India Impress In 66-Run Win Against England In The First ODI
Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
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By Slogger
First publised on 2021-03-24 03:17:10
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Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
View all posts by this Author
India beat England by 66 runs in the first ODI at Pune in what was later described by Indian skipper Virat Kohli as a victory that was "sweetest in the recent past". Looking at the scoreboard, not many would be able to decipher what made Kohli go gaga over the victory. But a deeper analysis shows that India out-batted and out-bowled England in an expert and clinical way with two debutants putting in excellent performances. That was reason enough to make the Indian captain feel "proud".
England won the toss yet again and put India into bat. It was a good batting pitch but the trick was in the extra bounce and the movement off the pitch. England had the bowlers to exploit the conditions, but for once, the Indians dug in. Shikhar Dhawan (98) and Rohit Sharma (28), and later to a more brilliant effect, skipper Kohli (56), showed why they are considered the best players in this format by negotiating Mark Wood, Sam and Tom Curran and Ben Stokes as also the spinners Rashid and Ali with a balanced degree of caution and stroke play. Although India lost wickets in the middle overs with both Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya having an off day, K L Rahul and a brilliant Krunal Pandya led an unbelievable charge in the slog overs, with Pandya scoring the fastest fifty for a debutant, to ensure that India reached a very competitive 317/5.
When England batted, Jason Roy and Johny Bairstow almost took the game away from India with their amazing and clean hitting. No India bowler, except Bhubhaneshwar Kumar, was spared and England were up to 135 without loss in no time. Debutant Prasidh Krishna had a torrid time as he was targeted by Bairstow. Yet, the Indian bowlers came back in style and Krishna also had his revenge. But it was the unassuming Shardul Thakur who started the slide by dismissing Bairstow, Morgan and Buttler in quick succession. Krishna got into the act by removing Roy, Ben Stokes and Sam Billings. England, though comfortable on the run rate, kept on losing wickets at regular intervals to end up at 251 and hand India an impressive victory.
