India vs England, 2021: 2nd ODI - Who Said What

England have managed to level the ODI series with a stunning win in the second game. It all comes down to the decider now that will be played on Sunday at the same venue in Pune. It was carnage at the MCA Stadium with Ben Stokes taking the attack to the opposition after the 30-over mark. Rather everyone forgot Jonny Bairstow at the other end who was batting so well at the other end.

Stokes got into a six-hitting mode after reaching his fifty and literally no bowler had any answer to that. In fact, even the Indian fielders were admiring the shots as the southpaw smacked 99 and was unfortunate not to get to the three-figure mark. However, his knock and Bairstow’s incredible 124-run innings made sure that England were always ahead in the chase and despite a stutter in the end, they chased down the total with six wickets in hand.

It was some crazy hitting from the visitors and they gunned down a mammoth 337 with more than six overs to spare to take the series into the decider.

KL Rahul and Pant shine for India

After being put in to bat again, India started slowly and then upped the ante sensationally in the last 10 overs. KL Rahul dropped the anchor to score 108 runs while Rishabh Pant smacked 77 off just 40 balls to propel the team. Shikhar Dhawan failed after a brilliant innings in the last game while Rohit Sharma also couldn’t do much. Virat Kohli looked good again but he got out to Adil Rashid for the ninth time in international cricket.

India scored 126 runs in last 10 overs thanks to Rahul, Pant and Hardik Pandya. But England cantered home easily with 39 deliveries in hand.

Man of the Match, Jonny Bairstow said:

Disappointed to miss out in the last game, delighted to get over the line in this one. Over the years I have had too many chats with Cork. The thought process was the same like the last game, exactly the same game plan. Ben played some entertaining strokes down the ground.

England skipper, Jos Buttler said:

Delighted with the response of the guys. We put in a very good bowling performance to restrict India to that total. I am delighted that we continued to commit to the fashion we want to play our cricket. The guys in the middle overs did an exceptional job to restrict them at that stage when Rishabh Pant was going, that was a big wicket for us. The way the guys came out and played, fantastically well and then the partnerships from the start made it a brilliant chase.

India skipper, Virat Kohli said:

I think we set up quite a decent total. It was going to be challenging if we stayed in the game for long periods. We started off well with the new ball, with our lines and lengths but England found a way to hang on and got a century partnership.

We did falter a bit at times but mostly, that was some of the best hitting that you’ll ever see. We never had a chance during their partnership (Stokes-Bairstow), that’s how good they were.

Don’t think dew was much of a factor. Maybe the wicket settled a bit better but that’s no excuse. We just defended a score two days ago. Tonight was a case of lack of execution at certain stages but they didn’t give us anything. It’s rare to play at such a high strike-rate and not give any chances.

(On Hardik not bowling in ODIs) We need to manage his body. Need to understand where we need this skill set. Did utilise him in the T20Is but in the ODIs, it’s about managing his workload. We have Test cricket in England coming up too. So it’s important for us to have him fit.

We lost two wickets early, needed a partnership and that happened between KL and myself. KL got a big score, really happy for him. And then Rishabh changed the game there. We thought that 300 would be a great effort but getting those 35 extra runs was good. Pleased to see these youngsters coming and doing well.

(On his century drought) I never played for hundreds in my life, probably why I ended up getting so many in such a short while. It’s more important for the team to win. If I get a three-figure score and the team doesn’t win, it means nothing.