Joe Root insisted he was not bothered about being stranded on 99 not out and told batting partner Gus Atkinson to “just get it done” as England levelled their Metro Bank ODI series against India.
England chased down India’s 233 in Cardiff to win by four wickets with 35 balls to spare and make it 1-1 ahead of Sunday’s finale at Lord’s.
Root looked certain to make his 21st ODI century until Atkinson hit three fours and a six in his unbeaten 23 but, instead, became the first England batter in the format to finish unbeaten on 99.
The 35-year-old said he did not think he had ever finished 99 not out during his run-laden career.
“I told him (Atkinson) to just get it done,” said Root after England recovered from 94 for four and 125 for five to beat the world’s number one ODI side.
“It’s all about winning and there’s no better feeling in cricket than being there at the end when you chase something down. So I’m delighted that we found a way of doing it ugly and doing it in a way that probably doesn’t suit a lot of the other guys and how they’re used to playing.
“I think that’s an improvement and a step forward for the group, and a lot to take forward against the number one team in the world.
“For us to be going to Lord’s with everything to play for, have a high pressure game, and have that experience to bank and look back on, ahead of a World Cup is great.”
India had strolled to a six-wicket win at Edgbaston on Tuesday when Root was unbeaten on 76 in England’s modest batting effort.
This time it was India who struggled to take advantage on a two-paced wicket after Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer had laid the foundations of a challenging total.
India were 178 for three in the 32nd over until Jofra Archer removed Kohli for 65 and then removed Axar Patel and Shivam Dube to leave the visitors 193 for seven.
Atkinson also claimed three wickets as India were bowled out with six of their 50 overs remaining.
Root said: “The last game at Edgbaston we probably didn’t sum up the situation and the surface as quickly as we would have liked batting first and understanding what a good score would have been.
“But we still found a way to scrap to some kind of total. We’ve learned from that and understood how we needed to go about it at the back end of this innings here.
“I thought our bowling was exceptional. For us to bowl them out for 230 and find ways of getting wickets throughout that middle phase was exceptional.
“We had to do things differently, rely on different bowlers. Normally, we look to Adil (Rashid) who’s been incredible in that phase for us, and we had to go a different way today.
“Guys stood up and delivered on that. Similarly, with our batting, they might not have been big partnerships, but they were crucial ones.
“You know, if you whittle that down 10 runs at a time they were always going to have to make plays and bring bowlers back earlier than they probably would have liked.
“It’s just holding your nerve, doing things slightly differently, and then banking that experience now for the future.”
