Cuttack: Amid growing pressure and retirement speculation, Rohit Sharma made a statement with a stunning 32nd century, leading India to a dominant four-wicket victory over England in the second ODI at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. With the series on the line, the Indian skipper silenced his critics with a vintage 119 off 90 balls, guiding India to an easy chase of 305 and sealing an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Rohit’s masterclass with the bat came just in time ahead of the Champions Trophy, reaffirming his form and silencing doubts with a performance full of timing, precision, and flair.
Opting to bat on a belter, England were bowled out for 304 in 49.5 overs with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (3/35) continuing his stranglehold over the visitors.
The 37-year-old Indian skipper made the chase a lopsided affair, returning to his World Cup 2023 best with impeccable timing and effortless strokeplay en route to his 90-ball 119 — his century No 32 in ODIs that came just in time ahead of the Champions Trophy in less than two weeks.
His 90-ball masterclass, studded with seven sixes and 12 fours, set the tone as India cruised to the target in 44.3 overs to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead going into the final ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Shubman Gill also made a fluent 60 off 52 balls (9×4, 1×6) but it felt overshadowed in comparison to Rohit in their solid opening partnership of 136 runs — their sixth century-plus stand together.
Back after missing out on the Nagpur ODI because of a swollen knee, star batter Virat Kohli (5) fell cheaply edging an Adil Rashid leg-break. Rashid has now got Kohli four times in ODIs.
Rohit then had a fruitful 70-run stand with Shreyas Iyer (44) before he was dismissed off a full toss with Rashid taking a fine backwards running catch.
Iyer soon departed following a runout, while KL Rahul (10) and Hardik Pandya (10) also fell cheaply.
But there was hardly any run-rate pressure and Axar Patel (41 not out) held his ground as he along with Ravindra Jadeja (11 not out) completed the formalities with 33 balls to spare.
Rohit’s knock also saw him surpass (10,987) Rahul Dravid’s 10,889 runs to enter the top-10 ODI run-scorers’ list. He now requires 13 runs to complete 11,000 ODI runs.
His pull shots had precision, his cuts carried flair, and there were no mishits. He even unleashed a cool reverse sweep off Rashid, pure dominance was written in his innings.
He signalled his intent early, charging down to Gus Atkinson for a four before flicking a six over mid-wicket with ease that had the Rohit-esque flair.
Against Saqib Mahmood, he opened the bat face to loft a stunning six over cover as he seemed to have got his mojo back.
A 35-minute floodlight failure when Rohit was on 29 couldn’t disrupt his rhythm.
Resuming with the same intensity, he glanced Mahmood for a fine boundary and then took charge of Mark Wood’s 140-plus deliveries with disdain.
Luck also played its part — on 36, he survived an LBW call against Wood on the umpire’s call, with the ball clipping the top of leg stump.
The very next delivery, he responded in style, launching an over-pitched delivery over mid-on for a six as he raced to a 30-ball fifty.
Against Rashid, he was equally assured, cutting and sweeping the leg-spinner for boundaries.
He brought up his three figures in 76 balls, spanking Rashid over long-off — his first in 14 innings.
This was also his second-fastest hundred. His fastest was a 63-ball hundred against Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup.
Earlier, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja continued his stranglehold over English batters with brilliant figures of 3/35 as India bowled out the visitors for a sub-par 304 after opting to bat.
On a belter, Jadeja’s crucial breakthroughs came against the run of play as he dismissed an aggressive Ben Duckett (65 off 56 balls) and a well-set Joe Root (69 off 72 balls), preventing England from building on their strong start.
England laid a solid foundation with contributions from Duckett, Root, and skipper Jos Buttler (34 off 35 balls).
At 200/3 in 35 overs, England seemed on course for a 330-plus total, but Jadeja’s disciplined bowling stifled their momentum, denying them the extra 15-20 runs.
England would have struggled to reach 300 if not for Liam Livingstone’s brisk 41 off 32 balls (2×4, 2×6) and Adil Rashid’s explosive five-ball 14, which included three consecutive boundaries off Mohammed Shami.
However, three run-outs in the final couple of overs saw them bowled out with a delivery to spare — the lowest total at Barabati Stadium since 2011 as 350-plus has been the norm since then.
Jadeja’s tactical awareness first undid Duckett, tempting him with a widish delivery out of his hitting arc which the southpaw miscued straight to mid-on.
Jadeja then removed Root for the fifth time in ODIs, slowing it down and tossing it up, only for Root to loft it straight to Kohli at deep extra cover.
Jadeja capped off his spell with a final-ball dismissal of Jamie Overton, who tried to create room but ended up skying it to Shubman Gill at cover.
It was a third catch for Gill who was simply phenomenal on the field on a day India made some poor judgments, burning two reviews, both against Root off mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who had figures of 1/54 on ODI debut.
Harshit Rana (1/62 in 9 overs) proved expensive, conceding 14 runs in his two overs as Duckett capitalised on his pace, finding gaps with ease.
PTI
