The second ODI between India and England was played at Lords London on July 14, 2018, and the hosts comprehensively defeated the visitors and leveled the series 1-1. India was chasing a mammoth total of 323, and with the exit of three early wickets, the Indians were hopelessly outclassed by some solid bowling by the hosts.
Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni who was batting was expected to fire in the last 10 overs, did not do so, instead he scored the required number of runs to complete his 10,000 runs in ODI's and got out.
He was booed by the Indian supporters for his slow batting.
Early fall of wickets sealed the fate
The star of the day was Root who slammed a century, and Liam Plunkett took four wickets to deliver a humiliating 86 runs defeat for the visitors. The highly lauded Indian batting lineup collapsed for 236 in 50 over. The Indians were off to a decent start and made a brisk 49 before the first loss in the form of Rohit Sharma who scored 15 runs. After that, both Dhawan and Rohit Sharma went in quick succession. Virat and Suresh Raina tried to steady the innings, but the momentum was lost. The Indian team was struggling with falling wickets and rising average.
Read: Video Highlights: England beat India by 86 runs in 2nd ODI; series 1-1
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It was not possible even for MS Dhoni to salvage the situation because of some accurate bowling by the English bowlers.
The English bowlers took wickets at crucial junctures and sealed the fate of the game. Liam Plunkett was the star of the day, and he took four wickets. The spinners also performed creditably with Adil Rashid getting two wickets and Moeen Ali, David Willey and Mark Wood, one wicket each.
English Batsmen can read the spinners now
Credit must be given to Eoin Morgan for choosing to bat after winning the toss. He read the conditions of the pitch very well, and the pitch slowed down as the game progressed. The English side also changed their batting strategy against the spinners. Instead of going with all their guns blazing against the spinners, they took a more subtle approach, and this was visible in the form of Root’s century which acted as the sheet anchor for a big total.
The focus will now shift to Headingley, Leeds where the decider between the two teams will be played on July 17, 2018.
Also read: Video Highlights: India beat England by 8 wickets in 1st ODI at Nottingham
