England has been a terrific limited overs team for the past 18 months or so due to the emergence of some brilliant attacking players like Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes. Experts had warned that the test match results would hold no relevance to the England ODI team and they were not wrong. England batsmen came to the party in Pune with some firebrand batting and were almost ready to go back to the hotel smiling until one particular V decided to gatecrash and spoil the party for them. England scored a mammoth 350 in their 50 overs and India needed nothing short of a miracle to chase that down and that too when India were reduced to 63 for 4, with Shikhar, Rahul, Yuvraj and Dhoni back in the hut. What followed was nothing less than a miracle as Virat who was already going great guns got the company of Kedar Jadhav, who even outscored the champion chase master. Virat ended with his 27th ODI ton as he scored 120 off 105 balls while Jadhav finished at 120 off just 76 deliveries for his 2nd ODI ton as Pandya (40*) gave the finishing touches to the chase to get India home by 3 wickets with an over to spare.
Virat Kohli captaining the side won the toss and elected to field on a small ground with a batting friendly pitch as he was unsure of what a safe total would be on this ground. As he always does, he backed himself and the team to chase any total that was presented to them. England got off to a good start with Jason Roy attacking the bowlers from ball 1. Hales on the other end failed but did not deter Roy from slowing down. Jason Roy got able support from Joe Root as they carried the momentum further into the innings. Roy and Root scored 73 and 78 respectively to lay a solid platform for the batsmen to follow. The pitch offered no turn at all as Ashwin, Jadeja, Yuvraj toiled hard for no results. Even Bumrah and Umesh Yadav could not get their variations going in the late overs as India leaked more than 100 runs in the final 8 overs. Jos Buttler got 31, Moeen Ali 28 while Ben Stokes went on a rampage to score 62 runs off just 40 deliveries. England finished with 350 for 7.
India could not be written off at the start of the mammoth chase with a powerful batting lineup that bats deep but with quick departure of KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj and Dhoni, not many would have given India a chance of fighting back. Virat Kohli was at the crease batting beautifully and all knew he would not give up without a fight but the other end was the big question. Kedar Jadhav on the other end had all the answers as sparked off a brilliant counter attack along with Kohli with a flurry of boundaries and sixes to bring the required rate down and send the England heart rates up. They kept on batting as they crossed the landmarks of 50, 100, 150 and even the 200 run partnership. That is where it halted but not before India was in the drivers seat at 263 for 5 in 36.2 overs, needing just 88 runs with 82 balls to go. Kohli got out for 122 off 105 balls and Kedar Jadhav followed soon but not before he had set the night on fire with a 76 ball 120 runs. Pandya finished with 40 not out from 36 balls as Ashwin (15*) sent the ball flying into the stands for the match winning six.
India would be really happy with their lower-middle order being tested and coming out with flying colours while also keeping an eye on the failures of the top order and the bowlers. England would feel comfortable about their batsmen but the inability of the bowlers to put pressure on opposition that too while defending 350 and having them on the back foot, should be a serious concern. Both teams have had a look at each other and would have their game plans ready when they meet for the second match at Cuttack on 19th January. India has taken a 1-0 lead in the 3 ODI match series and would want to go for the kill.
Kedar Jadhav was adjudged the man of the match for his scintillating century.
Ind vs Eng, 1st ODI, Pune
Brief Scores:
England 350/7 (50 ov)
India 356/7 (48.1 ov)
India won by 3 wickets (with 11 balls remaining)