Watch cricket video highlights of England tour of India 2025. Second ODI between India and England. Venue of the match will be Cuttack.
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India scored 308 for 6 (Rohit 119, Gill 60, Iyer 44, Axar 41*) and triumphed over England, who made 304 (Root 69, Duckett 65, Jadeja 3-35), by four wickets. Rohit Sharma quieted the critics and demonstrated his readiness to captain India into the Champions Trophy, as he powered to his 32nd ODI century, helping his team secure an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series against England in the second ODI at Cuttack.
With a challenging target of 305 runs set for India to chase down, following a scattered England performance that had seven players reaching double figures but none scoring more than Joe Root’s 69 off 72 deliveries, Rohit showcased the power and stamina needed for the dry conditions, as he dominated the chase with 119 runs off 90 balls, featuring 12 fours and seven sixes. He achieved his milestone from 76 balls with his last six.
A beautiful lofted shot over wide long-off off Adil Rashid, and had he not mishit a full toss from Liam Livingstone to midwicket while still requiring 85 runs, the victory margin could have been substantial. Instead, India introduced some late tension into their chase, losing three wickets within five overs after Shreyas Iyer was unwisely run out for 44, necessitating Axar Patel’s composed 41 not out from 43 balls to avert any embarrassment.
In reality, England had been largely ineffective long before Ravindra Jadeja, their main wicket-taker, hit the boundary that secured the win with 33 balls remaining. Those shadows had literally appeared at one point due to a floodlight failure in the seventh over, resulting in a frustrating 40-minute delay. Despite his well-documented difficulties in Australia this winter and his unimpressive 2 runs from seven balls in Nagpur on Thursday, Rohit has played too few ODIs recently to be considered out of form in this format.
This marked only his fifth 50-over innings since the World Cup final in November 2023, where he scored 597 runs at an average of 54.27, playing a crucial role in his team reaching the final. Since then, he had added two more fifties in three innings during Sri Lanka in August. Even with his 38th birthday approaching in April, and with the milestone of 11,000 career ODI runs on the horizon in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, he appears to be in good shape for a few more innings. Similar to Nagpur.
Rohit’s initial seven balls were the least assured of his innings, yet this time they were not his final seven. His first boundary was a rather fortunate four through deep third off Gus Atkinson, but as he found his groove just one ball later, it was as if he had flipped a switch in his batting mindset. A stunning pick-up shot off his pads sailed over deep midwicket for six—arguably the finest shot he had played all winter—and suddenly, his timing aligned perfectly with the pitch. Saqib Mahmood, who had posed a challenge in a tight initial over.
Was hammered for two more sixes in the third and fifth overs, straight over extra cover and long-off, signaling the start of the chase. Rohit had comfortably reached 29 off 18 when the floodlight failure occurred, and the agitation could have been heightened when Mark Wood made his entrance after the break and struck him on the knee with his third delivery. Nonetheless, England’s review indicated, via ball-tracking, that the ball was only clipping leg stump, and Rohit’s retort was to firmly plant his front foot to meet the pitch of the next ball.
Launching it clean over long-off for his fourth six within eight overs—matching the total number of sixes England managed in their entire innings. Rashid, who has frequently been England’s key player, was unable to halt the onslaught. Rohit struck him for two additional fours in his opening over, reaching a 30-ball half-century, while Shubman Gill – until that moment the quiet partner – demonstrated he would not squander his excellent start with a magnificent slog-sweep for his lone six.
Another four from Gill’s pull shot brought forth the hundred partnership in the 14th over, and just an over later, he secured his own fifty – off 45 balls – marking the 21st time in 49 ODI innings that he achieved this, with an average that briefly climbed above 60. England’s lack of diverse bowling options was highlighted when Atkinson – still feeling the pain from his harsh treatment in the first T20I – returned to bowl and was punished with two more pulled boundaries by Rohit.
Including a poorly delivered half-tracker that was launched behind square for his fifth six. The unexpected breakthrough arrived abruptly. After Jamie Overton had been hit for two fours in four deliveries by Gill, he retaliated with a remarkable yorker that knocked out the off stump at a speed of 141kph. The brief silence in Cuttack was quickly replaced by a loud cheer as Virat Kohli, returning to the lineup following his knee issue in Nagpur, stepped onto the field with the score at 136 for 1. However, his time at the crease would be short-lived.
A beautifully struck four off Atkinson got the crowd excited, but Kohli had only faced eight balls when Rashid turned a legbreak past a strong shot, leading to Phil Salt’s impressive catch, and England’s review revealed a slight edge. Kohli, having been brought back into the XI instead of India’s promising talent, Yashasvi Jaiswal, felt the sting of failure just as Rohit savored his success; although he might contend—similar to his captain—that not long ago he was named Player of the Tournament for amassing 765 runs during the 2023 World Cup.
When it comes to England, their issues are considerably more serious. Similar to their lackluster batting performances during the World Cup, this outing once again failed to meet expectations. After winning the toss, Ben Duckett and Phil Salt provided an explosive start, putting together an opening partnership of 81 runs in just 65 balls, marking their third consecutive fifty-plus collaboration on this tour. While Joe Root and Jos Buttler were comfortably building a fourth-wicket partnership of 51 runs, England aimed for a total exceeding 330.
However, both established batsmen fell within four overs, sparking another dramatic collapse: England lost their final seven wickets for just 85 runs, including three run-outs, resulting in their dismissal for 304 with one ball remaining. India’s spinners, as expected, played a crucial role, particularly Ravindra Jadeja, who showcased his skill against some predictable shot selections, achieving exceptional figures of 3 for 35. A focal point was Overton, whom England appears to believe can solve their death-overs dilemma akin to Andre Russell.
His batting position at No. 7 was confirmed after Jacob Bethell was ruled out due to a concerning hamstring injury, but his contribution of 6 runs off 10 balls further demonstrated that his approach is unlikely to succeed under spin-friendly conditions. At least Livingstone seemed to have received the message with a solid late innings of 41 runs from 32 balls, including two impressive sixes off Harshit Rana, as did Rashid, who hit three consecutive fours off Mohammed Shami to reach 14 runs from 5 balls, only to run himself out just when he was finding his rhythm.
What’s troubling for England, however, is that India had numerous opportunities to wrap up the innings for even fewer runs. There were two clear missed chances in the field, including a particularly poor drop by Axar at deep third when Salt had only managed 6 runs off 12 balls, and Rohit grimaced at the replay when Root was shown to have been plumb lbw to Axar for 16 runs, with India having opted not to review.
Harry Brook, whose ability against spin has faced scrutiny on this tour, scored 31 runs but could have been dismissed for a duck had umpire Chris Brown accepted an lbw appeal from his adversary, Varun Chakravarthy, which indicated it would clip leg according to ball-tracking. At 33 years old, Varun earned his ODI debut after taking 14 wickets at an impressive average of 9.85 in T20Is. He needed just 11 deliveries to highlight his presence, dismissing Salt and initiating a familiar squeeze during the middle overs that India maintained throughout.
