Kochi: Kochi was Ravindra Jadeja’s happy hunting ground and he made the most of it by not only scoring  61 runs off 37 deliveries but also came in to ball a very tight spell later. He gave away just 12 runs off 7 overs and took two wickets that helped India beat England by 127 runs and level the five-match ODI series 1-1 at Jawaharlal Cricket Stadium, Kochi on Tuesday.

Chasing a daunting target of 286 to win, England were never in the game after Bhuvneshwar Kumar trapped Alastair Cook in front of the wicket in the 11th over. Kumar bowled a fiery spell and once he got rid of dangerous looking Kevin Pietersen and Eion Morgan in the same over (15th), it was always going to be tough for the visitors to chase the massive total on a wicket that had assistance for both the pacers and the spinners.

Jadeja returned in the 31st over for a double strike as he removed Root and Chris Woakes (0) in the space of four balls to leave England tottering at 132 for seven.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who has been struggling for some time, played his part with three wickets in his two overs as he polished off the England tail -- James Tredwell (1), Steven Finn (0) and Jade Dernbach (2).

Earlier, India's started off badly as Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane were back into the pavilion within no time but Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh revived the Indian innings slowly but steadily and later skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (72) continued wth his form to steer India to a challenging 285 for six.

Dhoni blasted a 66-ball 72 laced with seven fours and two sixes, to take his team past the 250-run mark after they were reduced to 119-4 in 26.2 overs. Dhoni featured in two crucial partnerships --- first adding 55 runs with Suresh Raina and then 96 runs with Ravindra Jadeja for the fifth and sixth wickets respectively. Raina too scored a valuable half century, studded with two sixes and a couple of fours, which steadied the Indian innings.

However, it was in the last 10 overs which gave the hosts the impetus as Dhoni and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, amassed 108 runs, to put the team in a comfortable position after they decided to bat first.

Steven Finn was the top wicket-taker for England as he took two wickets for 51 runs, while James Tredwell bowled really well, taking one wicket for 48 runs.