2nd ODI: Cook leads England to easy win over India

Scorecard:

Alastair Cook led from the front as England thrashed India by seven wickets in the second ODI in Southampton on Tuesday and took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

The first ODI in Durham was washed out.

England's captain carried his bat through the innings, scoring an unbeaten 80. His 63-ball knock was inclusive of five hits to the fence and one over it, only his second ever six in ODIs.

He was named the man-of-the-match for his effort.

Chasing a seemingly improbable 188 for victory, in 23 overs, England won with five balls to spare.

The home team was also well-served by opener Craig Kieswetter (46), Ian Bell (25) and Ravi Bopara (24).

Earlier, Ajinkya Rahane scored his maiden half-century while Suresh Raina hit a quickfire 40 as India piled up an imposing 187 for eight in the rain-curtailed match.

Set in to bat after the match was reduced to a 23-over-a-side affair due to persistent rain, India rode on Rahane (54 off 47), Raina, Rahul Dravid (32 off 31) and Parthiv Patel's (28 off 18) willows to post the huge total. 

While Parthiv and Rahane yet again gave India a good start, it was Raina who provided a stirring finish to the visitor's innings with a blistering 40 that came off just 19 deliveries. 

For England, Graeme Swann (3-33) and Tim Bresnan (3-43) shared six wickets among them. 

But it was Parthiv who stole the limelight at the beginning by giving India a scintillating start. The left-hander was particularly severe on Bresnan as after picking 10 runs off the first over; he hammered the pacer for two sixes and a four to collect 16 off his next. 

However, his short little cameo came to an end in the fourth over when he got a faint edge off James Anderson to Craig Kieswetter behind the stumps. Parthiv, who scored 95 in the first ODI, hit three fours and two sixes during his short, adventurous stay at the crease.

After Parthiv's dismissal, young Rahane and Dravid took the onus on them to keep the run rate up as India reached 50 in the seventh over. 

After the bright start, Rahane and Dravid shared 79 runs, off just 68 balls, for the second wicket to lay the foundation for India's total.

Rahane was the aggressor among the duo and found the boundaries at will, while Dravid played the role of sheet-anchor, dealing mostly in ones twos with occasional fours in between. Rahane batted delightfully, pulling and lofting England's bowlers, whether it was the pacemen or spinners, at will. 

Rahane's first shot of fury was an awesome pull off Stuart Broad that went many a rows back over the midwicket fence. 

When Broad pitched it up, he lofted him over extra cover. In between, there were delicate dabs off Jade Dernbach and precise lofted strokes off the spinners. The right-handed batsman reached his half century from 40 balls, with five fours and one six, in the 16th over.

However, India lost Dravid an over before Rahane's personal landmark when the veteran batsman tried to slog-sweep Swann and was smartly caught at midwicket by Anderson. 

India lost their third wicket in the 17th over when Virat Kohli (9) hoisted Swann into the hands of Bell at long-on. But new-man-in Raina immediately made his presence felt by smacking Dernbach straight into the long-on stands.

Rahane, well past his 50, sought a runner in the 19th over but the move didn't work as he fell soon, caught by Swann off his own bowling. He struck five fours and a six en route to his half century.

The Indians opted for two overs of batting powerplay in the 20th over, with Raina and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the crease and the scoreboard reading 144 for four. It paid rich dividends as Raina hit Dernbach for a six and two fours to pick 16 runs of the 20th over. 

Dhoni (6) then slammed Bresnan for a four to the midwicket fence, but fell off the next ball while going for his trademark helicopter shot, caught by Bell in the deep. 

India collected 28 runs from two overs of batting powerplay before Raina departed in the final over, lofting Bresnan into the hands of Ben Stokes at square-leg.