Gill, bowlers lead India to win over England in ODI opener

SHUBMAN GILL led India to a four-wicket win over England in the first one-day international on Thursday, as the hosts chased down 249 after a solid bowling performance in Nagpur.

India played without Virat Kohli, who missed the match due to a sore right knee. The team lost both openers early in the chase but recovered through a 94-run partnership between Gill (87) and Shreyas Iyer (59). India reached the target in 38.4 overs, with 11.2 overs to spare.

"Pretty happy because we knew we were coming after a long time to this format," captain Rohit Sharma said. "We wanted to quickly regroup and understand what is to be done."

With the Champions Trophy set to begin on 19 February, Rohit said the team was focusing on refining their game before the tournament in Pakistan and Dubai.

"Nothing specific, overall as a team I want to make sure we keep on doing the right things," he said. "Try and tick every box there is to be ticked in bowling and batting."

Gill was also involved in a 108-run stand with Axar Patel, who made 52 after being promoted up the order. India had already won the T20 series 4-1 before heading into the ODIs.

England’s Saqib Mahmood dismissed Gill short of a century, while leg-spinner Adil Rashid also took two wickets, providing some late positives for the visitors.

Earlier, India’s bowlers set up the win, with debutant Harshit Rana and Ravindra Jadeja taking three wickets each to bowl out England for 248 in 47.4 overs.

England’s new-ball attack put India under pressure early, as Jofra Archer had Yashasvi Jaiswal caught behind for 15 in his ODI debut.

Rohit’s struggles continue'

Rohit, who has been struggling for form, fell for two runs five balls later, mistiming a flick that was caught by Liam Livingstone at mid-on off Mahmood.

He has averaged 10.37 across 16 innings in the 2024-25 season. His dismissal left India at 19-2, briefly silencing the home crowd.

Iyer counter-attacked with an aggressive innings, reaching his half-century in 30 balls with a series of boundaries. He hit nine fours and two sixes before being trapped lbw by Jacob Bethell for 59 off 36 balls.

England, who opted to bat first, lost wickets regularly and failed to bat out their 50 overs despite captain Jos Buttler’s 52 and Bethell’s 51.

Phil Salt gave England a fast start, hitting Rana for three sixes and two fours in a single over, but was run out for 43 after a mix-up with Ben Duckett.

Momentum shift

"I think Salt and Duckett came out and played brilliantly in that powerplay, put the opposition under a lot of pressure and then an unfortunate run-out changed the momentum and we lost four wickets quite quickly, which set us back," Buttler said.

"We were probably another 40 or 50 runs (short) on that total – with the way the wicket was turning at the end, we would have been in a good position to try to win the game."

Rana recovered from Salt’s early assault by taking two wickets in one over, dismissing Duckett for 32 and Harry Brook for a duck, reducing England to 77-3.

Buttler and Root (19) tried to stabilise the innings, but England collapsed under India’s spin attack.

The second ODI will be played on Sunday in Cuttack.

Brief scores:
England 248 all out in 47.4 overs (J. Buttler 52, J. Bethell 51; H. Rana 3-53, R. Jadeja 3-26)

India 251-6 in 38.4 overs (S. Gill 87, S. Iyer 59, A. Patel 52; S. Mahmood 2-47, A. Rashid 2-49)

(With inputs from AFP)