2nd ODI: Pant, Rahul Power India To 336/6 Against England In First Innings

KL Rahul century and Rishabh Pant's power-packed 77 helped India score 336/6 against England in the 2nd ODI at Pune on Friday. 

After being put in to bat first, India started poorly as they lost their openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in the powerplay and could only manage 41 runs. 

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul then added 121 runs in 141 balls for the third wicket. Their stand not only steadied the innings but also gave a platform for the rest of the Indian batsmen to score freely. Kohli was once again looking set to finally reach his 71st century but got out on 66 off Adil Rashid's straighter one. 

Rahul continued to steadily score runs while Rishabh Pant smacked the bowlers at the other end. Pant quickly reached his 50 in 28 balls but didn't stop. 

 

KL Rahul silenced his critics as he reached his century in 108 balls. He got out after scoring 108 with the help of seven fours and two sixes. 

Pant's aggressive knock ended on 77 as he top-edged one to the third-man where Jason Roy was patrolling. However, he had already added 113 runs with Rahul and 37 runs with Hardik Pandya in just 13 balls to help the team get past the 300-run mark. 

Hardik Pandya, 35 off 16, and Krunal Pandya's 12 off 9 got India to finish on 336/6 in the end. Pant hit three fours and seven sixes in his 40 ball mayhem. 

For England, Reece Topley, who came in place of Mark Wood, and Tom Curran picked up two wickets each while Sam Curran and Adil Rashid got 1-1. 

Brief Score: 

India - 336/6 (KL Rahul - 108, Rishabh Pant - 77; Reece Topley - 2/50)