Mumbai Indians

INDIA…INDIA, what a great win by the Men in Blue, sealing the deal to win the 1st ODI against England by six wickets at Edgbaston, Birmingham. India goes up 1-0 in the three-match series. A splendid day for Jasprit Bumrah who bagged his 150th ODI wicket while Player of the Match Axar Patel’s all-round show with bat and ball brought a lot of happiness to the Indian fans across the world. 

Gurnoor, Bumrah and Prasidh breath fire into England

England had a solid start in the first ten overs and then suddenly slumped to 80/5 in 16.4 overs. Gurnoor Brar broke the opening stand by grabbing the wicket of Jacob Bethell (14). Pumped as he was, he later also sent back Ben Duckett who seemed to have been in stellar form with the bat. Bumrah took an outstanding catch at the boundary. He knew exactly where the cushion was, held his nerve and balance to dismiss Duckett on 43. The lanky pacer, Gurnoor snapped up two wickets during the 13th over, which put pressure on the hosts.

Bumrah at his best was rewarded during his second spell, picking the key wicket of English skipper Harry Brook for a mere one run. Brook did not anticipate the angle of the ball, which came into the right hander and he nudged it to Ro-hitman Sharma who made no mistake at first slip to take the catch. In the process, Boom grabbed his 150th ODI wicket, another milestone in his illustrious cricketing career. Also, top notch commitment from Boom the fielder in the deep, stopping boundaries and saving runs for the team. JB finished with outstanding figures of 1/31 in nine overs, economy of 3.4.

Right arm fast, Prasidh Krishna also took advantage of the early movement and snapped up key wickets of Jos Buttler and then Sam Curran (16.1 and 16.4 overs), taking full control of the situation. By this time, England were desperate for a big partnership.

Dube-KL Rahul team up, reduce England to 107/6

Just when a partnership was flourishing, Shivam Dube stunned Will Jacks who got a thick outside edge and the ball went flying behind to KL Rahul who took a stunning one-handed catch diving across.

Axar grabs four-fer, breaks Dawson-Root massive partnership

Liam Dawson and Joe Root who initially got a life line, stitched a 121 runs partnership to steady the English ship. Axar then picked up Dawson’s wicket as Rohit Sharma, kept his balance and held onto the catch. He later also dismissed Jofra Archer on 12(6), was instrumental in foxing Adil Rashid who got stumped and finally took the wicket of Josh Tongue. Root eventually remained unbeaten on 76. Axar Patel ended with 4/62 in 9.5 overs.

A clinical bowling effort from India, restricted England to 258 all out in 47.5 overs. 

Skipper Gill leads the charge, Washington- Axar score classy half tons

Shubman Gill’s top-class performance stood out as he took on the English bowlers. His aggressive brand of cricket in the middle balanced out the game. He also stitched a 101 runs partnership along with his deputy Shreyas Iyer who scored 35. Gill remained retired hurt at 80(75), 11 fours and one six.

Axar Patel had a field day, everything he touched turned to gold. First with the ball and then with the bat he contributed an unbeaten 57 in 52 balls, five fours and one six while Washington Sundar also made a wonderful unbeaten 63 balls 52 which eventually helped India cross the winning line by six wickets.

India ended with 262/4 in 45.2 overs.

Brief Scores

England: 258 all out in 47.5 overs (Joe Root 76*, Ben Duckett 43; Axar Patel 4/62) lost to India: 262/4 in 45.2 overs (Shubman Gill 80, Axar Patel 57*, Washington Sunder 52*) by six wickets.