PUNE (India): Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes starred as England chased down 337 in the second one-day international to level the series on Friday.
Bairstow (124) and Stokes (99) put on 175 for the second wicket and smashed 17 sixes between them as England romped home in 43.3 overs with six wickets to spare.
It was England’s fifth-highest ODI chase and their best against India.
The last match will be played on Sunday.
Stokes hit 10 sixes in his 52-ball blitz while Bairstow fell to Prasidh Krishna, who also bowled stand-in-skipper Jos Buttler for a duck.
England lost three wickets for three runs, but Dawid Malan (16) and debutant Liam Livingstone (27) saw the team through.
Bairstow led the charge, tearing into the Indian attack with a 110-run opening stand with Jason Roy, who made 55.
Roy was run out for 55 in a mix up with Bairstow, who then combined with Stokes to trump K.L. Rahul’s 108 that helped India to 336-6 in 50 overs after being put in to bat first.
Bairstow raised his 11th ODI hundred in 95 balls with a six off Kuldeep Yadav, who also took a hammering from Stokes, the Durham left-hander hammering him for three successive sixes in one over as he raced from 50 to 99 in just 12 balls.
Earlier, Rahul was involved in century stands with skipper Virat Kohli (66) and then Rishabh Pant (77).
