Watch cricket video highlights of England tour of India 2025. First ODI between India and England. Venue of the match will be Nagpur.
Copyright – Third Party Reference Inline Linking Embedded Video from BCCI
Report
It was both chaotic and decisive. India comfortably achieved their target of 249, accomplishing it with 68 balls remaining in Nagpur. The fact that they only secured this first ODI victory by four wickets was due to a troublingly disorganized conclusion. This reflected more on their inability to manage the ease of the task than on any significant effort from England. Following a 4-1 thrashing in the T20I series, Brendon McCullum’s first ODI as head coach ended with a similarly dismal defeat.
A blend of experienced and new players contributed to give the team in light blue a 1-0 advantage in this three-match series. Ravindra Jadeja’s figures of 3 for 26 were complemented by Harshit Rana’s 3 for 53 in his debut ODI, helping to dismiss England for 248 with 14 balls to spare. Jos Buttler’s 52 and Jacob Bethell’s 51 were the only noteworthy contributions after Phil Salt’s explosive start of 43 off 26 was squandered.
With Virat Kohli sidelined due to a right knee injury from Wednesday evening, Shubman Gill stepped in to solidify the chase with 87, aided by Shreyas Iyer’s 59 and Axar Patel’s impressive 52, in partnerships of 94 and 108, respectively. The former partnership was crucial, as Jofra Archer had Yashasvi Jaiswal, making his ODI debut, dismissed, and Saqib Mahmood—who replaced the rested Mark Wood—had captain Rohit Sharma caught at mid-on within six deliveries. From a precarious 19 for 2, India never looked back.
Iyer’s fifty off just 30 balls set a commanding tone, expertly handling all short deliveries by pulling and then ramping Archer for back-to-back sixes at the end of the seventh over. Four of his nine boundaries came off Brydon Carse, who switched to length deliveries aimed towards the off side once it became clear that Iyer was eager to heave to leg. Promoting Axar up the batting order was a strategic move that paid off, allowing the left-hander to play with the freedom that enabled Gill to proceed steadily.
Gill’s only moment of concern arose when he was given out lbw on 38 to Liam Livingstone, but that decision was quickly overturned as DRS revealed a clear inside edge. This was Gill’s 14th fifty, and notably, his first against England. The duo partnered effectively in the 29th over against Carse, scoring 17 runs off it with two boundaries each—the most memorable being a ramp shot from Axar over the wicketkeeper. It was at this point that the chase officially turned into a stroll, with only 48 runs needed from the last 21 overs.
Axar celebrated his first fifty on home soil, driving his 46th delivery from Carse on the up and past the fielder at mid-off. It was disappointing for Gill at the non-striker’s end that Axar was unable to finish the job—bowled by a slow leg spinner from Adil Rashid. At that moment, with 28 runs still needed and Gill on 81, thoughts shifted towards the 25-year-old’s century, which seemed to create hesitation, beginning with KL Rahul’s dismissal—a soft caught and bowled to Rashid—and later his own, as he failed to clear Mahmood over Buttler at mid-on.
Jadeja’s edge off Mahmood, which went through wicketkeeper Salt for the winning runs, encapsulated the tension caused by that unnecessary flurry of three wickets for just four runs. However, it also underscored England’s batting deficiencies, stemming from their own three-wicket collapse early in their innings within the span of eight deliveries. Salt formed an opening partnership of 75 with Ben Duckett, leaving India struggling in the field.
The intensity of Salt’s onslaught following a cautious beginning was encapsulated in Rana’s third over, which went for 26 runs due to three sixes—a top-edge, a slog sweep off a slower delivery, and a powerful heave over midwicket to conclude the over. However, a misunderstanding on a third run led to his downfall, marking the start of a cascade as the score shifted from 75 for 0 to 77 for 3. A cut shot to deep point was intercepted by Iyer, who threw to the striker’s end to find Salt well short of his ground, having been sent back by Duckett.
Rana made a strong comeback, taking two wickets in the subsequent over. Duckett misplayed a pull shot that required an extraordinary catch from Jaiswal, who sprinted back from midwicket before executing a perfectly timed dive. Harry Brook was then caught down the leg side by Rahul, who had taken over wicketkeeping duties from Rishabh Pant, after a rising delivery had brushed the bottom edge of Brook’s bat.
Joe Root came out to bat for his first ODI innings since the 2023 World Cup, ideally suited for such a rebuilding effort despite his absence from the 50-over format. However, the optimism shared with Buttler at the other end was short-lived, as Root fell lbw to Jadeja after spending 51 deliveries at the crease. This marked the fourth instance of the left-arm spinner dismissing him in this format.
At that point, England’s score stood at 111 for 4 in the 20th over, somewhat comparable to India’s 111 for 3 at the end of the 16th over, when Bethell trapped Iyer in front of the wickets. Bethell’s partnership with Buttler for the fifth wicket seemed to be paving the way for a solid recovery, similar to what Gill and Axar managed. However, the English duo’s collaboration was halted at 59 when Buttler, just nine balls after reaching his 38th fifty-plus ODI score from 58 balls, nudged an Axar long-hop around the corner to Hardik Pandya at short fine leg.
In contrast to India’s middle order, England’s batting lineup collapsed, despite Bethell maintaining his composure and reaching a second ODI fifty off 62 balls. His maturity and situational awareness provided a lesson for the more seasoned players around him. Those batting lower in the order needed to support him, but the return of pace bowling resulted in Liam Livingstone being dismissed caught behind for Rana’s third wicket, followed by Carse bowled for Mohammed Shami’s first wicket.
Once Bethell was ruled out upon review after Jadeja struck him on the back leg while attempting a sweep, only a few powerful blows from Archer (21 not out) bestowed England with what seemed a competitive total at the midway point. India, however, showed no regard for it at all.
