England’s Joe Root plays (ANI photo)

Joe Root presented a masterclass in ODI batting by scoring an unbeaten 99 runs off 133 balls in the second ODI, setting the stage for England’s successful target of 234 runs against India. At a time when wickets were falling all around him, the veteran stood firm, and played a composed innings with nine fours to guide England to victory with the calmness and assurance that has defined his one-day career.Root’s innings was highly praised by former India captain and head coach Anil Kumble, who compared the England legend’s importance to his team with that of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for India.“Joe Root is to England what Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are to India. Root is the only England batsman who still plays with the old-school ODI mentality. The other batsmen were aggressive from the start, but Root took his time, took over the innings and brought calmness while chasing the target,” Kumble told GeoHotstar. “His ability to rotate the strike and find the gaps makes him incredibly reliable. You know he’s not going to play a risky shot at the wrong time. That kind of game awareness is invaluable,” he said. Kumble also highlighted the similarities between Root, Kohli and Rohit and said the trio’s success is linked to their ability to score consistently while taking minimal risks.He said, “What makes Root, Kohli and Rohit so successful is that their run-scoring looks effortless. They don’t premeditate. They react to the ball. They play low-risk, high-reward cricket rather than high-risk, high-reward cricket. When you have that kind of class, grace and mentality, it makes life easier for the whole team.”

Root chased the target with ease

India lost their strong position after being asked to bat first at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Despite a solid 114-run partnership between Virat Kohli (65) and Shreyas Iyer (66) that took the visitors to 180/3, a dramatic middle-order collapse resulted in them losing their last seven wickets for 53 runs and being bowled out for 233. Jofra Archer (3/47) and Gus Atkinson (3/50) performed brilliantly with the ball, while Jasprit Bumrah’s unbeaten 20 helped India cross the 230-run mark.England’s chase of the target got off to a very bad start as Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Ben Duckett on the very first ball of the innings, before Prasidh Krishna took the hosts’ score to 8/2. However, Joe Root chased down the target with a brilliant 99 off 133 balls*, receiving valuable support from Will Jacks (30), Sam Curran (26) and Gus Atkinson (23)*. Atkinson hit the winning four to seal the win by four wickets, leaving Root one run short of his century.The result left the three-match ODI series tied at 1-1, with the decider to be played at Lord’s on July 19.