Joe Root produced a composed innings to guide England to a six-wicket victory over India in the second ODI in Cardiff on Thursday, helping the hosts draw level at 1-1 in the three-match series. The result sets up a winner-takes-all finale at Lord's on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 234 on a surface that offered plenty of assistance to the bowlers, England endured an early wobble before Root held the innings together with a measured knock. Ben Duckett was dismissed for a golden duck by Jasprit Bumrah off the opening delivery of the chase, while Jacob Bethell departed for four in the fourth over, leaving England under pressure.
Root then steadied the innings through a succession of valuable partnerships. He added important stands with captain Harry Brook, Sam Curran and Jos Buttler before combining with Will Jacks for a decisive 72-run partnership for the fifth wicket that put England firmly in control.
Jacks was dismissed in the 40th over, after which Gus Atkinson accelerated the scoring. Taking charge in the closing stages, Atkinson struck the winning runs, leaving Root unbeaten on 99 from 133 deliveries.
Earlier, India began their innings on a promising note before losing momentum during the middle overs. Openers Rohit Sharma and skipper Shubman Gill shared a 44-run stand from 46 balls, after which Rohit and Virat Kohli added 60 runs in 61 deliveries.
Rohit, however, found it difficult to rotate the strike towards the latter part of his innings. He played out a maiden over from Sam Curran before struggling against Adil Rashid. His resistance eventually ended when Will Jacks induced a miscued lap sweep that ballooned to Jos Buttler, who completed a straightforward catch.
Kohli, meanwhile, looked in complete control as he extended his impressive run of form in one-day internationals. Following Ishan Kishan's dismissal shortly after Rohit's exit, Kohli found solid support from Shreyas Iyer. The duo stitched together a 67-run partnership for the fourth wicket at exactly a run a ball before Jofra Archer dismissed Kohli for 65 off 66 balls.
With India's lower middle order unable to provide substantial support, Iyer was left to shepherd the innings alongside the tail. Apart from Iyer's effort, Jasprit Bumrah contributed valuable late runs with an unbeaten 20 off 13 deliveries, helping India post a total of 233.
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