Pune: India have comfortably defeated England by 3 wickets to win the 1st match of the ongoing Paytm ODI series against England. Batting first, the English team set a mammoth 350-run target for India to chase. Thanks to awesome knocks from Kohli and Jadhav that guided India to a fantastic 3-wicket win. It was a jam-packed stadium and crowd turned out in large numbers to see this match.
Kedar Jadhav explodes with 65-ball century, rules England bowlers
India opted to field first on winning the toss. England exploited the opportunity of flat wicket well and put a huge score. Opener Jason Roy 73 (61b, 4s x 12) and Joe Root 78 (95b, 4s x 4, 6s x 1) added 69 runs for the third wicket after losing the opener Alex Hales (9) at cheap score. Root kept rotating the strike while Roy freely dealt in boundaries. Most of Indian bowlers were useless in front of English attack.
Late damage by Ben Stokes scoring 62 off just 40 balls with 5 sixes and 2 fours help the visitors reach 300-run mark. At the end of 50-over, England successfully put 350 runs on board. Had India not played sensibly after the dismissal of Jadhav and Kohli – England would have convincingly won the match but that didn’t happen.
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Chasing a target of 351 runs, India sent Lokesh Rahul and experienced Shikhar Dhawan to open the innings. But both of them went out early. Shikhar Dhawan once again failed to play a good knock. He got out for just 1 run off 10 balls when misjudged the height of the ball giving a catch to Moeen Ali off D Willey.
Next to go was Lokesh Rahul. Willey bowled out the young batsman and he departed with India losing their second wicket for just 24 for 2. Captain Virat Kohli then came out the middle and it was the turning point of the match. Without bothering about the falling wickets on the other end, Kohli played freely and hit good shots down the ground.
All hopes on Yuvraj Singh (15) also shattered as the veteran batsman couldn’t even stick to wicket at the crucial time. MS Dhoni (6) also went out cheaply and disappointed the crowds. But young Kedar Jadhav sniffed an opportunity to play a special knock today and he did that in style.
Virat Kohli 122 (105b, 4s x 8, 6s x 5) and Kedar Jadhav 120 (76b. 4s x 12, 6s x 4) added the much-needed 200-run for the 5th wicket when team India was languishing at 63/4 at one stage. Both batsmen played spectacular shots all across the field, and crowd relished each of those shots.
However, dismissal of Kohli at the 37th over followed with Jadhav’s departure at the 40th over just within a gap of 21 balls again created some tensions for the Indian fans. India still needed around 60 runs to win from 60 balls.
Hardik Pandya 40 (37b, 4s x3, 6s x 1) played very well to ease the tension. Initially, he kept picking up singles and doubles, but then hit a glorious 6 at the 47.5th over to level the score. Ashwin then hit the winning 6 in the 48.1st over to give India a fantastic victory at Pune.
ScoreBoard
England 350/5 (Roy 73, Root 78, Stokes 62)
India 356 (Kohli 122, Jadhav 120, Pandya 40*)
Man of the Match: Kedar Jadhav
Tags: 1st ODI, England, Eoin Morgan, Hardik Pandya, India, Kedar Jadhav, Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, MCA, Pune, Virat Kohli
