Sharma hits 32nd ODI hundred as India beats England by 4 wickets to win cricket series

CUTTACK, India (AP) — Rohit Sharma ended a poor run of form with his 32nd ODI hundred as India beat England by four wickets in the second one-day cricket international to win the series on Sunday.

Sharma, who last scored a half-century in October and averaged less than 11 in his last 16 international innings across the formats, hit a 76-ball century.

India, which won the first ODI in Nagpur by four wickets, took a 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The hosts had also won the preceding Twenty20 series 4-1.

Sharma scored 119 runs off 90 balls, hitting seven sixes and 12 fours, as India finished with 308-6 in 44.3 overs. Shubman Gill hit a second successive half-century in the series – 60 off 52 balls with nine fours and a six.

Earlier, England won the toss and chose to bat first. It scored 304 all out in 49.5 overs. Joe Root top-scored with 69 off 72 balls, while Ben Duckett scored 65 off 56.

Play was halted for 20 minutes because of floodlight failure at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

One of the seven floodlight towers powered off abruptly during the seventh over of the Indian innings.

Ahmedabad will host the third ODI on Wednesday.

Sharma set a hectic pace as he raced to a half-century off 30 balls. He put on 136 runs for the first wicket with Gill, and the pair appeared unaffected by the floodlight delay.

Gill was bowled by a pinpoint yorker from Jamie Overton in the 17th over.

Kohli, back after a knock to his knee prior to the first ODI, was out for five shortly after. He was caught behind off Adil Rashid.

In hitting seven sixes, Sharma also became the second-highest six-hitter in ODIs – 344 in all, ahead of Chris Gayle’s 331 (West Indies) and behind Shahid Afridi’s 351 (Pakistan).

India crossed 200 in the 27th over before Sharma was caught off a full toss from Liam Livingstone in the 30th. He added 70 off 61 balls with Shreyas Iyer, who scored 44.

Iyer and Axar Patel added 38 after Sharma’s dismissal, but the former was run out after a mix-up.

KL Rahul was caught behind off Overton and then Hardik Pandya off Gus Atkinson. But Patel finished unbeaten on 41 off 43 balls and helped India cross the finish line.

In the afternoon, Duckett and Phil Salt (26) had put on 81 off 65 balls for England's first wicket.

Varun Chakravarthy (1-54) snared his first ODI wicket when Salt was caught off a skier. Chakravarthy was making his ODI debut for the hosts. The 33-year-old is India’s oldest debutant since its inaugural ODI team in 1974 (against England).

Duckett was out caught off Ravindra Jadeja, who took 3-35.

Harry Brook scored 31 off 52 balls, and perished while trying to attack the bowling. Gill caught him running back from mid-off – a stupendous catch off Harshit Rana.

Root and skipper Jos Buttler (34) then added 51 off 54 balls to anchor the English innings and helping the score past 200. Gill took another brilliant catch at mid-off to dismiss Buttler in the 39th over.

The last six wickets fell for 85 runs as the visitors finished with another under-par score despite a good start.

England made three changes, with Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson and Overton all included. Pacer Jofra Archer was rested, while all-rounder Jacob Bethell out with a hamstring issue.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

India's Virat Kohli plays a shot during the second one day international cricket match between India and England in Cuttack, India, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

India's captain Rohit Sharma, left, and Virat Kohli await a DRS review during the second one day international cricket match between India and England in Cuttack, India, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

India's captain Rohit Sharma raises his bat as he celebrates after scoring a century during the second one day international cricket match between India and England in Cuttack, India, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

England's captain Jos Buttler leaves the field after his side lost the second one day international cricket match against India in Cuttack, India, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

India's Ravindra Jadeja, left, and Axar Patel celebrate after winning the second one day international cricket match against England in Cuttack, India, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

England's captain Jos Buttler leaves the field after his side lost the second one day international cricket match against India in Cuttack, India, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

India's captain Rohit Sharma plays a shot during the second one day international cricket match between India and England in Cuttack, India, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

India's captain Rohit Sharma, right, shakes hand with his England counterpart Jos Buttler before the coin toss for the second one day international cricket match between India and England in Cuttack, India, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

India's captain Rohit Sharma, left, flips the coins for toss as England's captain Jos Buttler watches before the start of the second one day international cricket match between India and England in Cuttack, India, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday began sketching a roadmap for dismantling the Education Department, with other agencies taking over responsibility for federal student loans and programs serving students with disabilities.

The executive order Trump signed Thursday to do away with the department did not offer a timeline or instructions, but his administration appears poised to carve away all but the department's most vital operations.

Trump said student loans will be handled by the Small Business Administration, and “it will be serviced much better than it has in the past.” He also said programs involving students with disabilities would be shifted to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Republican president announced the changes at the beginning of an Oval Office event focused on developing a next-generation fighter jet.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said she is preparing to relocate the department’s core operations to other agencies and roll back federal regulations. In an opinion piece published Friday by Fox News Channel, she said abolishing the department “will not happen tomorrow,” but she plans to pave the way.

“We will systematically unwind unnecessary regulations and prepare to reassign the department’s other functions to the states or other agencies,” McMahon wrote.

The functions to be reassigned include the distribution of federal money to support low-income students and students with disabilities, the department’s management of student financial aid, civil rights enforcement and data collection, she wrote.

Only Congress has the power to bring a full end to the Education Department. Republicans in Congress are planning legislation to eliminate the agency, though they face heavy opposition from Democrats.

Opponents already vowed to challenge Trump's order in court.

Some Democratic governors say it will lead to bigger class sizes and fewer after-school programs. Opponents say Trump’s order will hurt students who rely on federal money and widen gaps between higher- and lower-achieving states.

Already the department has used layoffs and buyouts to halve its workforce while cutting dozens of contracts deemed wasteful or overly liberal.

Trump has denounced the department as a waste of taxpayer money, saying it has become infected by liberal ideology. He said its power should be turned over to states, which he sees as a remedy for America’s lagging education system.

“The cost will be half, and the education will be maybe many, many times better,” Trump said at a Thursday signing ceremony.

Trump's executive order said the Education Department is not big enough to handle its loan portfolio, adding that “it must return bank functions to an entity equipped to serve America’s students.”

Conservatives have long dreamed of closing the department, calling it an unneeded layer of bureaucracy that burdens local schools. Among those at the signing were the governors of several Republican states along with activists who say parents should have more power over their children’s education.

Much of the agency’s work revolves around managing money. It oversees a $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio and sends billions of dollars a year to public schools. Most of the aid comes from federal law, with programs targeting low-income schools and students with disabilities and special needs.

It also oversees student financial aid including Pell grants and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA.

Since the Education Department was created in 1979, the nation’s student test scores have remained flat despite $1 trillion in agency spending, McMahon said in her Fox News piece.

The oddity of the task before McMahon, being responsible for the permanent closure of the department she leads, wasn't lost on her.

“This is not a routine mission,” she wrote. “It is a transformation, driven by the clear will of the American people to return education to the states — and the decisive election of President Donald Trump.”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

President Donald Trump attends the annual St. Patrick's Day luncheon at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)