India pacer Harshit Rana got a stick from skipper Rohit Sharma for a needless act during the second ODI against England at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday.
Bowling the 32nd over of the England innings, Rana bowled a dot delivery when Jos Butler defended and the ball rolled to his left in follow-through. Seeing the England captain on the edge of the crease, Rana chose to throw the ball back at the striker’s end in thin hopes of a run-out, but it resulted in four overthrows as the ball went way wide to the left of wicketkeeper KL Rahul and raced to the fine-leg fence.
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As the dejected Rana walked back towards the top of his run-up to deliver the last ball of the 32nd over, captain Rohit made his displeasure very obvious, scolding the bowler and asking him to use his brain.
England were 180 for 3 at the end of that over and went on to finish at 304 all out in 49.5 overs.
Opting to bat first after winning the toss, the England innings was held together by opener Ben Duckett (65) and former captain Joe Root (69).
The England middle-order saw useful contributions coming from Harry Brook (31), Buttler (34) and Liam Livingstone (41), while Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 3 for 35.
Mohammed Shami, Rana, Hardik Pandya and debutant Varun Chakravarthy took one wicket each.
India lead the three-match series 1-0, which makes this a must-win game for the visitors.