Watch: Kohli, Kuldeep, Indian dugout in splits after Chahal's first-ever boundary

London: Team India’s renowned batting line-up failed to produce the goods on Saturday as Joe Root’s magnificent ton guided England to an 86-run victory, helping the hosts keep the three-match series alive.

The Men in Blue failed to get going during the chase thanks to some accurate and disciplined bowling from Eoin Morgan and team. The fall of MS Dhoni proved to be the final nail in the coffin but even after that, the opposition had something to cheer about.

Tailenders Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were at the crease and the former brought smiles to the dressing room with a classy boundary.

During the 48th over of the match, Willey bowled full and Chahal responded with a classic punch that was timed sweetly. The fielder at extra cover could not prevent the boundary, which was Chahal’s first ever in ODI cricket.

The Haryana spinner raised his bat towards the dressing room, who applauded his batting skills. Even Kuldeep at the other end failed to hide his laughter.

Leg-spinner Chahal felt that unlike England innings when there wasn’t much assistance for slow bowlers, the Lord’s track helped home team spinners, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali, as India lost the second ODI by a comprehensive margin of 86 runs.

The hosts scored 322/7 after Joe Root scored his 12th ODI hundred after recovering from 239/6 at one stage. In reply, India were all-out for 236 in 50 overs.

“I think as a team, we conceded 20-25 runs too many at the death. But the credit should go to Willey and Root too because they batted so well in the end. It was a different, slow pitch. If you bowled slow, the batsmen were able to play it easily. When we bowled, there wasn’t as much turn as there was in the second innings,” Chahal said at the post-match press conference.

While Kuldeep Yadav (3/68) provided the breakthroughs, Chahal bowled a tight seven-over spell before the 40th over before Willey-Root broke free.

“When I bowled a couple of overs, I found it to be a bit slow. So I decided to vary my pace on it and keep bowling full because it is a slow wicket, there are more chances of going for runs with short-pitched bowling. So I wanted to keep it wicket-to-wicket, because if the batsman misses, I have chances of taking wickets,” he explained his strategy.

However the day belonged to the English spinners Moeen and Rashid, who shared three wickets for 80 runs in 20 overs between them. Chahal said that Virat Kohli’s dismissal became the turning point.

“I think the turning point was the wicket of Virat Kohli because a good partnership was going on. When you chase 322, you need wickets in the end. I also think their spinners bowled well.

“The way Moeen started, the boundaries weren’t coming. We could only get one or two runs and the asking rate was climbing, so there was pressure on the batsmen. You can say their spinners bowled well in the middle overs,” he concluded.