Another high-scorer, another game that went right down to the end, another match that went India's way. England fought valiantly, chasing down a mammoth score, but, in the end, they were always a step behind in the run chase as India clinched the series with a 15-run win in the second ODI in Cuttack on Thursday.
Kohli and Dhoni bettere than Undertaker and Kane?
This was a match that will not be too fondly remembered by the bowlers, again, with the majority of them carved to all parts of the field by the ruthless batsmen. And there were plenty of those, with India, this time, thanking MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh for helping them reach a score that, eventually, proved to be just about enough.
The two veterans came together when India were on 25/3 while batting first and then put on a stunning 256-run partnership – both of them striking centuries as well, with Yuvraj making 150, while Dhoni finished with 134 – that allowed India to post 381/6 in their 50 overs.
England's reply was pretty solid, with Jason Roy and Joe Root, two of the top three batsmen, scoring half-centuries. But neither of them could carry on and score the big hundred which is so necessary while chasing such a big score.
Root fell to a poor shot right after getting to his 50, while Roy fell 18 short of his hundred. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were the key bowlers for India, with the spinners picking up four wickets between them in the middle overs. While Jadeja got the important scalp of Roy, Ashwin accounted for the dismissal of Root, before taking out the dangerous finishers Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.
In the death overs, Jasprit Bumrah struggled again for control, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar was outstanding, bowling some wonderful overs at the end to keep Eoin Morgan from winning the match for England.
The captain, who was unfortunately run out in the penultimate over, was in need of a big score just to quieten his critics, and he got one, striking a splendid 102 from just 81 balls, even if it proved to be not enough in the end.
