New Delhi: India produced a clinical performance to crush England by 4 wickets in the first ODI at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. Riding on half-centuries from Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel, India chased down the 249-run target with four wickets and 69 balls to spare.
The Men In Blue, disciplined with the ball, sharp in the field and efficient with the bat, edged past the Three Lions, who looked short of ideas in the field and now must win the second ODI on February 9, Sunday, to stay alive in the series.
England threw away good starts with both bat and ball and failed to capitalised on the momentum as India ruthlessly punished the sloppiness of the visitors. Opting to bat first, England got off to a flier, reaching 71 for no loss in only eight overs, but the home side bounced back brilliantly with regular wickets to stifle the English batters.
Clinical performance by Indian bowlers and fielders
Debutant pacer Harshit Rana (3/53) and veteran left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (3/26) shared six wickets between to help India bowl England out for a modest 248 in 47.4 overs. Comeback duo Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav picked up a wicket each. Meanwhile, Axar Patel also chipped in with a wicket.
Phil Salt (43) and Ben Duckett (32) skipper Jos Buttler (52) and Jacob Bethell (51) were the chief contributors for England.
In reply, England rocked the Indian top-order by dismissing skipper Rohit Sharma (2) and debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) inside the powerplay. But a superb counterattacking 94-run stand off 54 balls between Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer (59 off 36) put India’s chase back on track and set the innings for a successful run-chase.
Gill, Axar forge a century stand
Gill then combined with Axar Patel (52) to put on a 108-run stand for the fourth wicket to take India past the finishing line. The Punjab batter narrowly missed out on a well-deserved century and got out for 87 off 96 balls in the 37th over after mistiming a pull shot.
Adil Rashid and Saqib Mahmood picked up two wickets each while Jofra Archer and Jacob Bethell bagged a wicket apiece.
The second match of the three-ODI series will be played at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on February 9, Sunday.
India vs England 1st ODI: Team India produced an all-round performance to edge past England by 4 wickets in the first ODI at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
