Disciplined bowling from England bowlers set the tone for the final ODI as the hosts won the second ODI by a big margin of 100 runs, leveling the 3-match series by 1-1.
A 6-wicket haul from Reece Topley helped England to win the second match at Lord’s, and he also managed to register his name on the Lord’s honor board by picking his first 5-wicket haul.
Indian bowlers continued their good form
With a clinical performance in the first match by Indian bowlers, that confidence was seen in the second match as well. After winning the toss Rohit Sharma, with a slight hesitation, decided to bowl first.
The decision didn’t go wrong as Indian bowlers managed to stop England at a mere total of 246, which looked far below compared to this English team’s reputation.
Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for the Indian team, the leg spinner picked 4 wickets conceding 47 runs, which included the prize wickets of Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes, and the dangerous-looking Moeen Ali.
Other than Chahal, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumhrah picked up 2 wickets each.
Moeen Ali and David Willey Fought for England
Amid another collapse in the top and the middle order for the English side, it was Moeen Ali and David Willey who took England well past 200.
Moeen, with 47 was the top scorer for his team while David Willey scored 41 helping England to put on a fighting total on a pitch that wasn’t easy to play the strokes for the batsmen.
Early Collapse of Indian batting
In a modest chase of 247 runs, it wasn’t looking like a hard run for the in-form Indian batting side, but Reece Topley was in a different mood.
The first match’s highest run-scorer, Rohit Sharma, was departed on duck by Topley, and soon Shikhar Dhawan was caught on the leg side at a mere score of 9, and soon Rishabh Pant was also caught at mid-on on duck, leaving India on 29 for 3.
Kohli woes continue
The return of Virat Kohli in the second match was a big boost for the Indian side and all his cricket fans were hoping that he might get back to his form, but the same story continued.
After hitting three boundaries, all eyes were on Virat, but soon the ball outside off stump took his nick and ended all the Indian hopes.
He was dismissed on a score of 16, leaving the Indian side reeling on 31 for 4.
Hardik-Surya raised some hope
While chasing a mere target of 247, it was just a matter of one partnership, and after a horrible start, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav showed some fighting spirit.
But the century maker of the 3 T20I, Surya, was dismissed by Topley on 29 and soon after, Hardik became the first wicket of Moeen Ali for the match, departing with a score of 29.
The Indians were reeling at 101 for 5 and the only hope that remained was Ravindra Jadeja, but a full delivery from Liam Livingstone shattered Jadeja’s stumps and Indian hopes as well.
The Indian side was bowled out for 146 as England registered a big win of 100 runs, Reece Topley was awarded the Man of the Match for his exceptional performance of 6 for 24.
With this win, England managed to level up the series, leaving everything to the third and last ODI, which will be played at Emirates Old Trafford on the 17th of July.