Joe Root's masterclass helps England level ODI series as Rohit Sharma struggles again

Joe Root dug deep into his reservoir of experience for an unbeaten 99 off 133 balls, anchoring England's series-levelling four-wicket win over India in the second ODI here on Thursday.

The series decider will be played at Lord's on Sunday and could well be Rohit Sharma's final game in India colours.

Rohit looked horribly out of touch in his 26 off 47 balls as India managed a below-par 233 in 44 overs. Virat Kohli (65) and Shreyas Iyer (66) were the main contributors, while the other batters disappointed.

In reply, Root's was a model innings on how to control a chase on a track that offered sharp and spongy bounce, making the Indian pace trio look menacing during the early part of the run chase.

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His 72-run stand for the sixth wicket with Will Jacks (30) sealed the game after England were reduced to 125 for five. The chase was completed in 44.1 overs.

Root used the big square dimensions of the field to keep the scoreboard ticking. Since the target was a small one, England were never under scoreboard pressure, which allowed Root to score runs at a measured pace.

He came tantalisingly close to a hundred, but Gus Atkinson hit the winning boundary to deny him.

Earlier, with intense scrutiny on Rohit, every dot ball added to the pressure and now the opposing captains have found that left-arm seamers who create awkward angles pose problems for the former India skipper.

Save for a six off Atkinson, not one stroke from Rohit inspired any confidence.

After six deliveries from Sam Curran yielded no runs, he was also unable to negotiate Adil Rashid. His misery was ended by Will Jacks when his attempted lap sweep turned into a top-edged dolly for Jos Buttler.

While Kohli's confident innings reminded all and sundry of his salad days, Rohit's form only indicated that he is nearer to the end than ever before.

Kohli's 66-ball knock featured eight delectable boundaries, but none was more aesthetically pleasing than the straight back-drive off Jofra Archer. It was, however, painful to see one of India's greatest ODI stalwarts struggle to a painstaking 26 off 47 balls, which included nine dots in a row before he surrendered in meek fashion.

They added 60 in 10 overs, but everyone present in the stands at Sophia Gardens on the day would agree there was nothing resembling a partnership. Only 'Ko' scored as 'Ro' gasped for breathing space.

The middle order caved in inexplicably, with four wickets falling for 15 runs in the space of 26 deliveries as Jofra Archer (3/47 in 10 overs) breathed fire in each spell he bowled.

Saqib Mahmood (2/52 in nine overs) and Gus Atkinson (3/50 in nine overs) were also among the wickets.

Vice-captain Iyer turned out to be the batting hero for India as he countered the short ball well but did not get much support from the other end.

India could not have asked for a better start to their defence of 233 as Jasprit Bumrah got one to move a shade off the length, forcing Ben Duckett to nick one behind to Ishan Kishan.

Prasidh Krishna bowled an even better delivery to Jacob Bethell, which reared up from a length, while Harry Brook's short but sweet 16 ended with poor shot selection off Gurnoor Brar, giving Kishan his third catch.

However, Root was unperturbed by the assistance that the Indian pacers extracted from the surface. He took the least risk against Bumrah and attacked Prasidh.

In the company of Sam Curran (26), he added 41 runs before Kishan stood up to the stumps to prevent the all-rounder from charging Shivam Dube's military medium. The result was a smart catch off Dube's delivery to dismiss Curran.

With Washington Sundar ruled out of the series due to a hamstring niggle, the onus was on Axar Patel, who cleaned up Jos Buttler.