India faced an early setback in the second ODI against England at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, when Axar Patel dropped a simple catch, giving Philip Salt a crucial lifeline. The incident occurred during Hardik Pandya’s over, where a short and wide delivery allowed Salt to upper-cut the ball toward deep backward point. Axar, positioned near the boundary, misjudged what seemed like a straightforward catch and let the ball slip through his hands.
The dropped chance left the Indian camp visibly frustrated as Salt, batting on 15 off 19 balls at the time, continued to anchor England’s strong start. The visitors capitalized on this moment, with the opening partnership of Ben Duckett and Philip Salt reaching 63/0 in just over eight overs.
Axar Patel will not want to see this again 😂
📺 Watch #INDvENG on @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) February 9, 2025
Match details:
- Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
- Time: 1:30 PM local time
- Toss: England won and opted to bat first
England Playing XI: Philip Salt (w), Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy
As England’s openers continued their aggressive start, India will hope that the missed opportunity doesn’t turn into a game-changing moment.
