Twitter Reactions: England batsmen steamroll Indian bowlers to level the series 1-1

England decimated India by six wickets in the second ODI at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium, Pune to draw level in the three-match series. The visitors toyed with the India bowlers to register the thumping win. Chasing a huge 337-run total to keep the series alive, England crossed the finishing line in just the 44th over with Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes starring with the bat.

After sharing a 135-run stand in the first ODI, Bairstow and Jason Roy gave England another solid start. The duo added 110 runs in just 87 deliveries before a stunning piece of fielding effort from Rohit Sharma ended Roy’s knock. Roy departed after scoring 55 off 52 balls. The breakthrough, however, did not bring any respite for Virat Kohli & Co. as Bairstow and Stokes took the Indian bowlers to the cleaners.

Bairstow, who missed a century in the previous ODI by just 6 runs, reached his century in style by hitting Kuldeep Yadav for a six. The right-handed batsman reached his century off 95 balls. Stokes, on the other end, was more aggressive as he scored 99 off just 52 balls with the help of 4 fours and 10 sixes. During his knock, Stokes also collected 34 runs off one Krunal Pandya over.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar ended the stand between Stokes and Bairstow when he dismissed the former. Two runs later, Prasidh Krishna dismissed Bairstow for 124. In the same over, he dismissed Jos Buttler for a three-ball duck to reduce England to 287 for 3 from 285 for 1 and revive India’s slim hopes. But before India could make another comeback with the ball just like the first ODI, Liam Livingstone and Dawid Malan steadied the ship. The duo shared an unbeaten stand of 50 runs to take England home.

KL Rahul’s century guides India to a big total

Earlier in the game, KL Rahul’s fifth ODI century helped India post a big total of 336 for 6 in the stipulated 50 overs. Apart from Rahul, Rishabh Pant and skipper Virat Kohli scored crucial fifties too. England won the toss once again and invited India to bat first. The hosts were off to a poor start as both their openers – Shikhar Dhawan (4) and Rohit Sharma (25) – failed to get going.

India were reeling on 37 for 2 in the 9th over when Kohli and Rahul joined hands in the middle. The duo quickly put India’s innings on track by sharing 121 runs for the third wicket. Adil Rashid broke the stand when he dismissed Kohli for 66 as the latter’s century drought further extended. Kohli has not scored an ODI ton since August 2019.

The century-plus stand between Kohli and Rahul was followed by another century-plus stand between the latter and Rishabh Pant. It was this partnership that led the foundation for India’s big total. The duo shared a 133-run stand off just 77 balls for the fourth wicket before Rahul departed for a well-made 108. Pant, on the other hand, continued his assault and raced away to 28-ball fifty.

The southpaw took India’s score over the 300-run mark before Tom Curran ended his 77-run knock. Pant’s knock came off just 40 balls and was laced with 3 fours and 7 sixes. Towards the end, Hardik Pandya played a fine cameo off 35 off just 16 balls to guide India close to the 340-run mark.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the match: