Ben Duckett and Joe Root lead England to 304 in must-win second ODI with India Ben Duckett and Joe Root scored fifties but England lost seven for 85 as they settled for 304 all out in their must-win second ODI against India in Cuttack.
While this was a much-improved display from a four-wicket defeat in Nagpur, several England batters were once more guilty of soft dismissals and were bogged down by spin, with Ravindra Jadeja again excellent as he collected three for 35, including having Duckett and Root caught in the deep.
Duckett’s 65 helped England off to another fine start and Root anchored the middle overs with a typically busy 69, with all of the tourists’ top six getting to at least 26 after they won the toss.
England, bidding to avoid a fourth successive ODI series defeat and set up a decider in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, lost wickets regularly in the final 10 overs, with Liam Livingstone’s 41 off 32 balls getting them over 300.
England’s two old hands in Root and Jos Buttler aligned for a risk-free 51 off just 54 balls, which ended when the captain attempted to take down Pandya but could not get the elevation and picked out Gill in the ring to depart for 34.
