Kolkata: The fantastic all round performance by Ben Stokes helped England beat India by 5 runs in Kolkata. India needed 16 runs in the last over but with the dismissal of Jadhav in the 49.4th over India’s all hopes eventually got diminished.
The fantastic all round performance by Ben Stokes helped England beat India by 5 runs in Kolkata
Earlier today, winning the toss, Indian skipper Virat Kohli opted to bowl first to take advantage of the initial conditions of the pitch. But soon, the result backfired as the strong English batting line-up piled a huge 321 for 8 at the end of 50 overs. The good news for the English dressing room was the success of all its top-order batsmen. As it was previously quoted at the match preview that Kolkata pitch would be little helpful to bowlers and similar happened.
Jason Roy 65 (56b, 4s x 10, 6s x 1) was impressive today. He added a fine 98 for the first wicket with Sam Billings (35). Roy played all across the Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens and looked quite confident as usual. But Jadeja bowled him out in the 17.2 overs to give India its first breakthrough.
Next to depart was Sam Billings just within the next 14 balls. He got out while trying to hit Jadeja but ended up getting caught by Bumrah. Then dependable middle order batsman Johnny Bairstow tried to handle the innings carefully. Bairstow (56) and Captain Eoin Morgan (43) added 84-run for the third wicket to consolidate the English scoreboard. Thanks to some late fireworks by Ben Stokes 57* (39b, 4s x 4, 6s x 2) that saw England’s scoreboard cross 321 run mark.
At jam-packed Eden Gardens, the crowds were completely in India’s favor. They cheered each shot of India. But dismal performance by openers once again has disappointed fans one more time. Ajinkya Rahane (1) got bowled out by D Willey at the start of India’s innings. Lokesh Rahul (11) also departed soon bringing in Virat Kohli and experienced Yuvraj Singh in the middle.
Well-set Virat Kohli 55 (63b, 4s x 8) edged Jos Buttler just when he looked dangerous. The dismissal of Kohli brought down India’s score to 102/3 that made the match more worrisome from India’s point of view. Soon experienced Yuvraj Singh also got out after scoring 45. However, the 104-run partnership between Hardik Pandya (56) and Kedar Jadhav (90) for the 6th wicket brought India closer to a win but couldn’t materialize in the end.
Ben Stokes really did the damage by chipping in three of India’s batsmen at important stages of the match. However, unperturbed Kedar Jadhav got his runs freely without any tension. He found the gap amazingly on both leg side and off-side that completely confused English Captain more. Finally, India needed 16 runs in the last over. But credit goes to Chris Woakes who bowled marvelously and gave just 10-run in the last 6 balls to present a fantastic-thrilling win to his team.
Brief Scoreboard
England 321/8 (Roy 65, Bairstow 56, Stokes 57*; Pandya 49/3)
India 316/9 (Jadhav 90, Pandya 56, Kohli 55; Stokes 63/3)
Man of the Match: Ben Stokes
Series Result: 2-1 (India won the Paytm ODI series with 2-1 lead)
Tags: Ben Stokes, England, Eoin Morgan, India, Kedar Jadhav, Kolkata, Virat Kohli
