Rohit Masterclass: India Smash England’s Comeback Hopes in ODI Series
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
A Captain’s Knock: Sharma Leads India to ODI Series Victory
After Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first at the Barabati Stadium in Odisha on Sunday morning, an ODI series comeback seemed to be on for England, with Phil Salt and Ben Duckett putting on an impressive 81-run partnership at the top of the innings before the former departed for 26. Duckett went on to smash nine boundaries while Joe Root strode to the crease and notched up 69 runs in 72 balls.
The top three batsmen helped the visitors lay a solid foundation for the likes of Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone later in the innings, and it largely paid off, as the Three Lions posted a very defendable 304 in 49.5 overs in their must-win second ODI. However, a record-breaking innings from India skipper Rohit Sharma denied Buttler’s side a much-needed victory, and clinched the ODI series for the Men in Blue, now 2-0 up after a thumping 4-1 victory in the 20-over format.
Chasing a mammoth 305 for victory, Sharma blasted 119 off just 90 balls, including a stunning 12 fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of 132.22. With that knock came several records, but the most notable was the India captain surpassing legend Sachin Tendulkar in the list of openers with the most runs for the Men in Blue across all formats of the game. Tendulkar amassed 15,335 runs as an opener while Sharma now sits on 15,404, second in the all-time list only behind Virender Sehwag’s 16,119.
Additionally, Sharma, who will lead team India to the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in less than a week, also surpassed West Indian legend Chris Gayle to become the second-highest six-hitter in ODI history. Gayle launched a total of 331 deliveries over the boundary line during his time at the top of the West Indies batting order, while Sharma is now on 334, just 17 short of the all-time record held by Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi (351).
However, the victory was not entirely attributable to Rohit’s knock, as his deputy, Shubman Gill struck 60 runs in just 52 balls, marking his second consecutive half-century of the series. The duo of Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel - the latter of which was once again promoted up the order - posted 44 and 41 at almost a run a ball respectively, putting the hosts in a commanding position, and they did not falter, wrapping up the match and series with 33 balls to spare.
Given India’s dominance in the limited-overs game since their T20 World Cup triumph, the Men in Blue are certain to head into the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy as the out-and-out favourites to win the tournament for a third time. England, on the other hand, will need to reassess their tactics, as their struggles with handling spinners in the sub-continent have been plainly evident over the last couple of months. The Three Lions will be able to salvage some pride later this week when the series heads to Gujarat’s Narendra Modi Stadium for the third and final match on Wednesday morning.
