Joe Root surpasses Virat Kohli's ODI record with an unbeaten 99 against India

Joe Root drives past Virat Kohli (Image: X) Joe Root produced another master class to guide England to a four-wicket victory over India in the second ODI in Cardiff, finishing unbeaten on 99 to help the hosts level the three-match series at 1-1. And he is ahead of Virat Kohli in the chase average. When Root walked in on the very first ball of England’s innings after Ben Duckett was dismissed for a duck, he absorbed the early pressure from Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna before taking complete control of the 234-run chase. His composed 99* from 133 deliveries, containing nine boundaries, anchored England’s innings as he stitched together key partnerships with Sam Curran, Will Jacks and Gus Atkinson to steer the hosts home.The knock also saw Root overtake Virat Kohli in the list of highest batting averages in successful runs in ODIs (minimum 2,000 runs).Highest batting average in successful ODI chases (min. 2000 runs):

MS Dhoni – 102.71
Joe Root – 91.59
Virat Kohli – 89.07
AB de Villiers – 82.77
Michael Clarke – 73.86

After the win, Root said that the result mattered a lot more than the lost century.“To be there at the end and get the job done is probably the best feeling you can have in cricket. You don’t play for milestones, you play to win matches. The series is alive now and that’s exactly what we wanted to go for today,” Root said in the post-match presentation. Reflecting on the chase, Root admitted the batting was tough throughout the match and credited England’s bowlers for restricting India after the Kohli-Iyer partnership threatened to take the game away.“It was tough batting all game. Our bowlers did a great job of pulling things back after that partnership and giving us a score we felt we could chase. We knew we had to bat for time, absorb the pressure in phases and stay calm. Sometimes you have to win dirty and ugly and today was one of those days,” he added.

Root chased down the target with ease

India squandered a commanding position after being asked to bat first at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens. Despite a solid 114 between Virat Kohli (65) and Shreyas Iyer (66) that took the visitors to 180/3, a dramatic middle-order collapse saw them lose their last seven wickets for 53 and were bowled out for 233. Jofra Archer (3/47) and Gus Atkinson (3/47 stars with the ball untbe, Bustenrah) 20 helped India to cross the 230 run mark.England’s chase got off to a disastrous start when Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Ben Duckett with the first ball of the innings before Prasidh Krishna reduced the home side to 8/2. However, Joe Root anchored the chase with a brilliant 99 off 133 balls* and received valuable support from Will Jacks (30), Sam Curran (26) and Gus Atkinson (23). Atkinson hit the winning boundary to seal a four-wicket win and leave Root agonizingly stranded by a century.The result leveled the three-match ODI series at 1-1, with the decider scheduled to be played at Lord’s on 19 July.