England veteran Joe Root was left stranded on an unbeaten 99 as his side won the second ODI of the three-match series against India. The contest was played on Thursday, July 16, at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Put into bat, the Men in Blue were bowled out for 233 in 44 overs, with Virat Kohli (65 off 66) and Shreyas Iyer (66 off 71) scoring half-centuries. For England, Jofra Archer (3/47) and Gus Atkinson (3/50) were the pick of the bowlers.
In response, England lost openers Ben Duckett (0) and Jacob Bethell (4) cheaply. Joe Root then steadied one end while the hosts slipped to 125/5. The 35-year-old batted brilliantly but fell agonisingly short of his century, remaining unbeaten on 99 off 133 balls, including nine fours, as England secured a four-wicket victory in 44.1 overs.
With the right-hander missing out on a hundred by the narrowest of margins, here we look at five players who remained unbeaten on 99 in ODIs involving India.
New Zealand and India faced off in the opening ODI of the two-match series on February 14, 1981, at Eden Park in Auckland. Put into bat in a game reduced to 45 overs per side, the hosts finished on 218/6, with Bruce Adrian Edgar remaining unbeaten on 99 off 136 balls, including six fours and one six.
Chasing 219, Kapil Dev top-scored for India with 50 off 68 balls, but the rest of the batting lineup failed to make an impact as the visitors finished on 140/9 in their 45 overs, losing by 78 runs.
Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad, hosted the fourth ODI of the seven-match series between India and the West Indies on November 15, 2002. Asked to bat first, Chris Gayle led the charge for the visitors with a blistering 140 off 127 balls, including 12 fours and five sixes. Meanwhile, Ramnaresh Sarwan also played a fine hand but missed out on a century, remaining unbeaten on 99 off 104 balls, laced with eight fours.
In response, VVS Laxman scored 66 off 74 balls. Rahul Dravid starred with 109 not out off 124 balls, including eight fours, while Sanjay Bangar finished on 57* off 41 balls as India secured a five-wicket victory with 14 balls to spare.
On November 15, 2007, India and Pakistan faced off in the fourth ODI of the five-match series at Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior. Opting to bat first, Younis Khan scored 68 off 89 balls for Pakistan, while Mohammad Yousuf fell just one run short of a century, remaining 99 not out off 104 balls, including seven fours and two sixes, as the visitors posted 255/6.
In response, Sachin Tendulkar set the tone with 97 off 102 balls, laced with 16 fours. Later in the innings, Yuvraj Singh finished unbeaten on 53 off 65 balls, while MS Dhoni remained 45 not out off as many balls as the side secured a six-wicket victory by reaching the target in 46.3 overs.
India and Sri Lanka faced off in the third game of the 2010 tri-series, also involving New Zealand, on August 16 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. Choosing to bat first, Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 170 in 46.1 overs, with Pragyan Ojha being the pick of the bowlers, claiming 3/36 in 9.1 overs.
Chasing 171, it was a one-man show from India as Virender Sehwag took charge. With India needing one run to win, Sehwag was batting on 99. He then smashed a six over long-off, but was denied a century as Suraj Randiv had overstepped. The opener finished on 99 not out off 100 balls, including 11 fours and two sixes, as the Men in Blue sealed a six-wicket victory with 93 balls to spare.
The last player on the list is Joe Root, who also missed out on a well-deserved century in the second ODI against India on Thursday, July 16, in Cardiff.
Chasing 234, Root was the standout performer for the hosts. However, despite England needing 10 runs when he reached 99, he was unable to get back on strike and finished on 99 not out off 133 balls, including nine fours, as the hosts secured a four-wicket victory with 35 balls to spare.
Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news
Quick Links