England were propelled to a fourth straight one-day series defeat on an evening when a faulty floodlight was the only thing to inconvenience India captain Rohit Sharma.
Defending a target of 305, the only respite for Jos Buttler’s team in a four-wicket loss that sent them 2-0 down with one to play came during a 40-minute period at the start of the chase when one of the ground’s eight towers stopped working.
Rohit had already struck three sixes by that stage and when he belted his seventh, straight down the ground off Adil Rashid, it took him to a 76-ball hundred – his 32nd in one-day internationals.
‘Any time you’re playing against great players and they play an innings like that, players on both sides will be watching and learning,’ said England captain Buttler.
‘He went up and down the gears, absorbed pressure and put a lot of pressure back on us.’
Chipping away with regular wickets after Jamie Overton yorked Shubman Gill to end a 136-run opening stand, England managed to extend the miserable run of the other all-time great within India’s powerful line-up when the fit-again Virat Kohli edged leg-spinner Rashid behind for five, Phil Salt’s fine catch confirmed on review.
England lost to India by four wickets as the hosts have set a victory in the second ODI in Cuttack
The hosts’ win secured an overall victory in the three-match series with a 2-0 lead
India captain Rohit Sharma hit 119 off 90 balls to successfully chase down a target of 305
But Rohit – who unlike his team-mates clearly didn’t see the funny side when the flickering floodlit caused one short delay and then a much lengthier one after Saqib Mahmood sent down a single delivery of the seventh over – was in ruthless mood, refusing to allow his one moment of good fortune to go to waste.
The 37-year-old was on 36, in the first full over back following the stoppage, when England challenged a leg before appeal by Mark Wood that was shown to be an umpire’s call clip of leg stump – had Chris Brown raised his finger instead of shaking his head, the pyrotechnics would have been cut short.
At halfway it felt like England were below par and, lacking a second frontline spinner, required early wickets to redress the balance.
On their last visit here eight years ago, India made full use of the Barabati Stadium’s modest boundaries – the longest distance being just under 65 metres – recovering from the loss of three early wickets to post 381 for six.
Rohit put those dimensions into context as he raced to a half-century from 30 balls, supported by his vice-captain Gill, whose own 50 came from 45.
India required just four an over when Rohit’s dismissal – walking into a full toss and skying into the grasp of mid-on – gave England a third success.
A mix up between the wickets saw Shreyas Iyer sacrificed as a fourth, KL Rahul became Overton’s second victim after getting in a tangle pulling and Hardik Pandya holed out in the deep, but India’s sixth win in seven was confirmed with 33 balls unused.
‘We got into some nice positions with the bat but we needed a few of us to catch fire and push us to 350,’ Buttler said, following another failure to capitalise on a power play rate of seven and a half runs an over.
In the last 32 ODIs played in India, England has achieved five wins, one tie, and suffered 26 defeats against India
Meanwhile, India have maintained their 40-year-long unbeaten home record against England
Ben Duckett led the way, hitting seven of his first 23 balls to the boundary and reaching 50 from 39, while Joe Root surpassed Eoin Morgan’s England record for most half-centuries during a 69-ball 72 which included India burning both their reviews.
But England’s failing was each of their top five getting to 26 without going big, leaving new batters exposed to Ravindra Jadeja’s brilliance in these conditions.
Jadeja finished with figures three for 35, taking his overall tally to 45 wickets against England – more than he has managed against any other opponent.
Waiting for the return of the seamers, Liam Livingstone launched a late rally with Adil Rashid as side-kick, but it was not enough and the lights went out on England’s bid to level things at 1-1 thanks to Rohit.
