Rohit Sharma lasted just seven balls but Shubman Gill roared back to form with an entertaining innings as India cantered to a four-wicket victory with 68 balls remaining in the opening ODI against England at Nagpur on Thursday.
Gill’s 87 off 96 balls will bring some relief to the India camp ahead of the Champions Trophy, beginning later this month. He never looked to be in any discomfort but missed out on a deserving century when he was cramped for room going for the pull.
Chasing 249, India lost three wickets within a span of 14 runs towards the end of the match but it didn’t come in the way of their victory. If Gill held the innings together, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel provided some much-needed support in the middle overs.
Shreyas, making a return to the side, smashed Jofra Archer for two consecutive sixes early in his innings to halt England’s progress after they had dismissed both the openers inside the sixth over. The innings of 59 off 36 balls will go a long way in cementing his place in the playing XI.
Axar once again showed why he is regarded highly in this format. Having missed out on the ODI World Cup campaign in 2023 at the last minute because of an injury, he seems determined to make amends.
The left-hander’s 52 off 47 balls put India back on track following the departure of Shreyas. Axar and Gill added 108 runs at a run-a-ball, thereby dismissing England’s hopes of staging a turnaround.
However, there was no respite for Rohit. The India captain made 2 and played a bit too early at an incoming delivery which spooned to Liam Livingstone at mid-wicket.
Rohit looked completely off-colour during his short stay. Besides indecisive footwork, his timing looked awry and displayed all the signs of a batter struggling to regain his rhythm.
Earlier, Harshit Rana came up with an impressive ODI debut as England were bowled out for a below-par 248 in 47.4 overs.
England were off to a blazing start with Phil Salt and Ben Duckett throwing caution to the wind, but India’s disciplined bowling and razor-sharp fielding orchestrated a remarkable fightback.
Rana (3/53) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/26) shared six wickets between them in a clinical display of bowling despite half-centuries from Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell.
Rana’s first over proved costly, as the explosive Salt plundered 26 runs in a ruthless display of power-hitting. Three sixes and two fours rained down upon the young pacer, prompting Rohit to swiftly turn to spin, summoning Axar (1/38) in an attempt to stem the flow of runs.
However, England’s charge remained relentless, with Duckett (32) unfurling an array of strokes.
India struck back in a sensational fashion with Shreyas running out Salt in a rare mix-up between the two openers.
While Rana’s opening over gave England the momentum, his fourth over, which yielded two wickets, changed the complexion of the innings, putting India in control.
First, two debutants — Rana and Yashasvi Jaiswal — combined to get rid of Duckett. Jaiswal, stationed at mid-wicket, sprinted back a good 20 yards before executing a breathtaking full-stretch dive to produce a stunning catch.
Rana struck again just two balls later, forcing Harry Brook to edge behind to KL Rahul as England suddenly found themselves reeling, having lost three wickets in a space of two runs.
Joe Root and Jos Buttler were entrusted with the responsibility of rebuilding the innings. However, Jadeja cut short Root’s stay at the crease, trapping him leg-before-wicket. Buttler held fort for awhile, scoring a rather sedate fifty. England’s limited-overs captain smashed four boundaries before top edging one off Axar straight to Hardik at short fine leg.
With wickets tumbling regularly, Bethell notched up a resolute half-century but Jadeja struck back at the right time. Despite best efforts from Archer down the order, England couldn’t cross the 250 mark.
