"Great innings from Rohit": Buttler lauds India skipper's blitz knock against England in 2nd ODI

Cuttack (Odisha) [India], February 9 (ANI): England skipper Jos Buttler heaped praise on India captain Rohit Sharma's fiery 119-run knock in the second ODI match of the series in Cuttack and called it a "great inning" from the 37-year-old.
Rohit's explosive century powered India to clinch a four-wicket triumph over England in the second ODI match of the series at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday.
With the stunning victory on Sunday, the Men in Blue clinched the ODI series over England 2-0. Sunday was all about Rohit Sharma, it was his day fully. The skipper gave a reply to his critics from his bat as he smashed a 76-ball century. The 37-year-old entertained the fans in Cuttack as he powered rains of sixes.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Buttler said that they tried to reach the 330-350 run mark in the first inning on Sunday. The England skipper added that they keep going in the "right direction" even though there are no results.
"We got into some nice positions with the bat but we need a few of us to catch fire and push us to 350. Another great innings from Rohit; he's been doing it in ODI cricket for a while. Maybe it skidded on a bit and played well but the opposition played well. We tried to get to 330-350, maybe that would have been defendable. Just keep taking steps in the right direction though results are not there but we need to keep going," Buttler was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.
Summarizing the match, England won the toss and decided to bat against India.
It was Joe Root's (69 runs from 72 balls, 6 fours) and Ben Duckett's (65 runs from 56 balls, 10 fours) masterclass which powered England to reach 304 in the first inning. Liam Livingstone (41 runs from 32 balls, 2 fours and 2 sixes) and Jos Buttler (34 runs from 35 balls, 2 fours) also helped the Three Lions in the first inning to cross the 300-run mark.
Ravindra Jadeja led the Indian bowling attack with his three-wicket haul in a 10-over spell.
During the run chase, Rohit Sharma (119 runs from 90 balls, 12 fours and 7 sixes) and Shubman Gill's (60 runs from 52 balls, 9 fours and 1 six) 136-run stand gave the hosts a kickstart in the second inning.
In the middle order, Shreyas Iyer (44 runs from 47 balls, 3 fours and 1 six) and Axar Patel (41* runs from 43 balls, 4 fours) played a crucial knock to hold the inning and clinch a four-wicket win against England.
England displayed a sloppy performance with the bowl. However, Jamie Overton led the English bowling attack with his two-wicket haul.
India will now travel to Ahmedabad to take on England in the third match of the ODI series at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday. (ANI)