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'Happy to..': Root after missing out on ton versus India
17 Jul 2026

Joe Root, the star batsman of England, has said that he was more than happy to sacrifice his century for the sake of his team's victory in the second ODI against India.

The match was played at Cardiff and ended with England winning by four wickets. Root's 99* led the run chase.

The win leveled the three-match series 1-1 and set up a thrilling decider at Lord's on Sunday.

Root's heroics in Cardiff
Match details

Root played a crucial role in England's chase of the 234-run target set by India.

He remained unbeaten on 99 off 133 balls, missing out on his 21st ODI century.

Opener Ben Duckett was dismissed for a golden duck by Jasprit Bumrah while Jacob Bethell fell in the fourth over after scoring just four runs.

Captain Harry Brook, Sam Curran and Jos Buttler all had useful partnerships with Root before Will Jacks added another 72 runs for the sixth wicket with him.

India's innings in summary
Final moments

Jacks was dismissed in the 40th over, paving the way for Gus Atkinson to take charge of England's chase.

He scored the winning runs, leaving Root stranded on his unbeaten 99.

Earlier, India started their innings well with Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill putting up an opening stand of 44 off 46 balls.

But they faltered in the middle overs as half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer took the total to 233/10.

It's all about winning, says Root
Post-match reaction

After the match, Root expressed his happiness over England's win.

He said, "I told him to just get it done. If they want to set fields like that and give us a chance to win the game, then let's take it."

He further added that "It's all about winning and there's no better feeling in cricket than being there at the end you chase something down."