In Men’s Cricket, India registered a dominant four-wicket victory over England in the first ODI of three-match series at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. With the win, the Men in Blue are leading the series 1-nil.
Chasing a target of 249 runs, India overhauled the score, posting 251 for the loss of six wickets in 38,4 overs. Shubhman Gill was the top scorer, smashing 87 runs off 96 balls. Shreyas Iyer had 59 runs off 36 balls while Axar Patel made 52 runs off 47 balls.
Saqib Mahmood and Adil Rashid scalped two wickets each. Jacob Bethell and Jofra Archer took one wicket each.
Earlier, opting to bat after winning the toss, England were bundled out for 248 runs in 47.4 overs. Skipper Jos Buttler with 52 runs off 67 balls, Jacob Bethell with 51 off 64 balls and Philip Salt with 43 runs from 26 balls made valuable contributions for the Visitors. Ravindra Jadeja and Harshit Rana picked three wickets each while Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav took one wicket each for India.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Harshit Rana have made their ODI debuts for the Men in Blue today. Virat Kohli has been rested due to a knee injury.
The second match of the series will be played in Cuttack on Sunday, while the third and final ODI will be played in Ahmedabad on the 12th of this month. The series will serve as a crucial test for both sides to assess their ODI performances ahead of the Champions Trophy later this month.
