The next time a side bats first against a line-up featuring Virat Kohli, the idea would be to put up 450 because he makes 350-plus chases looks ridiculously easy. The first ODI between India and England at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium at Pune was a statistician’s delight: MS Dhoni played for India as a player after almost a decade; England registered their highest score in Indian soil; Yuvraj Singh played an ODI after more than three years; Kedar Jadhav became India’s fifth-fastest centurion; India chased down a 350-plus score for the third time; and more. After India pulled off a spectacular chase by 3 wickets, lets us glance at the match highlights.
Jasprit Bumrah’s direct hit: Bumrah has a reputation for bowling those darting yorkers but we got a glimpse of what he can do with his throws. He has Jonty Rhodes as his fielding coach for Mumbai Indians in IPL. Here is a moment that will make the South African very proud.
FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs England, 1st ODI at Pune
Jason Roy stroked one towards square-leg and called for two. Bumrah sprinted from deep fine-leg, picked up the ball and sent down a darting throw at the non-striker’s end from around 80 metres. The direct hit ensured that Alex Hales was short of crease and thus ended his innings for 9.
I added a video to a @YouTube playlist https://t.co/jeREmVjr7f 1st ODI 2017 Live #Ind Vs England Amazing Direct Hit by Jasprit Bumrah
— Kunal Parikh (@kunalparikh88) January 15, 2017
Jason Roy’s class: Roy looks better with every passing game. Some of his shots were breathtaking. He punched one beautifully with a straight bat, closing the bat’s face at the last moment through mid-wicket for a boundary. Then came a straight drive in the ninth over almost reminiscent of Sachin Tendulkar. Roy has been among the reasons for England’s resurgence as a limited-overs’ side. His 73 came off 71 balls.
Morgan’s triumph over Ashwin: Ravichandran Ashwin has troubled Eoin Morgan a lot, dismissing the English skipper 6 times. Morgan has seldom found success over Ashwin, but the slog sweep in the 22nd over changed that. It was an attractive hit. Morgan went on to score 28 from 26, adding 49 with Joe Root, who continued his consistent run with a 78.
Dhoni signals ‘T’: Morgan nicked Hardik Pandya to Dhoni’s gloves but umpire Nandan was not convinced. Dhoni immediately signalled ‘T’ for referral. For a moment, it seemed fine because only fielding captains are authorised to ask for referral. Oh wait. Dhoni isn’t the captain. He was signalling it to Kohli as he was confident of the edge. Kohli then made the final call. Of course, it was ‘out’.
#Kohli (@imVkohli) & #KedarJadhav did a fantastic job but we’re @msdhoni devotees. pic.twitter.com/SqfZ5Wv2CM
— Cinema Calendar (@CinemaCalendar) January 15, 2017
Ben Stokes’ record and return of ‘Umesh Yadav’: Stokes proved to be the difference between a 310ish score and that 350. He smacked a fifty from 33 balls. Stokes’ fifty is now the fastest by an Englishman against India. Umesh has a habit of being erratic. He had improved since the New Zealand tour but here there was the glimpse of old Umesh. He even bowled a head-high beamer outside off to Stokes, which the latter guided for a six. Umesh went for 63 from his 9 overs and Stokes clobbered 62 from 40.
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Yuvraj, Dhoni fall in big chase: Yuvraj and Dhoni walked out to huge receptions from the Pune crowd. Both have represented the city-based franchise and more importantly are nation heartthrobs. Yuvraj walked out at 24 for 2. He looked good during his stay of 15, which included 2 fours and a six but he ended up flicking to Jos Buttler’s gloves off Stokes. Dhoni walked out next. He got a boundary from the second ball that he faced but soon fell while trying to play an ambitious slog pull off Jake Ball. India chasing 351 were 63 for 4 in the 12th over.
King Kohli conquers Pune: Another chase and another Kohli special. He now has a world record 15 hundreds, surpassing Tendulkar. Kohli played exquisite shots to keep up with the required run rate and once Jadhav was striking clean, he was happy to play the second fiddle.
This shot. How?! pic.twitter.com/rAOYzNnyod
— Elizabeth Ammon (@legsidelizzy) January 15, 2017
He played an extraordinary stroke off Chris Woakes. The straight-batted pull or a short-arm jab or whatever you call it soared over long-on into the stands. Kohli added 200 with Jadhav, the fifth-highest fifth-wicket partnership in ODIs to put India in course for a successful chase.
Kedar Jadhav’s moment: Jadhav struggled to cope up with Kohli’s fitness levels and earned the captain’s ire for refusing singles. However, it was all smiles in the end after Jadhav’s belligerent knock won India the game. It was a big moment for Jadhav, who was playing in his home ground in front of his parents, wife and daughter. His 76-ball 120 helped India finish off the sixth highest chase in ODIs.
Such a Proud Moment for a son when he scores a 100 & gets Man Of The Match Award in front of his parents.
Team India#IndvEng#KedarJadhav pic.twitter.com/3Sp9bGRauo
— Sir Rohit Sharma (@SirRohitSharma_) January 15, 2017
Jadhav’s parents did not shy away from showing their emotions. He eventually departed when India needed 60 from 61 balls, after cramping up. He won the Man of the Match where he hailed his skipper’s skills and fitness levels and promised to work more hard on his.
The Ashwin moment: 2016 was all about Ashwin — but that was in Test cricket. Ashwin struggled with ball in this game. When Ravindra Jadeja fell, India still needed 33 from 35 balls with 3 wickets in hand. Pandya was in the middle of a good innings, but he needed was a good hand from the No.1 all-rounder in Test cricket.
Ashwin did just that. There was a discussion going on in the newsroom about Ashwin’s orthodoxy with bat. The general consensus was “It is unimaginable of Ashwin to step out and smack a bowler for six.”
With 1 needed from 2 overs, Moeen Ali was asked to bowl. Ashwin slogged the first ball over the long-on stand for a massive six to finish it off. Here was his moment.
He ended up with an unbeaten 15 from 10 balls, while Pandya, who had bowled 9 overs for 46 runs claiming 2 wickets, finished with 40 not out from 37 balls.
India were 356. One up in the series and are the only side to complete three successful 350-plus run chases. Not surprisingly, Kohli has scored a hundred in all of them.
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