Cuttack: The Rohit Sharma-led Team India arrived in Cuttack on Saturday early morning ahead of the second ODI against England at Barabati Stadium.
The hosts had an emphatic start to the three-match series as they outclassed England by four wickets in Nagpur.
The BCCI’s official X handle posted a video of the Indian team’s travel to Cuttack from Nagpur. The team first landed at Bhubaneswar airport and then took a bus to their hotel.
The Indian team players received a rousing welcome from fans on their arrival in Odisha’s capital. In the video, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer also gave an autograph to a kid before boarding a flight to Bhubaneswar.
In the series opener, Shubman Gill scored 87 and bagged the Player of the Match honour as he anchored India’s 249-run chase. The hosts were without the services of senior batter Virat Kohli, who was unavailable for selection due to a sore right knee.
However, he is expected to play the second match of the series on Sunday.
“It’s nothing serious. He was fine during yesterday’s practice, but he woke up with some swelling in his knee this morning. He’ll definitely be back for the second ODI,” Gill said after the first ODI.
If Kohli returns, it will be interesting to see who will be benched among Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel to accommodate the senior pro in the playing 11.
Jaiswal failed to elongate his debut knock beyond 15 including three fours while Iyer (59) and Axar (52) both slammed half-centuries in the previous encounter.
India and England have clashed five times in ODIs at the Barabati Stadium, with England winning three of those encounters and India securing victory twice.
As of February 2025, the Barabati Stadium has hosted 21 ODI matches, 19 of which involved India. India has won 12 of these games and lost seven. The highest team total at the venue is 381/6, set by India against England in 2017, while the lowest completed innings is 85 all out, achieved by South Africa against India in 1993.
(IANS)
