KOCHI (India), Jan 15: India finally found their winning touch as they relied on a brilliant all-round display to thrash England by an emphatic 127 runs in the second One-day International here on Tuesday.

India first posted a competitive 285, riding on captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s 72, Suresh Raina’s 55 and Ravindra Jadeja’s 61, before their bowlers skittled out the visitors for a paltry 158 in just 36 overs to level the five-match series 1-1.

It was a convincing victory for the Indians who have struggled of late even in home conditions, losing the ODI series to Pakistan and the Test series against England.

The hosts did well in all departments of the game, though the batting of the top order continued to be a concern with Gautam Gambhir (8) and Ajinkya Rahane (4) failing to deliver while the form of Virat Kohli remained patchy though he scored 37.

It was Dhoni’s 66-ball 72 and Jadeja’s blistering unbeaten knock of 61 in just 37 balls which provided the late flourish to the Indian innings. Raina (55) and Yuvraj Singh (32), who was distinctly unlucky to be given LBW, were the other notable contributors.

With the Nehru Stadium providing ample assistance to the bowlers in the second half, the Indians exploited the conditions to the hilt to bundle out the visitors with Kevin Pietersen being the top-scorer with a 58-ball 42.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-29), Ravichandran Ashwin (3-39) and Jadeja (2-12) were the pick of the Indian bowlers.

Ashwin, who has been struggling for some time, played his part with three wickets in his two overs as he polished off the England tail as the visitors lost six wickets in six overs as India won the match with 14 overs to spare.

Earlier, Dhoni continued his rich vein of form to steer the hosts to a challenging total after they were reduced to 119-4 in 26.2 overs.

Dhoni featured in two crucial partnerships — first adding 55 with Raina and then 96 with Man-of-the-Match Jadeja. Raina also cracked a well-paced half-century off 78 balls, studded with two sixes and a couple of fours, to initially steady the innings along with Dhoni.

However, it was in the last 10 overs which gave the hosts the impetus as they amassed 108 runs after deciding to bat first. Steven Finn was the top wicket-taker for England as he took two for 51, while James Tredwell bowled really well, taking one for 48. Jade Dernbach and Chris Woakes were expensive but snapped two and one wicket to contribute to the team.

The two teams will now travel to Ranchi for the third match to be played on Saturday.—Agencies

Scoreboard

INDIA:
A.M. Rahane b Finn    4
G. Gambhir b Dernbach    8
V. Kohli c Bell b Woakes    37
Yuvraj Singh lbw b Tredwell    32
S.K. Raina b Finn    55
M.S. Dhoni c Root b Dernbach    72
R.A. Jadeja not out    61
R. Ashwin not out    1
EXTRAS (LB-5, W-10)    15
TOTAL (for six wkts, 50 overs)    285
FALL OF WKTS: 1-18, 2-18, 3-71, 4-119, 5-174, 6-270.
DID NOT BAT: B. Kumar, I. Sharma, Shami Ahmed.
BOWLING: Finn 10-1-51-2; Dernbach 9-0-73-2 (3w); Woakes 9-0-60-1 (1w); Patel 10-0-43-0 (1w); Tredwell 10-0-48-1; Root 2-0-5-0.
ENGLAND:
A.N. Cook lbw b Kumar    17
I.R. Bell c Dhoni b Shami    1
K.P. Pietersen b Kumar    42
J.E. Root b Jadeja    36
E.J.G. Morgan c Dhoni b Kumar    0
C. Kieswetter c Raina b Ashwin    18
S.R. Patel not out    30
C.R. Woakes lbw b Jadeja    0
J.C. Tredwell lbw b Ashwin    1
S.T. Finn c Dhoni b Ashwin    0
J.W. Dernbach run out    2
EXTRAS (B-4, LB-3, W-4)    11
TOTAL (all out, 36 overs)    158
FALL OF WKTS: 1-4, 2-58, 3-73, 4-73, 5-110, 6-132, 7-132, 8-135, 9-135.
BOWLING: B. Kumar 10-2-29-3 (1w); Shami Ahmed 4-1-24-1 (2w); Sharma 4-0-28-0 (1w); Jadeja 7-1-12-2; Yuvraj Singh 4-0-19-0; Ashwin 7-0-39-3.
RESULT: India won by 127 runs.
UMPIRES: V.A. Kulkarni (India) and S.J. Davis (Australia).
TV UMPIRE: S. Asnani (India).
MATCH REFEREE: A.J. Pycroft (Zimbabwe).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Ravindra Jadeja.
FIRST MATCH: Rajkot, England won by nine runs.
THIRD MATCH: Ranchi (D/N), Jan 19.
FOURTH MATCH: Mohali (D/N), Jan 23.
FIFTH MATCH: Dharamsala, Jan 27.