Down 1-0 , England needed to win the second ODI in Pune to stay alive in the series . And without regular skipper Eoin Morgan out with injury , pressure was on stand-in skipper Jos Buttler to deliver.
Buttler won the toss and asked India to bat first on a good batting surface . And the surface looked perfect for batting and high scoring encounter was in the offing. And true to the words it styed through the end. India posted a massive 336/6 in their 50 overs. Rohit Sharma ( 25 ) and Shikhar Dhawan ( 4 ) fell early. Skipper Virat Kohli in terrific form struck yet another fine innings of 66. But the star was K L Rahul with a moral lifting ton ( 108), Rishabh Pant coming in made his impact with a power packed 40 ball 77 with 7 sixes . Hardik Pandya played a nice cameo 35 off 16.
English bowlers struggled hard. Sam Curran 1/47 ( 7 overs) , Reece Topley 2/50 (8 overs), Tom Curran 2/83 ( 10 overs), Ben Stokes 0/42 ( 5 overs), Moeen Ali 0/47 ( 10 overs), Adil Rashid 1/65 (10 overs)
Chasing a stiff target , England needed fine start and openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow did just that. The duo put on a superb 110 runs for the first wicket in 16.3 overs to give the side the momentum. Roy was unfortunate to be run-out for a fine 55. Bairstow on the other hand was brilliant hitting the ball all around the ground . Bairstow scored blistering 124 off 112 balls with 11 fours and 7 sixes . Then Ben Stokes joined Bairstow and the duo blasted the Indian bowlers all over the ground with scintillating display of power hitting. Stokes was at his devastating best hammering 99 off mere 52 balls. Though he missed his ton by a whisker he was unstoppable as he smashed 4 fours and 10 sixes. Jos Buttler was out for 0. But David Malan not out ( 16 ) and debutant Liam Livingstone ( 27) saw England home by six wickets and 39 balls to spare in a superb run chase . England finishing at 337/4 in 43. 3 overs.
Indian bowlers had no clue to the English rampage by Bairstow and Stokes . And their figures said it all. Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/63( 10 overs), Prasidh Krishna 2/58 ( 10 overs), Shardul Thakur 0/54 ( 7.3 overs), Kuldeep Yadav was hammered 0/84 (10 overs), Krunal Pandya 0/72 ( 6 overs)
The match ODI series is now 1-1.
