India steamroll through England to register win in ODI series opener

Team India opened the ODI series with an important win to surge ahead in the three-match assignment as all-round brilliance reigned supreme from the hosts. Winning the toss, England opted to bat first and they had a good start to eye for a bigger finish.

Phil Salt (43) and Ben Duckett (32) got them a fine opening partnership as the duo added 75 runs. However, the fall of Salt and Duckett in quick succession provided India with an important opening. Harry Brook failed to open his account as Harshit Rana reduced the visitors to 77/3.

Joe Root (19) did get the start but stuttered midway, making life quite difficult for the visitors. Wobbling at 111/4, England rode high on a crucial partnership between Jos Buttler (52) and Jacob Bethell (51) to stabilize the ship. However, the fall of Buttler, once again sparked instability, cracking open a domino effect.

Bethell fought hard and had some late company from Jofra Archer who smashed 21 off just 18 balls to propel England to a fighting 248. Ravindra Jadeja and Harshit Rana were the pick of the lot with six wickets between them while Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel secured a wicket apiece.

India was jolted to a rude awakening as they lost Rohit Sharma (2) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) early in the innings. However, a sturdy performance from Shubman Gill (87) and Shreyas Iyer (59) saw India fighting back emphatically. Iyer and Gill added 94 runs for the third wicket before Bethell could remove the latter.

An incoming Axar Patel who was promoted to No.5, played out a crucial knock, scoring 52 off 47, propelling India within touching distance of a win. Despite a flurry of wickets in the latter half of the game, India was comfortably eased into the winning slot and they crossed the finishing line without much of a fuss, registering a 4-wicket win. Shubman Gill was the Player of the Match for his incredible 87.