Nagpur, Feb 6 (UNI) On a day when India’s bowlers put up a spirited performance to restrict England to 248 in the first ODI at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, debutant Harshit Rana emerged as one of the key talking points with an eventful outing here on Thursday.
England, after winning the toss and opting to bat first, started aggressively, with Phil Salt smashing his way to a 26-ball 43. However, an unfortunate run-out opened the floodgates, leading to a dramatic collapse that saw England slip from 75 for no loss to 77 for three in a matter of deliveries.
Jos Buttler (52) and Jacob Bethell (51) steadied the ship, but India’s bowlers kept chipping away at the wickets. Jofra Archer’s unbeaten 21 at the death ensured England crossed the 240-run mark, though they would have expected more.
The highlight of the bowling effort was the performance of Rana, who, despite some early nerves, left a mark on his debut. The young pacer picked up three wickets for 53 runs, becoming the first Indian bowler to claim three or more wickets on debut in all three formats. His spell was a mix of highs and lows, after being taken apart for 26 runs in an over, the most conceded by an Indian debutant in an ODI, he made a strong comeback, dismissing key English batsmen and showcasing his resilience.
Ravindra Jadeja, the most experienced bowler in India’s attack, was instrumental in applying pressure, finishing with impressive figures of 3/26. His dominance against England in ODIs continued, as he once again proved to be a thorn in their batting lineup.
Jadeja holds the record for the most wickets in India-England ODIs with 41, followed closely by James Anderson with 40. Andrew Flintoff has 37 dismissals, while Harbhajan Singh has taken 36 wickets. Javagal Srinath and Ravichandran Ashwin are tied with 35 wickets each.
Joe Root’s struggles against Jadeja were evident once more, with the left-arm spinner dismissing him for the fourth time in ODIs. Root has now managed 115 runs off 133 balls against Jadeja at an average of 28.75 and a strike rate of 86.46. Only Trent Boult has dismissed him more times in the format.
As India look to chase down 248 and take a 1-0 lead in the series, all eyes will be on their batting lineup. Can they make the most of the bowlers’ efforts? The action resumes shortly.
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