Harshit's quick redemption to Shreyas' comeback fifty: 5 key takeaways from India's win vs England in 1st ODI

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Image Credit: Getty Images

Team India kicked off the three match ODI series on a good note with a four-wicket against England in the first game at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday, February 6. 

With a target of 249 set by England, the Men in Blue chased it down 38.4 overs. Shubman Gill led India’s batting with a knock of 87 off 96 balls, while Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel contributed to the hosts’ run-chase with an innings of 59 and 52, respectively. Earlier, Ravindra Jadeja (3/26) and Harshit Rana (3/53) picked three wickets each to bundle out England for 248 in 47.4 overs. 

Apart from India’s win against England in the first ODI, let’s take a look at five key takeaways from the match. 

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1. Harshit Rana's redeemed himself after Phil Salt's onslaught

Harshit Rana faced an absolute on-slaught from England pacer Phil Salt as he conceded 26 runs in the sixth over of the visitors’ batting. However, the Indian pacer managed to redeem himself by picking two wickets of Ben Duckett and Harry Brook in the 10th over and reduced England to 77/3. Rana also picked his third wicket by dismissing Liam Livingstone and registered figures of 3/53 at an economy rate of 7.30 in seven overs. After a 26-run onslaught by Phil Salt in his third over, Rana conceded just 27 runs while taking three wickets in the next four overs. 

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2. Ravindra Jadeja’s milestone 

During his three-wicket haul against England in the first ODI, Ravindra Jadeja achieved the feat of becoming the fifth Indian bowler after Anil Kumble, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, and Kapil Dev and the over 25th to take 600 wickets across all formats in international cricket. Jadeja achieved this milestone when he dismissed Adil Rashid in England’s batting. The 35-year-old also became the second Indian all-rounder after former India captain Kapil Dev to amass 6000 runs and take 600 wickets in international cricket. In the first ODI, Ravindra Jadeja registered figures of 3/26 at an economy rate of 2.90 in 9 overs. 

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3. Not an ideal return for Joe Root in ODIs

Joe Root didn’t have an ideal return to ODI cricket as he was dismissed for 19 after England opted to bat first against India. The 34-year-old made his return to the shorter format of the game after a gap of over a year. Before the 1st ODI against India, Root’s last appearance in the format was in the ODI World Cup match against Pakistan in 2023. Since then, the selectors overlooked him until he was added to the squad for the three-match series against India. However, Root struggled to get going until he was trapped lbw by Ravindra Jadeja. 

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4. Rohit Sharma poor form continues 

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma’s poor run of form continued as he was dismissed for just two runs in the first ODI against England. The 37-year-old’s form has been under heavy scrutiny following his dismal performance in the Australia Test series, where he scored just 31 runs at an average of 6.2. This was followed by his moderate outing in Mumbai’s 5-wicket defeat against Jammu and Kashmir. Many were expecting Rohit Sharma to return to form in ODIs, but he didn’t have an ideal start to the series against England. 

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5. Shreyas Iyer slams fifty on Team India return

Shreyas Iyer couldn’t have asked for a better return to the Indian team than slamming a fifty in the first ODI against England. The 29-year-old played a brilliant innings of 59 off 36 balls at a strike rate of 163.89 in the Men in Blue’s four-wicket win over Jos Buttler’s side. Iyer was out of Team India after the BCCI decided to remove him from the central contract list of players for adhering to the board’s direction to play Ranji Trophy in the last season. Iyer finally made his return to the Indian team, considering his performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he amassed 325 runs, including two centuries for Mumbai.