Bhuvneshwar Kumar defended 22 runs in the last over as the hosts held on to their nerves to beat England by 15 runs in the second ODI in Cuttack to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Chasing 381 in the do or die clash, the visitors did have a great start as Alex Hales was sent back cheaply but Jason Roy along with Joe Root steadied the ship with a century stand. The partnership was broken when Root, just after completing his fifty, top-edged a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery to Virat Kohli.
Roy along with skipper Eoin Morgan then shared a 42-run stand before he was clean bowled By Ravindra Jadeja. Ben Stokes (1) and Jos Buttler (10) also failed to score big as the visitors were reduced to 206 for 5. Morgan and Moeen Ali kept the chase on track with a 93-run stand before the latter was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Moeen’s dismissal did not affect England’s spirited chase as Morgan fired on all cylinders to keep England in the hunt before being dismissed after scoring 102. The visitors needed 22 runs off the last over but Liam Plunkett and David Willey could manage only six runs.
Earlier, both Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck centuries to help India post a mammoth 381 after being reduced to 27 for 3. After being invited to bat first on a Cuttack pitch that was looking excellent for batting, the hosts were staring down the barrel as Chris Woakes ran riot by dismissing the top three batsmen cheaply. Yuvraj and Dhoni then began the rescue act and took some time to settle down before hitting the top gear to set the platform for a huge score. The southpaw departed after scoring a career-best 150 while Dhoni scored 134.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
Yeaahh Team India!!! Super stuff!! #INDvENG
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 19, 2017
Virat Kohli as captain at home:
ODIs: 7 wins out of 7
Tests: 10 wins out of 12 (2 draws)
Hasn't yet lost a game at home!#INDvENG— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) January 19, 2017
Dhoni just can't stop being the captain & we love it. ?
A match of 2 veterans. India win. ??#INDvENG— Prateek Khare (@TweetsByPrateek) January 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/deespeak/status/822115852615041024
Two ODI's
Four innings
Four 350+ Scores
Bowlers: ???#INDvENG #Eng #IND
— Raam (@RaamNtr) January 19, 2017
Tremendous batting from Morgan. He is a special limited overs batsman
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 19, 2017
Indian cricket fan watching its bowlers defend target pic.twitter.com/KhxNEYCFIg
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) January 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/sagarcasm/status/822105486908497922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Ravindra Jadeja will have to run directly to the hotel if India loses.#INDvENG
— The Goan Patiala ?. ? (@TheGoanPatiala) January 19, 2017
Bumrah is from the Nehra school of fielding, all arms and all legs – just he makes it work#IndvsEng
— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) January 19, 2017
Bowlers pause before bowling a ball, Dhoni pauses before stumping players. #INDvENG
— Nikhil ? (@CricCrazyNIKS) January 19, 2017
" MS Dhoni is the star with the bat and the Star with the gloves " ~ Nasser Hussain
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) January 19, 2017
This match is going to be another classical Indian batsmen vs Indian bowlers game!! #INDvENG
— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) January 19, 2017
Dhoni to Kohli: Welcome to my world #INDvENG
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) January 19, 2017
Pandya: Bhai, ye Roy out nahi ho rha! Virat: Ye ball pakad P: Ok V: Run-up pe jaa P: Ok V: Wahin se airport ki tarah nikal le bc #INDvENG
— sunil the cricketer (@1sInto2s) January 19, 2017
Joe Root is a class act. May have been overshadowed by Indian batsmen in recent weeks, but undoubtedly in the upper echelons of batsmanship
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) January 19, 2017
The wicket was on the cards. India had bowled well with the new ball irrespective of what the scoreboard was saying
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 19, 2017
Yuvraj Singh & MS Dhoni playing together after long time. It seems, we have time travelled 8 years back.
— sunil the cricketer (@1sInto2s) January 19, 2017
So good to see Yuvraj & Dhoni play as they r doing. Really Sheron ka zamaana hota hai…
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) January 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/HashTagCricket/status/822004530468495360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Yuvraj's bat wasn't away from the ball but the ball got away from Ball#INDvENG
— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) January 19, 2017
What sublime timing from Yuvraj Singh#INDvENG
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) January 19, 2017
Virat Kohli is human after all. #INDvENG
— Nikhil ? (@CricCrazyNIKS) January 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/HitmanCricket/status/821998867134582785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Rahul out Dhawan out Virat out Dhoni aur Yuvraj form m nhi hain Kedar chotil h Pandya: Sab kuch mujh pe chhod dete ho yaar tum log #INDvENG
— sunil the cricketer (@1sInto2s) January 19, 2017
*Toss happening on Hotstar*
Twitter: Shikhar Dhawan Out
— Sand-d Singh (@Sand_In_Deed) January 19, 2017