India faced England in the second ODI at Barabati Cricket Stadium in Cuttack on February 9. After winning the toss, England opted to bat first and capitalized on the batting-friendly surface to set a target of 305 runs.
In response, Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill looked in fine form, racing to 48 runs in just 6.1 overs. However, just as the duo seemed to be settling in, a technical glitch interrupted play.
One of the floodlights at the stadium malfunctioned and switched off, forcing the umpires to halt the game. Despite efforts to resolve the issue, the problem persisted, leading the players and umpires to return to the pavilion.
At the toss, Rohit Sharma announced a couple of changes to India’s playing XI, one of which drew loud cheers from the crowd—Virat Kohli’s return.
Kohli, who had missed the first ODI due to a knee issue, was back in the lineup. Another notable change was Varun Chakravarthy, who received his maiden ODI cap, replacing Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Reflecting on India’s performance in the first ODI, Rohit expressed his satisfaction with the team’s energy and resilience.
“It was a good performance in the first game, and that’s what I loved about it. The energy was excellent, despite not being on the field for a while. It was superb to watch after losing two early wickets. Shreyas prides himself on intent and attitude, and we can’t forget the contributions of Shubman and Axar as well. The pitch has black soil, so it might play on the slower side. Two changes—Jaiswal makes way for Virat, and Kuldeep is rested, so Varun makes his debut,” Rohit said at the toss.