India go 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series
Pune: They say when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. It was again proved by Virat Kohli (122, 105b, 8×4, 5×6) who did not want his limited overs captaincy to start in an inauspicious manner. The Delhi batsman recorded his 27th ODI hundred as India chased down a record England score to emerge winners by three wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series here Sunday.
At one point with India on 63 for four, it had appeared that the match had slipped out of their grasp. However, Kohli found an able ally in Kedar Jadhav (120, 76b, 12×4, 4×6) and the two tore apart the England adding 200 runs for the fifth wicket to turn things around for India.
Such has been Kohli’s form this season that a century or a match-winning knock can always be expected from him. What left the England bowlers stunned was the counter-attack launched by Jadhav. He scored at a faster clip than Kohli and played shots all around the park to score his second ODI hundred.
Kohli, who had seen the likes of KL Rahul (8), Shikhar Dhawan (1), Yuvraj Singh (15) and MS Dhoni (6) depart early on, grew in confidence with Jadhav. The trademark cover drive and slap through mid-wicket was there, but what stood out were two audacious sixes off Chris Woakes. The first he stepped out to loft the bowler over mid-on, the ball travelling flat to hit the boundary boards, the second a treat to the eye, as Kohli remained rooted to his crease and with the power of the bottom-hand send the ball soaring over the mid-wicket fence into the crowd.
Jadhav reached his century gliding Woakes to the third-man fence, but by that time, cramps had got to him. He soldiered on, but it was Kohli who fell trying to force the pace and holing out to David Willey at cover off Stokes with the score on 263.
The Pune Stadium turned silent as with the score on 291, homeboy Jadhav’s fierce pull off Jake Ball (3/67) went straight down Stokes’s throat at deep-square leg. But India need not have worried as Hardik Pandya (40 n o, 37b, 3×4, 1×6) and Ravi Ashwin (15 n o, 10b, 1×6) completed the formalities without much ado. Ashwin hit Moeen Ali over long-on for a six and India were home and dry with 11 balls to spare.
Earlier England batsmen also feasted on the listless Indian bowling piling up their highest score of 350 for seven against the hosts.
One-down Joe Root (78, 95b, 4×4, 1×6) and opener Jason Roy (73, 61b, 12×4) struck form early before Ben Stokes (62, 40b, 2×4, 5×6) too blitzed his way to a half century en route a record score for the rejuvenated visiting team. They were well-supported by skipper Eoin Morgan (28, 26b, 2×4, 1×6), Jos Buttler (31, 36b, 1×4, 2×6) and Ali (28, 17b, 3×4, 1×6).
England’s score bettered the 338 for eight made by them in the tied encounter of the 2011 World Cup against India at Bangalore.
The last 10 overs of the innings brought England 115 runs, including 65 in the final five to leave India to score at an asking rate of 7.02. For India, Hardik Pandya (2/46) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/79) were the two bowlers to pick up more than one wicket. However, it was Ravindra Jadeja (1/50) who impressed. He not only applied the skids on England early on but kept probing away constantly. Jadeja’s spin twin Ravichandran Ashwin was unimpressive and gave away 63 runs in eight overs without a wicket to his name.
Agencies
