India beat England by 127 runs in 2nd ODI

India beat England by 127 runs in their second one-day international in Kochi on Tuesday as Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets.

Earlier, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat in the second cricket one-dayer against England in Kochi on Tuesday.

India's top-order struggled once again but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (72) continued his rich vein of form to steer the hosts to a challenging 285 for six against England in the second one-dayer here today.

Dhoni blasted a 66-ball 72 laced with seven fours and two sixes, to take his team past the 250-run mark after they were reduced to 119-4 in 26.2 overs.

Dhoni featured in two crucial partnerships --- first adding 55 runs with Suresh Raina and then 96 runs with Ravindra Jadeja for the fifth and sixth wickets respectively.

Middle-order batsman Raina also cracked a well-paced half-century off 78 balls, studded with two sixes and a couple of fours, to initially steady the innings along with Dhoni having come into bat at No 5.

However, it was in the last 10 overs which gave the hosts the impetus as Dhoni and allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, amassed 108 runs, to put the team in a comfortable position after they decided to bat first.

Steven Finn was the top wickettaker for England as he took two wickets for 51 runs, while James Tredwell bowled really well, taking one wicket for 48 runs.

Jade Dernbach and Chris Woakes were expensive but snapped two and one wicket to contribute to the team.

Earlier, India had a tottering start as they were reduced to 18 for two by the English pace duo of Finn and Dernbach.

Gautam Gambhir (8) and Ajinkya Rahane (4) paid the price for their poor footwork as both were cleaned bowled by Dernbach and Finn respectively.

While, Gambhir failed to defend an incoming delivery from Finn, Rahane tried to play too away from the body, leaving a huge gap which was breached by the inswinger from Dernbach.

Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh then tried to steady the ship and added 53 runs off 65 balls for the third wicket.

Teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt and wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Shami Ahmed.

England: Alastair Cook (capt), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Craig Kieswetter, Samit Patel, James Tredwell, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach, Chris Woakes.

Source: Hindustan Times