India vs England 1st ODI: India Secure 4-Wicket Victory

India vs England 1st ODI: India Beat England by 4 Wickets, Takes 1-0 Lead in Series, Gill, Iyer Jadeja and Axar Shine

Nagpur, March 6, 2025- Virat Kohli’s absence due to a knee injury did not hinder India’s chase of 249 runs in the 1st ODI at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, as they comfortably won against England by 4 wickets. The player of the match was Shubman Gill with his stellar performance of 87 runs off 96 balls. He was well supported by Iyer with his explosive 59 runs off 36 balls alongside Patel, who summed up India’s chase with 52 runs off 47 balls.

Gill, Iyer and Axar Shine in India’s Chase

Unfortunately for India, they lost both openers within the first 6 overs, when the score was only 19 runs. Although debutant Jaiswal showed promise with his 15 runs off 13 balls, Captain Rohit Sharma’s continuation of a poor form with just 2 runs did not work well in India’s favor.

A stabilizing partnership between Vice Captain Gill and Shreyas Iyer was constructed to reach an 113-run score for India within 16 overs. Iyer’s dismissal did not put Gill in a pickle as he fetched a 108-run stand with Axar Patel. Gill’s heroics, alongside Axar’s support, moved India closer to victory. However, Axar met his demise in the 34th over, followed by swift wickets of KL Rahul and Gill.

1⃣5⃣0⃣ up for #TeamIndia in the chase!

Vice-captain Shubman Gill and Axar Patel in the middle 🤝

95 more runs to win

Follow The Match ▶️ https://t.co/lWBc7oPRcd #INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/hiRv6DRr75
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 6, 2025

Nevertheless, with the assistance of Hardik Pandya (who scored 9 runs off 6 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (12 runs off 10), India won the match without any outstanding problems, finishing with a running of 251 at 6 wickets in 38.4 overs.

England’s bowling side had issues trying to control India’s batters. Saqib Mahmood gave 47 runs during 6.4 overs but was able to take out Rohit Sharma and Gill. While taking 2 wickets, Adil Rashid took Axar Patel and KL Rahul but gave 49 runs over the course of 10 overs. Archer was able to take out Jaiswal while Bethell took out Shreyas Iyer.

Earlier, England set a target of 249 following their initial coin-toss win. For the first One Day International, India’s bowlers were led by Ravindra Jadeja along with new player Harshit Rana, who limited England to 248 runs after 47.4 overs during their inning while playing at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.

Openers Salt 43 (26 balls) & Duckett 32 (29 balls) managed to score a swift 75-run partnership within 8.5 overs at a run rate of more than 8 runs. Salt smashed 26 runs, which included 3 sixes in one over off Rana. But Shreyas Iyer, along with KL Rahul’s amazing runout, shifted the match into India’s favor.

Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell bailed out the innings by scoring 52 runs (67 balls) and 51 runs (64 balls), respectively, but England’s middle order panicked. Joe Root (19 off 31) suffered his fair share of struggles before getting trapped LBW by Jadeja, and Harry Brook (0 runs off 1 ball) managed to get himself caught behind off a delivery from Rana. The rest of the team was unable to make up ground, and England ended up getting bowled out for 248. After the thirty-third over, England completely fell apart. At one point they were at 170-5, only to lose the remainder of the game by getting all out in 47.4 overs.

Bowling Performance—India

It was an impressive display from India’s bowlers led by Jadeja, who achieved 3/26 in 9 overs. Harshit Rana had an impactful debut with his 3/53 in 7 overs, and Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav also contributed, with Shami getting 1 out of 38 in 8 overs, Patel with 1 out of 38 in 7 overs, and Yadav with 1 out of 53 in 9.4 overs. Hardik Pandya went for 37 runs in his 7 overs and did not get a single wicket

Ravindra Jadeja’s Historic Feat

Jadeja’s impressive bowling placed him in the record books as the fifth Indian bowler to achieve 600 international wickets. He now shares this remarkable milestone alongside other legends such as Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, Harbhajan Singh, and R. Ashwin. Moreover, he further increased his stranglehold over Joe Root, whom he has now dismissed 12 times in international cricket, extending his record as the second Indian bowler after Kapil Dev to have a total of 600 international wickets and more than 6,000 international runs.

Harshit Rana’s Eventful Debut

Rana’s first ODI match ever was nothing short of a thrill ride. Although Phil Salt came hard at him in the early overs, he managed to complete 8 overs for 53 runs, picking up 3 wickets along the way. His victims included Ben Duckett, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone.

Brief scores:

England: 248 all out in 47.4 overs, Jos Buttler 52, Jacob Bethell 51, Jadeja 3/26, Rana 3/53
India: 251/6 in 38.4 overs Shubman Gill 87, Shreyas Iyer 59, Axar Patel 52. Saqib Mahmood 2/47, Adil Rashid 2/49

Match Summary: India Leads 1-0 in ODI Series

With this victory, India is leading 1-0 in the 3-match ODI series. The second ODI is sure to be an interesting one, as England will try to bounce back and India will do everything possible to seal the series.