IND vs ENG Live: Virat Kohli fit for Cuttack ODI as India look to seal series

Australia won the second Test against Sri Lanka by nine wickets in Galle on Sunday to sweep the series 2-0. Set a target of 75 to win, Australia lost only Travis Head as they romped to a commanding victory before lunch on day four.

Steve Smith's men had earlier on Sunday bundled Sri Lanka out for 231, after the hosts had resumed on 211-8 from overnight. Sri Lanka's resistance lasted just 26 minutes, losing Kusal Mendis for 50 and Lahiru Kumara for nine.

Spinners Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann took four wickets each for Australia. The duo spun a web around the hosts, making full use of a dust bowl tailor-made for turn.

While giving Virat Kohli's fitness status a go-ahead, India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak also brushed aside concerns about Rohit Sharma's lengthy lean patch. The captain has been short of runs for a while now.

"I personally don't think there is any problem. I mean, in the last three Onedayers before this series (in the Nagpur ODI Rohit scored just 2 runs) Rohit has scored 56, 64 and 35. So, he is averaging nearly 50-plus in those last three ODIs. We are talking about a player who has got 31 ODI hundreds. And when they keep scoring runs, nobody asks when they will fail," Kotak told reporters.

One look at the stands on Saturday evening at the Barabati Stadium, and one could have been forgiven for mistaking it for match day instead of match eve.

The Odisha Cricket Association's (OCA) decision to open part of the stands for fans to watch India train, for free, ahead of the crucial second ODI against England here was a hit, with the stadium nearly half full.

The loudest cheers from the 20,000-plus crowd were reserved for the man who missed the first ODI in Nagpur with a sore right knee — Virat Kohli.

Saturday's nets, however, suggested Kohli was not going to sit out another game. One of the fittest cricketers around, the former India captain last missed a match — before the Nagpur ODI — more than three years ago, the Johannesburg Test against South Africa in Jan 2022. Fit and raring to go, the star batter was the first to hit the nets and batted for nearly an hour before leaving the ground first, shouldering his cricket coffin.

For Jos Buttler’s England, this match is a must-win to keep the series alive. Their ultra-aggressive batting approach backfired in Nagpur, and they may need to be more measured against India’s quality spinners, especially on a surface expected to offer turn.

With India holding the advantage and Kohli back in action, the second ODI promises to be a gripping contest.

India’s bowling unit looks stable, with Mohammed Shami settling in well following his return from injury. Shami started with a maiden over in Nagpur before finishing with 1/38 from his eight overs, dictating the middle overs.

Debutant Harshit Rana had an expensive outing as Phil Salt attacked him early on, but he bounced back with key wickets of Ben Duckett and Harry Brook in the same over. With Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness still a concern, Rana has a chance to cement his place with another solid performance.

Rohit Sharma's form is another concern. The skipper fell cheaply for just two runs in Nagpur, continuing his struggles from the Test series against Australia. His dismissal — a mistimed lofted shot off Liam Livingstone — showed his desperation for runs.

Rohit has not scored a fifty in any format since August last year, when he made 64 against Sri Lanka. If he fails to fire in these ODIs, questions over his form and future will grow louder.

However, Kotak defended the captain: "Sometimes a player has a lean patch, but that doesn’t worry me. In Test matches against Australia, it was tough, but in ODIs, he has been consistent. There’s no real concern about his form."

Kohli, meanwhile, is looking to regain form after a lean patch, particularly following struggles in Australia, where he repeatedly edged deliveries behind the stumps. His recent Ranji Trophy outing also yielded just six runs. However, ODI cricket remains his strongest format.

Kohli is just 94 runs away from becoming the third player to reach 14,000 ODI runs after Sachin Tendulkar (18,426) and Kumar Sangakkara (14,234). Having played 283 innings, he could also become the fastest to this milestone, ahead of Tendulkar (350 innings) and Sangakkara (378).

Kohli’s return creates a selection headache. Shreyas Iyer, who replaced him in Nagpur, played a blistering 36-ball 59, making his exclusion a tough decision. If past patterns hold, Kohli would slot in for Shreyas, but it’s more likely that young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal will be the one to make way.

"That’s for the head coach (Gautam Gambhir) and captain (Rohit Sharma) to decide," Kotak said when asked about team balance. "Yes, the left-right combination is important, but that’s not for me to answer."

If Jaiswal is dropped, Gill may open with Rohit, reinstating the pair that has enjoyed success together. Jaiswal had a modest outing in Nagpur, making him the more vulnerable choice for omission.

India will head into the second ODI against England today with two major challenges: skipper Rohit Sharma’s lean form and the selection puzzle posed by Virat Kohli’s return. After securing a four-wicket win in Nagpur to take a 1-0 lead, India received a boost as batting coach Sitanshu Kotak confirmed Kohli is "completely fit and good to go."

Kohli, ruled out of the first match due to a sore right knee, was the first to hit the nets in an optional session on Saturday, batting for an hour without discomfort. Vice-captain Shubman Gill had hinted after the first game that Kohli could return, and his presence at a venue where he played a match-winning 85 against West Indies in 2019 bodes well for the hosts.