London: England leveled the three-match ODI series 1-1 against India with an impressive win by 86 runs at Lord’s on Saturday.
Opting to bat, the hosts posted 322 for 7 against India. Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy provided England with a solid start with 69-run opening partnership. Joe Root announced his return to form with a classy century, well supported by Eoin Morgan and David Willey, both scoring half-century.
For India, Kuldeep Yadav picked three wickets, including that of Bairstow and the dangerous Morgan. Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya and Umesh Yadav bagged one wicket each.
In reply, the India batting line-up collapsed in front of England bowlers. India lost wickets at regular intervals and could only manage 236 with the run rate shooting up to 13 a over in the fag end of the match.
In a pitch looking conducive for batting, India got off to a decent start with Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma scoring 49 for the opening wicket. However, the team lost Rohit Sharma (15), Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul (0) in quick succession. Though Virat Kohli (45) and Suresh Raina (46) with their 80-run stand tried to fix things, their dismissal spelled doom for India. With the run rate creeping up regularly, India’s star finisher MS Dhoni too found it difficult to reach the target and the team was bundled out for 236 in 50 overs.
For England, Liam Plunkett took four wickets.
The third and final match of the series will be played at Headingley, Leeds, on Tuesday.
