Pune: Centurion Jonny Bairstow (124 off 112 balls) and Ben Stokes (99 off 52 balls) added 175 runs for the second wicket to help England chase a mammoth 337-run target set by India and win the second One-day International by six wickets, with 6.3 overs to spare at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here Friday.
With this win, England levelled the three-match series 1-1, after India won the first ODI by 66 runs. Sunday’s final game here will be the series decider.
England got off to a flying start with Jason Roy (55 off 52 balls) adding 110 with Bairstow for the first wicket in 99 balls. After Roy was dismissed, Bairstow and Stokes continued the onslaught and by the time they were removed the visitors needed just around four an over which was easy for the latter batsmen.
Earlier, India made 336/6 in 50 overs with Rishabh Pant’s 40-ball 77 and KL Rahul’s fifth ODI ton (114-ball 108) powering them. Skipper Virat Kohli made his fourth consecutive half-century, scoring 66 off 79 balls. In reply, England finished at 337 for four wickets in 43.3 overs.
Brief scores:
India: 336/6 wkts in 50 overs (KL Rahul 108, R Pant 77, V Kohli 66, R Topley 2/50, T Curran 2/83) lost to England: 337/4 wkts in 43.3 overs (J. Bairstow 124, Ben Stokes 99, J. Roy 55, P. Krishna 2/58) by 6 wickets.
IANS