Birmingham: All-rounders Axar Patel and Washington Sundar’s brilliant unbeaten 102-run partnership, along with Shubman Gill’s fluent 80 and India’s outstanding all-round team performance, powered India to a comfortable six-wicket victory over England, with 28 balls to spare, in the first ODI to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series on Tuesday at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
The first ODI began with England winning the toss and electing to bat first. With the bat, England looked decent with the bat as they did not lose a wicket in the powerplay, scoring 60 runs. However, young pacer Gurnoor Brar provided the early breakthrough by claiming two wickets in the 13th over, dismissing Jacob Bethell, who struggled for his 15 off 31 balls, and Ben Duckett, who had accelerated briefly with 43 off 45 balls. England’s batting order then suffered a dramatic collapse against India’s dominant pace attack. After the first two wickets fell, Jasprit Bumrah returned to action in the very next over and dismissed captain Harry Brook for just 1. Bumrah produced a superb spell, taking a crucial wicket while conceding only 31 runs in his nine-over spell at a stunning economy rate of 3.44, including an impressive 36 dot balls. With this spell, Bumrah reached another milestone, becoming the third-fastest Indian bowler to take 150 ODI wickets. He achieved the feat by dismissing England captain Harry Brook with the first ball of the 14th over. The wicket was Bumrah’s 150th in ODI cricket. The dismissal also helped Bumrah create another record. He now has 31 ODI wickets in England, moving past Ravindra Jadeja’s tally of 30 to become India’s highest wicket-taker in the format on English soil. Then Prasidh Krishna struck, dismissing Jos Buttler for just 5 off 14 balls. Despite his short stay at the crease, Buttler reached a milestone as he became only the second England cricketer to play 200 One-Day Internationals. Only former England captain Eoin Morgan, who finished his career with 225 ODIs, has played more matches for England in the format. In the very same over, Sam Curran was dismissed for a duck. Soon after, Will Jacks departed after scoring 20 off 19 balls, caught brilliantly behind the stumps by KL Rahul off Shivam Dube. With that wicket, England slipped dramatically from 60 without loss to 107/6. However, Joe Root and Liam Dawson stitched together an excellent 121-run partnership for the seventh wicket, rebuilding and reviving England’s innings. Root played a composed knock of 76 off 76 deliveries, while Dawson contributed a valuable 68 off 83 balls. With this partnership, England made a strong comeback after their early collapse and looked set to finish with a competitive total. But Axar Patel completely shattered those hopes. He dismissed Dawson at a crucial stage to provide India with the much-needed breakthrough. He then dismantled the lower order by taking wickets at regular intervals, dismissing Jofra Archer, and in the 48th over removing both Adil Rashid and Josh Tongue. England were eventually bowled out for 258. Axar not only finished with an outstanding spell of 4 wickets for 62 runs but also restricted England from crossing the 270-run mark. With this excellent performance, Axar reached another remarkable milestone. The left-arm spinner became only the second Indian spinner to claim four wickets between overs 41 and 50 of an ODI innings. The only other Indian spinner to achieve the feat was Ravindra Jadeja, who accomplished it against Sri Lanka in Port of Spain in 2013.
Chasing 259, India suffered an early setback as they lost two crucial wickets—Rohit Sharma (11 off 21) and Virat Kohli (5 off 6)—slipping to 48/2 in 8.3 overs. However, captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer rebuilt the innings with a superb 101-run partnership for the third wicket. Gill played an elegant, classic, composed yet aggressive innings, showcasing fantastic shot selection and outstanding class. Unfortunately, physical issues interrupted his innings. Due to calf cramps followed by a hamstring problem, he retired hurt after scoring a magnificent 80 off 75 balls, including 11 fours and one six. Following the captain’s retirement hurt, England regained momentum and fought their way back into the contest. Shreyas Iyer, who looked well set, was eventually run out by Harry Brook’s direct hit after scoring 35 off 53 balls. In the very next over, KL Rahul was dismissed by debutant Josh Tongue for just 1. But Axar Patel and Washington Sundar broke England’s momentum by building a stunning unbeaten 102-run partnership for the fifth wicket. After producing the game-changing four-wicket spell in the first innings, Axar also contributed a solid 57 off 52 balls, bringing up a brilliant half-century. The duo handled both pace and spin with remarkable composure, rotating the strike effectively. Washington Sundar sealed the chase in style with a six completing his half-century with a valuable unbeaten 52 off 63 balls. With that, India comfortably chased down the target, reaching 263/4 in just 45.2 overs with 28 balls to spare.
Axar Patel was deservedly named the Player of the Match for his incredible all-round performance. With the victory, India took a 1-0 lead in the series and registered their sixth consecutive ODI victory over England, setting a new record for their longest winning streak against England in the format. The win also ended England’s seven-match winning streak at Edgbaston. Both teams will now play the second ODI on 16 July (Thursday) at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.
