England speedster Stuart Broad was surprised by the way English batters made a mockery of the Indian bowling attack during their record chase in the second ODI of the ongoing three-match ODI series at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium in Pune on Friday (March 26).
England chased down their highest ever total 337-run against India with ease, thanks to a mind-blowing batting show from Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes as well as Jason Roy as the tourists beat Team India by six wickets with 39 balls to spare to level the three-match ODI series in Pune on Friday.
Bairstow played an entertaining knock of 124 runs off 112 balls while Stokes hit 99 runs off just 52 balls with England cracking 24 boundaries and 20 sixes to stun the hosts.
Watching the relentless assault by England batters in Pune against the clueless Indian bowlers, Broad was left shell-shocked by the world champions’ amazing batting in the second ODI, saying he felt like he was watching highlights of the game, as almost every other ball was landing in the stands.
Broad said on Sky Sports, “It was astonishing, wasn’t it? It was great entertainment, brilliant skill, amazing power. I felt like I was watching a computer game, almost replays. I was like what… another one? Another one? And they weren’t just clearing ropes.”
He further added, “The fielders did not stand a chance, did they? They were going 20 rows back. It was like they were having throwdowns and doing that range hitting and practice without a care in the world, doing it in an international game with the series on the line.”
Meanwhile, England conceded back-to-back 300-plus totals in the last two ODIs against India, but Broad doesn't feel it's an area of concern, especially when the match was played on a belter of a pitch.
He further pointed out, “It's really hard. Anytime you go for over a hundred, it's a brutal 10, isn't it? But that is how India set up. They do set up to bear an OK run rate in the first 30 overs - just around 4 and a half and then they look to explode with their power hitters at the end.”
Broad signed off by saying, “Obviously, it was a disappointing match for the English bowlers but it was because we didn't manage to make the breakthroughs consistently through the middle period. I don't think it was massively over par, to be honest. It looked like a very good pitch. Had England batted first, they could have gotten a similar score.”
