OdishaLIVE Bureau
India won the first ODI match of the 3 match series after beating England comprehensively
India kick started their ODI series by beating England in the first ODI match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. After, winning the T20 series, India continued to impress after beating the English side comprehensively.
India won the toss and skipper Virat Kohli opted to field, first. England opened their innings with batsmen Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow. The pair were off to a great start with both looking in top form. England’s total reached to 50 in just 7.4 overs with both the batsmen well set. The Indian pace bowlers were struggling to get their line and length right. But, in came Kuldeep Yadav who has been in scintillating form and got Jason Roy out when he tried to reverse sweep Yadav in the 11th over. He soon got the new batsmen Root out for just 3 runs in the 13th over, taking two wickets in quick succession.
Kuldeep had taken the game now to a balance after England’s explosive start. He then got the set Bairstow out in the same over for a LBW, yet again. The umpire initially, did not give it out but after India took the review, the decision was reversed and Bairstow went back to the pavilion. England were 3 wickets down after making 82 runs in the 13th over.
There were two new batsmen at the crease, skipper Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes. England needed to form some kind of partnership, to stay in the game. But, wickets kept falling as Yuzvendra Chahal got skipper Morgan out in the 20th over softly when he chipped the ball directly towards Raina and the Indian fielder had an easy take. In came, the in-form batsmen Jos Butler and England needed him to bat as long as possible in order to get the total to a respectable position.
The Englishmen took his T20 form into this match and timed the ball from the word go. He and Stokes had an important partnership in this crucial stage of the match with Butler playing the role of the aggressor and Stokes providing a valuable support at the other end. Butler reached his fifty in just 45 balls which included 5 fours. But, he got out in rather silly fashion when he edged Kuldeep Yadav’s ball, which was a wide one straight into the hands of MS Dhoni in the 39th over. England were 5 wickets down and had made 198 runs with 11 overs to spare.
Soon, Stokes also made his 50 but was going at a very slow rate, taking 102 balls to get to his 50 and scoring just 2 fours. Yadav then took the wicket of David Wiley in the same over and finished his world class spell, giving just 25 runs in 10 overs and taking 6 wickets. England managed to post a total of 268 runs in 50 overs after handy knocks from Moen Alli and Rashid at the end.
India needed 269 runs from 300 balls in order to win and kick start their ODI campaign in England. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were off to a great start yet again with both of them timing the ball perfectly. Dhawan was smashing the ball all around the park and was more of an aggressor than Rohit. But, in the 8th over spinner Moen Ali got him out when he looked to smash his ball but edged it straight into the hands of Rashid.
In came Virat Kohli at no.3, ahead of KL Rahul and looked to build a partnership with Sharma. The pair took the game away from England with both scoring at a great rate and smashing the ball everywhere. Kohli reached his fifty in just 55 balls which included 5 fours and took India’s total to 158 in just 24.1 overs. From thereon, Rohit Sharma took charge and was havoc for the English bowlers. He continued to smash the ball and made his 100 in stylish fashion by hitting a six of spinner Rashid. His innings included 12 fours and 3 sixes and he reached his ton in just 82 balls. India needed just 43 runs of 101 balls, when skipper Virat Kohli was stumped behind the wickets by Jos Butler.
In came KL Rahul who along with Rohit Sharma finished the match off and led India to its first win in the ODI series. Rohit Sharma remained not out, scoring 137 runs in just 114 balls after displaying a brilliant batting display, yet again. India play the 2nd ODI against England at the famous Lord’s in England and will be hoping to take this form into the game.
