By Shiamak Unwalla
Sep 5, 2014
Joe Root’s superb century guided England to a commanding score of 294 for seven against India in the fifth One-Day International (ODI) at Headingley. After Alastair Cook got England off to a good start, the pair of Root and Jos Buttler consolidated, while Ben Stokes provided some late fireworks.
For a change, England actually started well, with Cook getting two boundaries in the very first over. At the other end though, Alex Hales — supposed he to be a big-hitting batsman? — scratched around till he tried to pull a sharp, short ball from Umesh Yadav only to get an innocuous top-edge to Ajinkya Rahane.
Moeen Ali came in at No 3, following his impressive fifty in the fourth ODI. However, he was unable to capitalise on the opportunity, slashing to Yadav at third man for just nine. Soon, Cook top-edged a sweep to MS Dhoni, leading Nasser Hussain to say in commentary that England “are the best bad sweepers in world cricket!” Eoin Morgan celebrated his 100th ODI with an agonizing 34-ball 14, finally out charging down the track and missing a ball from Ashwin only to see Dhoni break the stumps.
The period that followed was possibly England’s most productive one in four ODIs, as the duo of Joe Root and Jos Buttler combined savage hitting with industrious placement to get a 108-run stand, England’s first century-stand of the series. Buttler was eventually dismissed for 49 in rather comical fashion; an LBW appeal against him was turned down, but he started off for a run, not realising that the ball was right next to Dhoni.
Root took over after that, essaying some attractive shots all around the ground. He brought up his century — a sublime one at that — with a slog over midwicket. He fell for 113 off 108 balls after being well below the 100-strike rate for the better part of his innings. Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes scored some late runs, as England posted a competitive total for the first time in the series.
Earlier, India won the toss and elected to field first, having won the series after their resounding nine-wicket win in the previous ODI. Dhawal Kulkarni got to play just one game before being dropped in favour of Umesh Yadav, while Ben Stokes and James Tredwell came in to replace Gary Ballance and Harry Gurney.
Brief scores:
England 294 for 7 in 50 overs (Alastair Cook 46, Joe Root 113, Jos Buttler 49; Mohammed Shami 2 for 52) vs India.
Complete coverage of India’s tour of England 2014
(Shiamak Unwalla is a reporter with Cricket Country. He is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and Cricket fanatic who likes to pass his free time by reading books, watching TV shows, and eating food. Sometimes all at the same time)
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