Stokes and Bairstow leave a Massacre Behind | India vs England 2nd ODI Match Review |

 

After registering a massive total of 336 runs, India was almost guaranteed a win, given the home conditions were favoring India. The Indian fans were so over-joyed by the heroics of their team’s batting that they almost took the visitors a bit too lightly. They had very little idea that they were about to witness something historic. What followed next proved exactly why the England side is a force to be reckoned with. Want to know what went down? Read the full article to find out just how.

 

Playing XI :

India – Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav.

 

England – Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Dawid Malan, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley.

India 1^st Innings – Form is temporary, KLass is Permanent

After failing to win yet another Toss, India were asked to bat first by the stand-in skipper, Jos Buttler. Reece Topley’s perfect outswingers ensured that India couldn’t get a steady start as he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan early for 4. Rohit Sharma played aggressive cricket while Virat Kohli set himself to the pitch. Not too long after that, Rohit was dismissed by Sam Curran for 25 after playing a poor shot. As they say, “One Man’s loss is another Man’s gain” and thus at no. 4, came to bat KL Rahul in place of the injured Shreyas Iyer. Rahul and Virat steadied the innings and built a solid partnership. The duo took very little risk and made sure the runs kept on coming. Both of them reached fifties as they put up a 100-run partnership but soon Virat Kohli was dismissed for 66 by Rashid as he failed to convert yet another 50 into a ton. Rishabh Pant came in next and he took full advantage of the foundation laid by the Kohli-Rahul partnership. Pant assessed the pitch and started with his natural game while Rahul was nearing a ton. Rahul played shots of the highest caliber and not before long, he reached his 5^th ODI hundred. The past month has really been a rollercoaster ride for little old KL. Tom Curran dismissed KL Rahul for 108 and thus came an end to one of the finest ODI innings in recent memory. However, this certainly had no impact on the run rate as the runs kept on coming at an almost hemorrhaging rate. The Hardik-Pant show didn’t last long but it certainly provided entertainment with those massive sixes coming from both ends. Pant’s impressive innings of 77 off just 40 balls came to an end courtesy of Tom Curran. Hardik Pandya’s short cameo of 35 runs off just 16 balls helped India reach a humongous total of 336-6.  There wasn’t much to celebrate for the English bowlers as they were all thrashed all around the park. However, Tom Curran and Reece Topley picked two wickets each and there was a wicket for Sam Curran and Adil Rashid as well.

 

England 2^nd Innings – Bairstow, Stokes prove to be just too good for the Indians

 

Chasing 337 in an ODI Match is difficult but what makes it exceptionally hard is if you’re going one on one against the 2^nd best side in the world in their home conditions. Enter: Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow. The English batters welcomed the Indian pace attack with cover drives and square cuts of their own. They built up a solid partnership with the majority of their runs coming in boundaries. The Indian bowlers couldn’t get an early dismissal and the Englishmen took full advantage of it. The duo added 110 runs for their opening stand before Jason Roy was run out by Rohit Sharma for 55. India hoped that the breakthrough will lead to more dismissals but Ben Stokes and Bairstow had other ideas. They took full advantage of the Pune pitch which had nothing for the bowlers and thrashed every single bowler. They were hitting sixes at will and made batting look like a child’s play and that’s what differentiates great batsmen from the rest. They completely dominated the opposition as the match grew tougher and tougher to even watch. Shardul? Dispatched. Kuldeep? Dispatched. Krunal? Dispatched. Krishna? I heard he’s good but no, absolutely Dispatched. Bairstow reached his century. Ben Stokes reached his 50 in 40 balls and in no time was on 99 at just 51 balls. England were 285-1 after 35 overs needing just 52 more runs in 15 overs. These bare facts tell you their sheer domination over the Indian bowlers. The Indian bowlers showed some signs of a resurgence after a flurry of offense as they dismissed Stokes (99), Bairstow (124) and Buttler (0) in a span of two overs but it was too little too late. Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone took England safely home as they beat the hosts by 6 wickets and achieved the seemingly impossible target with 39 balls to spare! The less said about the Indian bowling the better. Prasidh Krishna and Bhuvneshwar Kumar grabbed two and a wicket respectively as the rest of the bowlers had their economy rate over 7.50.

Man of the Match – Jonny Bairstow (124 off 112)

 

Conclusion – What a way to assert your dominance for the English Side it was. Chasing a massive total in record fashion as England levelled the series 1-1 each and the winner of the PayTM ODI Trophy will be decided in the final match. There are no two ways about the fact that England were the better side in all three aspects of the game. They have one of the; if not the best batting order in world cricket right now. However, things may not be rosy on the other camp. India have a lot to work on. Their 5-bowler policy isn’t really working and the openers aren’t giving them the desired start. Expect Yuzvendra Chahal to replace Kuldeep Yadav in the next match as the fate of the ODI Series hangs in the balance.