Ben Duckett does not care if England endure a series whitewash in India, so long as he and his teammates beat the same opponents in the final of the Champions Trophy. Ben Duckett hit a rapid 65 as England began brightly with the bat in the second ODI, but he perished in Ravindra Jadeja’s first over, a slog sweep finding a fielder in the deep. England did manage their way to a total beyond 300, but an innings of significance was lacking as Joe Root top-scored with 69.
The England opener Ben Duckett set the tone for his team to post a big score in the second ODI, he slammed 65 off 56 balls laced with 10 boundaries but failed to convert it into a triple digit score. The visitors ended up scoring a 25-30 runs short on a flat Cuttack surface and ended up bowled out for 304.
England lost their fourth consecutive one-day international series on Sunday as India went 2-0 up with a four-wicket win in Cuttack, Rohit Sharma the headliner with a 90-ball 119. One game remains in Ahmedabad on Wednesday before the focus turns to the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, with England’s campaign beginning against Australia on 22 February.
Joe Root, Ben Duckett’s fiery fifties guide England to 304 in second ODI against India
Half-centuries from Joe Root and Ben Duckett stormed England to a total of 304 runs in the second ODI of the three-match ODI series against India at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday.
The Three Lions skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first. His decision proved to be the right one as the openers Ben Duckett and Philip Salt provided a magnificent start to the visitors at Cuttack. Ben Duckett completed his half-century in 36 balls with the help of nine boundaries.
Both players built an exceptional partnership of 81 runs before Salt was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 26 runs on the bowling of debutant Varun Chakravarthy in the penultimate ball of the 11th over.
The Jos Buttler-led side completed their 100 runs in the 16th over. Ben Duckett was the second one to fall. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja dismissed the southpaw in the same over. The left-hand batter smashed 65 runs off 56 balls which was laced with 10 boundaries. Following Ben Duckett’s wicket, right-hand batter Joe Root took the responsibility of scoring the runs for his national team. Root slammed 69 runs from 72 balls with the help of six fours before going back to the dressing room in the 43rd over on the bowling of Jadeja.
Liam Livingstone (41 runs off 32 balls, 2 fours and 2 sixes), Jos Buttler (34 runs from 35 balls, 2 fours), and Harry Brook (31 runs in 52 balls, 3 fours and a six) also scored some runs for their side.
Right-hand batter Adil Rashid came into bat in the 48th over of the innings. In that over, he slashed three consecutive boundaries on the bowling of right-arm seamer Mohammed Shami. Rashid was sent back after scoring 14 runs in the penultimate (49th) over of the first innings through a run-out. England were bowled out for 304 runs in 49.5 overs.
England’s swashbuckling opener Ben Duckett asserted that the visitors are unfazed about getting whitewashed by India in the three-match ODI series. The English team failed to put up a fight in the first two ODIs and lost the chance to win the series, which is a tune-up for them ahead of the Champions Trophy. The batting unit failed to live up to expectations and struggled to adopt their Bazball approach against Indian bowlers despite Jasprit Bumrah’s absence
England did try to play an attacking brand of cricket in the initial overs of batting, but they eventually ran out of gas after one of the opener’s departures. While many feels the series loss is a concerning sign for England ahead of Champions Trophy but their opener Duckett feels that their focus is to win the ICC event. He said that England don’t mind losing 0-3 to India as long as they beat India in the final of the marquee ICC tournament.
England batter Ben Duckett unfazed by prospect of 3-0 whitewash in IND vs ENG 2025 ODIs
England opener Ben Duckett has made a confident claim as they gear up for the third and final ODI against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday, February 12. The left-handed batter claimed that England wouldn’t mind losing the series 3-0 if it means they will beat India in the Champions Trophy final.
Having lost the first two ODIs by four wickets each, England have conceded the series and face the prospect of whitewash on Wednesday. Although their openers have fared well, it’s the middle-order that has lacked big scores, causing the Englishmen to finish with underwhelming totals.
Speaking after the second ODI on Sunday in Cuttack, Duckett claimed that England believe in peaking at the right time and will take any positives they can ahead of the Champions Trophy. He said, as quoted by Sky Sports:
“We have come here for one thing and that is to win the Champions Trophy. If we lose 3-0 to India, I don’t care as long as we beat them in the final of the Champions Trophy. It’s about peaking at the right time. We’ve been close against India and been nowhere near our best. We will always take positives.”
The Nottinghamshire cricketer Ben Duckett has scores of 32 and 65 in the two ODIs thus far. He was also one of the two English batters to score a half-century in Cuttack but got out to Ravindra Jadeja at the wrong time as the tourists lost momentum in the middle overs.
Despite the 30-year-old getting dismissed in Cuttack while trying to go for a maximum, he believes coach Brendon McCullum will have no complaints as long as the intent was right. The southpaw added:
“I am not content with getting 65. But I wouldn’t change anything I did. Until I got out I played nicely. [McCullum] will never have a go at me for trying to hit a left-arm spinner for six over midwicket with a shot I play time and again. Stick to the options we practise, there will be no complaints inside the changing room.”
England have won only one game out of seven on this tour, which included a five match T20I series.