jacks | c Gill b Gurnoor | 30 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 73.17 |
| Gus Atkinson | not out | 23 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 191.66 |
Extras: 27 (lb 10, nb 1, w 16). Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Duckett, 0.1 ov), 2-8 (Bethell, 3.4 ov), 3-53 (Brook, 13.4 ov), 4-72 (Buttler, 20.2 ov), 5-125 (Curran, 29.6 ov), 6-184 (Jacks, 40.4 ov).
Sources: ESPNcricinfo, Tribune India
| Bowler | O | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasprit Bumrah | 8 | 34 | 1 | 4.25 |
| Prasidh Krishna | 8 | 44 | 1 | 5.50 |
| Gurnoor Brar | 10 | 67 | 2 | 6.70 |
| Shivam Dube | 6 | 22 | 1 | 3.66 |
| Axar Patel | 8.1 | 37 | 1 | 4.52 |
| Washington Sundar | 4 | 21 | 0 | 5.25 |
๐ Records & Milestones โ A Historic Night at Sophia Gardens
Records Broken & Achieved
- Virat Kohli โ Most ODI Fifties in SENA Countries: Kohli’s 65 was his 30th fifty in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia, surpassing Rahul Dravid’s record of 29.Source: NDTV Sports
- Virat Kohli โ Equals Viv Richards: Kohli equalled Viv Richards’ tally of 14 fifty-plus scores against England in ODIs. Only Kumar Sangakkara (15) is ahead.Sources: Times of India, NDTV Sports
- Joe Root โ First England Batter Stranded on 99: Root became the first England batter to finish an ODI innings unbeaten on 99, and only the 17th player overall.Source: India Today
- Joe Root โ Equals Kevin Pietersen: Root’s 99* was his 8th fifty-plus score against India in ODIs, equalling Kevin Pietersen’s record for England.Source: Crex
- Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli โ 8000 Partnership Runs: The duo achieved the milestone during their 60-run partnership in the second ODI.Source: Times Now
- England’s First ODI Win at Sophia Gardens Since 2020: England ended their winless streak at Cardiff with this victory.Source: ESPNcricinfo
๐ฃ๏ธ Expert Reactions โ ‘India Are a Little Bit Worried About the Short Ball’
The cricketing world reacted with sharp analysis of India’s batting vulnerabilities and praise for England’s disciplined bowling. Here are the most notable reactions.
๐ฅ Key Moments โ The Turning Points of the Match
From Jofra Archer’s double-wicket burst to Joe Root’s composed chase, here are the key moments that defined the match.
Jofra Archer took two wickets in two balls but missed out on a hat-trick. (Source: BBC Sport)
Joe Root’s unbeaten 99 guided England to victory. (Source: England Cricket)
๐ What’s Next
The series now stands level at 1-1, with the decider scheduled at Lord’s on Sunday, July 19.Sources: BBC Sport, India Today The winner will take the three-match ODI series, and both teams will be eager to claim the spoils at the Home of Cricket.
For India, the key will be addressing their vulnerability against the short ball and finding more contributions from the middle order. For England, Root’s form is a massive boost, and the return of Jofra Archer to full fitness has transformed their bowling attack.
๐ฃ๏ธ Senior Journalist’s Verdict โ A Wake-Up Call for India’s Middle Order
My Take: India’s Short-Ball Vulnerability Is a Genuine Concern
This was a match that India should have won. At 178/4 with Kohli and Iyer at the crease, a total of 300-310 was well within reach. But the middle-order collapse โ six wickets for 55 runs โ was inexcusable. Three of those dismissals came to the short ball, and Ravi Bopara’s assessment that India are “worried” about the short ball was spot on.
England’s pace attack executed their plans perfectly. Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson bowled with hostility and accuracy, and Saqib Mahmood provided excellent support. The short-ball strategy worked because India’s batters were caught in two minds โ neither fully committed to the pull nor willing to leave the ball.
Joe Root’s 99* was a masterclass in chase management. He didn’t try to dominate; he just kept the scoreboard ticking. His partnership with Will Jacks was the turning point, and his composure under pressure is why he remains one of the finest ODI batters of his generation.
For India, the positives were few but significant. Kohli looked in sublime touch, and Iyer continued his rich vein of form. But the middle-order fragility is a genuine concern. If India are to win the decider at Lord’s, they need more from their lower middle order โ and they need to find a way to counter the short ball.
โ Editorial Team, CricLive.in
โ Frequently Asked Questions
๐ฐ Sources
- BBC Sport โ Match report, Root’s 99*, Archer’s spell, videos
- ESPNcricinfo โ Full scorecard, match report, fall of wickets
- India Today โ Match report, Root’s 99*, records
- Times of India โ Kohli’s records, match report
- NDTV Sports โ Kohli’s milestones, Bopara’s comments
- Tribune India โ Gill’s reaction, match summary
- CricTracker โ Bopara’s comments, Morgan’s analysis
- Outlook India โ Highlights, match summary
- News18 โ Root’s 99*, match report
- Crex โ Root’s record, Kohli’s milestones
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