Virat Kohli He continued his fine run against England with another half-century in the second ODI at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Thursday. India’s batting star reaches milestone in style, helping India retain control after early defeat Rohit Sharma.Kohli completed his fifty in the 27th over with a trademark straight knock off Sam Curran. The elegant boundary not only took him to the landmark but also earned him a roar of applause from the Cardiff fans, to which the former India captain raised his bat in return. The knock marked the 14th time Kohli has scored more than 50 runs in ODIs against England, including three centuries. With this, he equaled West Indies legend Viv Richards for the second-highest 50-over score against England in ODI cricket. Only Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara leads Indian batsmen with 15 such scores.The milestone came on the first ball of the 27th over when Kohli bowled Curran straight down for four. Kohli’s superb performance of 65 off 66 balls ended in the 32nd over when he was caught by Adil Rashid off Jofra Archer to leave India at 178/4.Earlier, England captain Harry Brooke won the toss and elected to bowl first. With KL Rahul missing the match due to illness, the Indian team was forced to make a substitution, which paved the way for Ishan Kishan to enter the starting XI. England also made two changes, bringing in pacers Saqib Mahmood and Gus Atkinson in place of Josh Tonge and Liam Dawson.India take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series after registering a six-wicket win in the first match.
