Taha Hashim’s report on India’s victory in Nagpur:
That’s it from us today, Taha’s match report should be along any second. Thanks to Tom for helming the earlier innings and to you for joining us. The OBO will return – goodbye!
The captain’s have their say:
Jos Buttler: “We’re disappointed not to win the game. I thought we got off to a fantastic start in the powerplay but to lose four wickets was frustrating. An extra forty or fifty runs would have been crucial. That is not how we want to play. We want to put the opposition under pressure and keep the momentum.
The bowlers started well, they were 20 for 2. We should have found a way to take a wicket there but Gill and Iyer put on a good partnership. We want to play better for longer, we have shown in stages that we are doing the right thing. When we have the momentum, we want to try and extend that longer.”
Rohit Sharma": “We’re pretty happy because we knew we were coming back to this format after a long time. We wanted to quickly re-group and understand what needs to be done. We didn’t start off well with their opening bowlers putting pressure on us, but the way we came back was superb”
England looked pretty toothless with the ball in Nagpur today, apart from a few overs at the start where Archer and Mahmood had India 19-2 with Sharma and Jaiswal back in the hutch it was plain sailing for India. Shreyas Iyer sparkled with 59 off 36 balls before Shubman Gill and Axar Patel put on over a hundred at more or less a run a ball to take out the majority of the total in the middle overs.
England’s batters didn’t get enough on the board, bright sparks with Bethell and Buttler getting fifty each but without either kicking on to make a game changing score.
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India win by 4 wickets (with 68 balls remaining)
There it is! Jadeja edges Mahmood through the gloves of Phil Salt behind the stumps, the missed chance trundles away for four and that’s the win. It was comfortable throughout for India albeit they spluttered over the line a little at the end.
India go 1-0 up in the three match series.
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38th over: India 241-6 (Pandya 9, Jadeja 2) India edge closer, it ain’t exactly pretty. Eight more needed to win, go on go on go on go on, do it in style!
WICKET! Gill c Buttler b Mahmood 87 (India 235-6)
Hardik’s arrival gives Gill a shot in the arm. He drives Mahmood beautifully for four but then tries to pull for four more and is caught by Buttler tumbling forward at midwicket. India lose their third wicket in as many overs, Gill is disappointed not to get to three figures or see his side home but he’s still played the decisive innings of the day.
37th over: India 237-6 (Pandya 7, Jadeja 1)
Buttler moves three catchers in on the drive and there’s a slip in place. Can England pilfer two more quick ones and really make the end of this game an interesting one?
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WICKET! KL Rahul c & b Rashid 2 (India 225-5)
KL Rahul pats back a catch to Rashid who juggles the catch but clings on. Silence in the crowd. India not exactly getting over the line in style. Hardik Pandya arrives and the crowd come to life once more. England have two slips in place now, trying to create some pressure with 25 runs left to play with.
Pandya slams over mid wicket for SIX!
36th over: India 231-5 (Gill 83, Pandya 6)
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35th over: India 224-4 (Gill 82, Rahul 2) Mahmood returns. Joe Root shadow bats in the outfield. He’s reliving his dismissal I’d wager. Here’s what I should’ve done. Sign of a great player.
WICKET! Patel b Rashid 52 (India 221-4)
Gone! Rashid rags one through Patel’s gate to send the bails skyward. Too little too late but a nice ball none the less. Axar played very well and completely legitimised the decision to bump him up the order.
34th over: India 222-4 (Gill 80, Rahul 0) KL Rahul is the new man. 27 more needed, from a lot of balls.
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33rd over: India 220-3 (Gill 80, Patel 52) Shot! Carse slams down another short ball, Gill is set and waiting, gets on top of the bounce and smashes it away through the leg side fence. That’s the 100 partnership off 98 balls. Carse then oversteps with his big size 13s. FREE HIT INCOMING. No further damage done as the attempted pull is cue ended to the fielder. Carse’s day to forget continues with a wide followed by Axar spanking down the ground for four. He goes to a half century off 46 balls and Carse brings up a half century of his own – off five overs.
32nd over: India 208-3 (Gill 75, Patel 47) What’s all this then? A maiden over from Rashid. Do Gill and Axar not know that some of us have banked on an early finish? What are they playing at?!
Well bowled Adil Rashid, I suppose.
31st over: India 208-3 (Gill 75, Patel 47) Carse goes to a short ball tactic with three men on the hook, it plugs the run rate for the time being, just two pulled singles off the over.
30th over: India 206-3 (Gill 74, Patel 46) Root is picked up in fine style by Gill over midwicket for four. He goes to 74, India need 43 runs to win, plenty of scope for a Shubman century.
29th over: India 201-3 (Gill 70, Patel 45) Carse recalled and his first ball is driven through the covers for four. After three or four decent overs at the start, England’s seamers have been well off it today, no real plans and too many boundary balls, Buttler has set fields that haven’t really been bowled to. Ramped for four! What a shot from Axar, Carse is short and the periscoped blade comes out, the ball glancing away up and over Salt.
A wide yorker is leant on by Gill and the steer behind point brings the third boundary of the over. Make that four! Another toothless short ball is pulled to the fence. Disappointing stuff from Carse today – that’s 38 runs off his three overs.
