India captain Shubman Gill termed his side's four-wicket defeat to England in the second ODI at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, as "quite disappointing" after Joe Root's unbeaten 99 powered the hosts to a series-levelling victory. England successfully chased 234 to make it 1-1 in the three-match series, with the deciding match set to be played at Lord's on July 19.
Gill said India had targeted a score of 300 to 310 after reaching a strong position during the first half of their innings but lost too many wickets in the middle overs. He added that while the tail was not expected to contribute heavily, the lower middle order failed to build on promising starts.
"We thought 300-310 would be a good total after 25 overs when we were in a good position, but we lost too many wickets in the middle overs. Our tailenders are not the best batsmen, but we expected more from the lower middle-order batters and they were not able to capitalise on their starts," Gill said after the match.
Praising Root's match-winning innings, Gill said England's experienced batter is particularly effective in moderate run chases and difficult to force into mistakes when the required run rate remains under control.
"We always knew that if the run-rate was 5 or more, we could have got a false shot out of him, but this kind of chase, he's a master of these totals," Gill added.
Root anchors successful chase
England's chase began poorly as Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Ben Duckett with the opening delivery before Prasidh Krishna removed Jacob Bethell to reduce the hosts to 8/2 in 3.4 overs.
Root rebuilt the innings with a 45-run stand alongside captain Harry Brook, who made 16 before debutant Gurnoor Brar dismissed him. Shivam Dube and Axar Patel struck to leave England at 125/5 in 25.4 overs, putting India in a strong position.
Root, however, remained composed and added a decisive 72-run partnership with Will Jacks, who scored 30. After Jacks fell in the 40th over, Gus Atkinson contributed an unbeaten 23 to guide England home with nearly six overs to spare.
Root finished unbeaten on 99 from 133 deliveries, falling one run short of a century as Atkinson struck the boundary that completed the chase.
Brar takes two wickets as India fail to defend target
Brar claimed two wickets on debut but conceded 67 runs in his 10 overs. Bumrah, Krishna, Dube and Axar Patel picked up one wicket each during England's successful chase.
Kohli and Iyer score fifties but India settle for 233
Earlier, England's disciplined bowling attack restricted India to 233 in 44 overs after choosing to field first. Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer scored half-centuries, but regular wickets prevented India from building a substantial total.
Rohit Sharma made 26, while Gill contributed 31 before both departed. Ishan Kishan, who replaced the unwell KL Rahul, was dismissed for one.
Kohli and Iyer then stabilised the innings with an important partnership. Kohli scored a fluent 65 before his dismissal shifted momentum back towards England. Shivam Dube, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar all fell for single-digit scores as India's middle order failed to capitalise.
Iyer top-scored with 66 off 71 balls and received late support from Bumrah, whose unbeaten 20 helped India reach 233.
England pace attack keeps India under pressure
England's seamers maintained control throughout the innings. Jofra Archer led the attack with three wickets, including Kohli's dismissal, while Gus Atkinson also claimed three scalps. Saqib Mahmood marked his return with two wickets as England successfully restricted India before completing the chase to square the series.
(With inputs from ANI)
