Joe Root insisted he was not bothered about being stranded on 99 not out and told batting partner Gus Atkinson to “just get it done” as England levelled their Metro Bank ODI series against India.
England chased down India’s 233 in Cardiff to win by 4 wickets with 35 balls to spare and make it 1-1 ahead of Sunday’s finale at Lord’s.
Root looked certain to make his twenty first ODI century until Atkinson hit three fours and a six in his unbeaten 23 but, as an alternative, became the primary England batter within the format to complete unbeaten on 99.
The 35-year-old said he didn’t think he had ever finished 99 not out during his run-laden profession.
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Get it done
“I told him (Atkinson) to simply get it done,” said Root after England recovered from 94 for 4 and 125 for five to beat the world’s primary ODI side.
“It’s all about winning and there’s no higher feeling in cricket than being there at the tip whenever you chase something down.
“So I’m delighted that we found a way of doing it ugly and doing it in a way that probably doesn’t suit plenty of the opposite guys and the way they’re used to playing.
“I believe that’s an improvement and a step forward for the group, and so much to take forward against the primary team on this planet.
“For us to be going to Lord’s with every part to play for, have a high pressure game, and have that have to bank and look back on, ahead of a World Cup is great.”
PICTURES: Steven Paston/PA
Scrap
India had strolled to a six-wicket win at Edgbaston on Tuesday when Root was unbeaten on 76 in England’s modest batting effort.
This time it was India who struggled to make the most on a two-paced wicket after Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer had laid the foundations of a difficult total.
India were 178 for 3 within the thirty second over until Jofra Archer removed Kohli for 65 after which removed Axar Patel and Shivam Dube to depart the visitors 193 for seven.
Atkinson also claimed three wickets as India were bowled out with six of their 50 overs remaining.
Root said: “The last game at Edgbaston we probably didn’t sum up the situation and the surface as quickly as we might have liked batting first and understanding what a very good rating would have been.
“But we still found a technique to scrap to some form of total. We’ve learned from that and understood how we wanted to go about it on the back end of this innings here.”
Exceptional
He added: “I believed our bowling was exceptional. For us to bowl them out for 230 and find ways of getting wickets throughout that middle phase was exceptional.
“We needed to do things otherwise, depend on different bowlers. Normally, we glance to Adil (Rashid) who’s been incredible in that phase for us, and we needed to go a unique way today.
“Gus stood up and delivered on that. Similarly, with our batting, they won’t have been big partnerships, but they were crucial ones.
“You already know, for those who whittle that down 10 runs at a time they were all the time going to should make plays and produce bowlers back sooner than they probably would have liked.
“It’s just holding your nerve, doing things barely otherwise, after which banking that have now for the longer term.”
READ MORE: Joe Root stranded on 99 but England level ODI series with win over India
