India’s ODI campaign got off to the perfect start as the visitors produced a clinical all-round display to beat England by six wickets in the opening ODI at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
After Axar Patel’s career-best figures of 4/62 helped bowl England out for 258, India’s batting overcame an early wobble before Shubman Gill, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar combined to complete the chase with 28 balls to spare.
The victory also offered India’s batting unit a timely confidence boost after enduring a difficult T20I series in England, with the middle order stepping up under pressure to seal the first match of the three-game ODI series.
England recovers after a dramatic collapse
Choosing to bat first, England looked comfortable early on as Ben Duckett (43) and Jacob Bethell (14) added 61 for the opening wicket while negotiating Jasprit Bumrah’s return to ODI cricket after 968 days.
However, debutant Gurnoor Brar changed the course of the innings by dismissing both openers in the same over after switching ends.
Bumrah then removed England captain Harry Brook for just one before Prasidh Krishna struck twice in quick succession, sending back Jos Buttler in his landmark 200th ODI and Sam Curran to leave England reeling at 80/5.
Will Jacks briefly counterattacked with 20, but Shivam Dube claimed his wicket after KL Rahul produced a superb one-handed catch behind the stumps.
With England in deep trouble, Joe Root and Liam Dawson mounted an impressive rescue act. Their 121-run partnership for the seventh wicket revived the innings as Dawson struck his maiden ODI fifty and Root registered his fourth consecutive fifty-plus score in the format.
Axar eventually ended the stand by dismissing Dawson for a career-best 68, while Root remained unbeaten on 76. England were eventually bowled out for 258 in 47.5 overs despite a late cameo from Jofra Archer.
Gill lays the platform before Axar and Sundar finish the job
India’s chase began brightly before England hit back with two early wickets.
Captain Rohit Sharma departed for 11 before Virat Kohli fell for five, leaving India at 43/2 inside the opening powerplay.
Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer then steadied the innings with a fluent 101-run partnership that wrestled back control of the chase.
Gill looked in sublime touch throughout his innings, mixing elegant drives with crisp pulls to race to 80. However, just as he appeared set for a century, the opener was forced to retire hurt after suffering from severe cramps.
India’s chase suffered another wobble soon after.
Shreyas was run out following a mix-up in the middle, while KL Rahul chopped Josh Tongue onto his stumps, reducing the visitors to 160/4 and leaving them needing another 99 runs.
Axar and Washington seal a memorable win
With the match evenly poised, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar produced a match-winning partnership to guide India home.
For his match-winning all-round performance, Axar Patel was named Player of the Match. The left-arm spinner finished with career-best figures of 4/62 before returning to score an unbeaten 56 off 51 balls, playing a pivotal role in India’s six-wicket victory.
At the other end, Washington anchored the chase with a composed, unbeaten 50 from 62 balls, rotating the strike expertly before finishing the contest in style.
Needing four runs to win in the 46th over, Sundar stepped down the track and launched Adil Rashid straight over the sightscreen for six, bringing up his half-century and sealing India’s six-wicket victory with 28 balls remaining.
The unbeaten 102-run stand between Axar and Washington capped a dominant all-round performance and handed India a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.