Cardiff: Virat Kohli’s confident 65 reminded all and sundry of his salad days, but Rohit Sharma’s continuous struggles did contribute to India’s below-par 233 in 44 overs in the second ODI against England Thursday.
The middle-order caved in inexplicably with four wickets lost for 15 runs in a space of 26 deliveries as Jofra Archer (347 in 10 overs) breathed fire in each spell that he bowled.
Saqib Mahmood (252 in 9 overs) and Gus Atkinson (350 in 9 overs) were also among the wickets.
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; it was painful to see one of India’s greatest ODI stalwarts, Rohit, struggle to a painstaking 26 off 47 balls, which included nine dots in a row before he surrendered in a meek fashion.
Vice-captain Shreyas Iyer turned out to be the batting hero for India with a 66 off 71 balls as he countered the short ball well but didn’t get much support from the other end.
The pick-up pull off Archer to bring up his fifty with a six was a brilliant shot where wrists came into play more than power.
While England skipper Harry Brook made the correct call by opting to field, Indian skipper Shubman Gill (31 off 30 balls) hit a flurry of boundaries while Rohit struggled to find the gaps at the other end.
However, an uppish cover-drive off Atkinson brought about Gill’s downfall, but Kohli didn’t take much time to get going.
The straight drive off Archer was followed by a lofted one-bounce four in the deep mid-wicket region and the front-foot cover drive sounded like a gunshot as it raced to the boundary.
When Adil Rashid came in, Kohli also played an uncharacteristic slog sweep to the cow corner, but at the other end, Rohit tried hard but could not get any rhythm.
They added 60 in 10 overs, but everyone present in the stands at the Sophia Gardens on the day would agree there was nothing called a partnership. Only ‘Ko’ scored as ‘Ro’ gasped for breathing space.
With intense scrutiny on him, every dot ball added to the pressure, and now the opposing captains have found out that left-arm seamers who create awkward angles pose problems for the former skipper.
Save a six off Atkinson, not one stroke 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.
Ishan Kishan’s (1) technical problems have been exposed on the tour, especially not having the game to play deliveries with extra bounce. This time it was Sam Curran’s innocuous bouncer that had his number.
While Kohli found an able ally in Iyer during the 67-run stand, it was Archer’s delivery that shot up from length that saw him get a leading edge that ballooned to third man for a simple catch.
Iyer was in fine form, and it seemed he had worked on his game while facing the short ball, but the likes of Washington Sundar (2), Axar Patel (1) and Shivam Dube (0) seemed like sitting ducks as India slipped to 194 for seven. The chance of a respectable total ended there itself.