2nd ODI: Eoin Morgan's innings in vain as India beat England to seal series 2-0

Indias Mahindra Singh Dhoni C raises his bat after completing his half century as Indias Yuvraj Singh L looks on during the 2nd ODI match between India and England at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Thursday PicAFPCuttack It was a case of so near but so far for England as their skipper Eoin Morgans brave innings went in vain as India defeated the visitors by 15 runsin the 2nd Oneday International to take an unassailable20 lead in the threematch series here todayYuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned the clock back with a batting masterclass as the old warhorses twin tons powered India to series winComing into bat with India struggling at 25 for three Yuvraj and Dhoni brought into play their years of experience to not only bail the team out of trouble but also propel them to a formidable 381 for six in the stipulated 50 oversIn reply England fought to the end with captain Eoin Morgan leading the chase with a swashbuckling century only for his side to fall short narrowly at the packed Barabati StadiumNeeding 22 off the final over seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept his nerves and conceded a mere six runs even as triumphant skipper Virat Kohli punched his fist in the air in jubilationDespite being set a mammoth target England were in the game as long as Morgan was in the middle but bowler Jasprit Bumrah put paid to the visiting sides hopes when he calmly ran out the England skipper in the nonstrikers end after he backed up too farIndia rode on quickfire centuries from Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to post acommanding 381 for six in the second cricket onedayer heretodayThe duo added 256 runs between them in 382 overs to bring the Indian innings back on track after England pacer Chris Woakes had reduced the hosts to 253 by the fifth overYuvraj posted 150 runs surpassing his previous personal best score of 139 and also accumulated the most runs by an Indian batsman against England going past the legendary Sachin TendulkarThe Punjab southpaws sublime 127ball innings included a whopping 21 boundaries and three sixes before an attempted drive ended up giving a thickish edge to England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler to hand Woakes his fourth wicket of the matchDhoni launched a fearsome assault on the England bowlers to help push India beyond the 350run markThe former India captain plundered 134 runs off 122 balls with 10 boundaries and six hits into the stands He was caught on the square leg boundary by David Willey while trying ot hit Liam Plunkett for another sixRavindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya came up with some big shots towards the close to end the Indian innings on a highWoakes sent back the entire Indian toporder for figures of 446 in nine oversPlunket returned 291 in 10 oversBeleaguered England were required to bat out of their skins to overcome the imposing target which they could notEven a target of 382 did not look safe enough as England almost scripted a brilliant chase with Morgans valiant centuryWith Morgan in full flow on a benign pitch and the heavy dew working to their advantage England needed 28 from 10 balls but Bumrahs presence of mind saved the day for IndiaMorgan finished with 102 from 81 balls with six fours and five sixesLiam Plunkett straight drove one with an anxious Morgan out of the crease as Bumrah gathered the ball and disturbed the stumps with a coolheaded display It was all over forEngland who ended at 366 for fiveBumrah returned with 281 while Ravichandran Ashwin was also among wickets with 365 Leftarm spinner Ravindra Jadeja played his part conceding just 45 runs for one wicket in his full quota of 10 oversEngland kept themselves in line with Morgans centuryunder pressure coming after half tons from Jason Roy 82Joe Root 54 and Moeen Ali 55Needing something special English opener Roy and numberthree Root took the score past 100But Ashwin made up for his ordinary outing last time andsnared the wicket of Root straightaway after being introducedin the 20thDropped on 37 by Jadeja Ali went on to post the fourthhalfcentury of the lineup and gave the captain fine supportreducing the deficit to 83 from 40 ballsWith both batsmen looking ominous it was Bhuvneshwarwho replaced Umesh Yadav in the only change for todays gamewho gave a crucial breakthrough by removing Ali with a slowerballAfter being dropped Roy also had an extended stay tillhe was castled by Jadeja who continued his spell at the otherendIn the next over Ashwin bowled the dangerman Ben Stokes1 to reduce them to 1734 and derail their chase withskipper Morgan waging a lone battleAshwin then brilliantly foxed Buttler by dropping theball outside leg as Dhoni whipped the bail offBRIEF SCORESIndia 381 for six in 50 overs Yuvraj Singh 150 Mahendra Singh Dhoni 134 Chris Woakes 460England 366 for 8 in 50 overs Jason Roy 82 Eoin Morgan102 Joe Root 54 Ravichandran Ashwin 365