England 251 all out after shocking collapse, India take ODI series lead
India have taken a 1-0 lead in their One Day International (ODI) series against England after winning by 66 runs thanks to a shocking England collapse that saw the visitors go from 135-0 to 251 all out.
After India lasted the entire 50 overs in this ODI match, putting up a score of 317-5, England looked in full control when Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow combined for 135 after just 14.1 overs.
However, a mixture of superb bowling by India and poor batting management by England quickly saw their hard work shattered.
Dhawan, Kohli lead India scoring against England
After England won the toss and elected to bowl first, Rohit Sharma (28 off 42) was first to fall for India after 15.1 overs.
Ben Stokes provided the much-needed breakthrough for England, when his ball caught the outside edge of Sharma’s bat and went straight to England wicket Jos Buttler, giving England their first wicket after 64 runs.
When India captain Virat Kohli replaced Sharma, he and Shikhar Dhawan produced an impressive 105 stand before Kohli (56 off 60) finally fell near the start of the 32nd over after being caught at deep cover by Moeen Ali from a Mark Wood delivery.
Wood’s impressive bowling was then rewarded again just 2 overs later when Shreyas Iyer (6 off 9) got over-excited and tried a big hit that found substitute Liam Livingstone, who produced a fine catch to reduce India to 187-3.
Dhawan was finally dismissed on the verge of a century – after a superb 98 off 106 – after 38.1 overs, when England captain Eoin Morgan made a quick-reaction catch at short-mid wicket from a Stokes ball.
Another impressive bowling display by Stokes saw him take his third wicket (3/34) when Hardik Pandya was caught at first slip by Bairstow – further reducing India to 205-5 after 40.3 overs.
For a second, it looked as if India were taking a leaf out of England’s book when it came to middle-order collapses.
However, KL Rahul (62 off 43 not out) and Krunal Pandya (58 off 31 not out) took over and nailed 112 from the final 10 overs to calm India’s nerves.
After bright England start in ODI, visitors collapse poorly.
England started their innings in fine form, when Roy and Bairstow combined for 135-0 after 14.1 overs to pile the pressure onto India’s bowlers.
However, Prasidh Krishna (4/54) eased said pressure when he took his first ODI wicket after his delivery to outside off was smashed into the air and caught – on the second attempt after almost dropping it originally – by India substitute Suryakumar Yadav.
Exactly 2 overs later, and Stokes (1 off 11) couldn’t match his fine bowling form with his batting after Krishna’s quick delivery caught Stokes off-guard, who hit it up and straight into the hands of Shubman Gill at short cover.
The big wicket for India came when they got revenge on England for denying Dhawan his century when they denied Bairstow his 11th ODI century.
At the start of the 22nd over, Shardul Thakur’s cross-seam delivery to off connected to Bairstow’s top half of his bat and flew up and down to near deep mid-wicket into Kuldeep Yadav’s hand – reducing England to 169/3 and bringing India right back into this match.
Despite being well over the required run-rate, England appeared to have been rattled following Bairstow’s dismissal.
In the 24th over, England lost Morgan (22 off 30) and Buttler (2 off 4) thanks to Thakur’s brilliant bowling.
Morgan was caught by Rahul after a fast ball clipped off the edge of the England captain’s bat, whereas Buttler fell to lbw. In the blink of an eye, England had fallen to 176-5.
From here, superb bowling from India limited England’s scoring as the overs ticked on.
Sam Billings (18 off 22) was caught at cover by India skipper Kohli to give Krishna his third wicket, before Moeen Ali’s valiant 30 off 37 was ended by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose delivery clipped outside edge and into the mitts of Rahul.
The wheels on England’s car truly fell off when their last 3 wickets fell in the space of exactly 4 overs (38.1-42.1).
Sam Curran (12 off 20) gave Pandya his first ODI wicket after a floated delivery was smashed high up into the air straight forward, allowing an easy catch from Gill.
Adil Rashad (0 off 5) fell for a duck an over later when Kumar’s delivery to outside off clipped Rashad’s outside edge and went straight to Rahul.
Finally, Tom Curran (11 off 16) smashed Krishna’s ball off top edge towards third man, where Kumar ran and met it with a simple catch to give India the win.
Once again, England’s middle-order let them down. When they were well over the required run-rate to reach India’s score, they started to panic and go for big shots when they didn’t really need to.
However, credit must be given to India’s bowlers, especially Kumar (2/30), Krishna and Thakur (3/37) – who caused England stress with their skilled bowling.
With the second ODI in this series starting Friday at 7:30am, England will be hoping for redemption, whereas India will look to close out the series and overtake England, thus grabbing the number one spot in the world rankings.
Reactions from this ODI between India and England
Another satisfying win, and that too in the first game of a series! Shikhar and Virat were excellent, delighted for Rahul but the batting star was Krunal. Prasidh, the other debutant, bounced back superbly while Bhuvi and Shardul were brilliant. Total team effort! #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/MEiHyW8aLv
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) March 23, 2021
'This is one of our sweetest victories in the recent past' – Virat Kohli https://t.co/sYRQkRHIW0 | #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/OFdpWb5MJW
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 23, 2021
'I hope I can do this for long'
Prasidh Krishna is the first Indian man to take four wickets on ODI debut 💪 https://t.co/sYRQkRHIW0 | #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/dT72sb6PaW
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 23, 2021
Well done team India. Liked the way bowlers came back after the century opening partnership from Englishmen. #INDvENG
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 23, 2021
This is carnage … #INDvsENG
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 23, 2021
‘This one is for my dad’: Krunal Pandya breaks down in tears after smashing fastest 50 by ODI debutant #INDvENGhttps://t.co/wTbox1eTwC pic.twitter.com/jXDyIK1Ur3
— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) March 23, 2021
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