28th over: India 184-3 (Gill 62, Patel 36) Joe Root with his golden arm, can he snare England a wicket? He darts at the stumps from wide of the crease around the wicket. Treated with respect by Gill and Patel but five runs picked up off the over with ease. More than India require.
65 runs needed from 22 overs.
27th over: India 179-3 (Gill 59, Patel 34) Gill is purring now, he popped a couple of pills an over or two ago and seems to have shaken off his cramp. A short arm jab off Archer pings for four and then he climbs into the width on offer and clatters another four through point. Archer throws up his hands in dismay.
26th over: India 170-3 (Gill 51, Patel 33) India are happy to knock the spinners around, five more off Livingstone. England need to make something happen, Buttler thinks the same and calls for Jofra Archer.
25th over: India 165-3 (Gill 50, Patel 29) Fifty for Shubman Gill, off sixty balls. It’s his first against England in this format. He’s answered the call in Virat Kohli’s absence.
24th over: India 160-3 (Gill 48, Patel 26) Gill closes in on a measured half century with a lofted drive over cover with a crack of the wrists at the last. 89 needed for India, wickets needed for England. Pronto.
23rd over: India 154-3 (Gill 43, Patel 25) Gill is struggling with cramp, he punches his hamstrings to try and get disperse the lactic acid. I’m not sure if there’s any science behind that or not. He grimaces in pain as he gets onto his haunches to sweep for four.
22nd over: India 149-3 (Gill 38, Patel 25) Axar Patel goes inside out through cover to get four off the final ball of the over. India need exactly 100 now.
NOT OUT! Shubman Gill sent it upstairs straight away, a meaty inside edge saves him. Chalk it off.
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Livingstone again, he skids one on to Gill’s front pad and it’s given! This looks close!
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21st over: India 143-3 (Gill 38, Patel 20) Oh my days! Rashid sends down a magic ball that pitches outside leg and spins past the edge of Gill’s defensive stroke and just wide of the off stump bail. That deserved a wicket. India still pick up five off the over though – 106 runs needed from 29 overs. I know where my money is.
20th over: India 138-3 (Gill 35, Patel 18) The off/leg spin of Liam Livingstone is called for by Buttler. His first ball is arrowed at the stumps, Hello Gruesome! – Patel makes room and slaps it for four. A single brings Gill on strike. Livingstone sends down a long hop that Gill cloths high into the leg side, the ball nearly carries to Mahmood at deep midwicket but drops in front of him and spins past for four. Salt, meet Wound. It wasn’t a good ball to be perfectly honest. England would love to burgle a wicket or two though, this match is slipping away.
19th over: India 129-3 (Gill 31, Patel 13) The run rate is under four runs an over so there’s no real pressure on the India batters, that will only come if England keep taking wickets. Patel and Gill nudge and nurdle Rashid for four runs off the over.
18th over: India 125-3 (Gill 29, Patel 11) The game in the balance right here. Another decent partnership and India will be near enough home, a couple of quick wickets and England can really put the pressure on in the middle overs. Four dot balls from Bethell are followed by SIX over cow corner and into the stands from Axar Patel.
17th over: India 119-3 (Gill 29, Patel 5) Axar Patel greets a tossed up delivery from Rashid with the kitchen sink. It sails over the leg side and gets the batter a slightly risky four. He’ll bring the attack to England too, a back foot punch into the off side makes it six runs off the over.
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16th over: India 113-3 (Gill 27, Patel 0) Axar Patel is the new man. Can England put the squeeze on here? Rashid is going to continue.
WICKET! Iyer lbw b Bethell 59 (India 113-3)
Buttler sticks with Bethell after drinks and it’s a better over from the youngster. A bit of turn and a tighter line, gets one to spit past the edge and then gets the breakthrough! It’s Shreyas Iyer too! A straight ball skids on with the arm and the batter misses with the paddle sweep bang in front. The review is lost for India too as the ball was hitting middle half way up. The break for drinks has done England the world of good. The extremely dangerous and in-form Iyer is back in the hutch.
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15th over: India 111-2 (Gill 27, Iyer 58) Anything you can do… Gill rocks back and plays a late cut almost out of Phil Salt’s gloves, four more. Time for a drink and some respite for England. India cruising at the moment.
14th over: India 101-2 (Gill 18, Iyer 57) In fact, it is going to be spin form both ends, a freshly shorn Jacob Bethell is going to send down some of his left-arm tweakers. Gah! A tame full toss is paddled away with ease to bring up Shreyas Iyer’s fifty! Off just 30 balls, high quality knock that has tilted the game India’s way. Oh that’s wonderful batting – Iyer shows off Andrex soft hands with a late dab that races away for the second boundary of the over. The hundred comes up for the home side.
13th over: India 90-2 (Gill 17, Iyer 48) England need to break this partnership, Rashid has a slip in place and is repsectfully nudged around. India happy to take the seamers to the cleaners for the time being.
12th over: India 86-2 (Gill 16, Iyer 45) Carse is steered wide of point by Iyer for four. There wasn’t even that much width but Iyer used his hands, stayed on top of the bounce and hit it away with a flourish. A quick single into the covers brings Gill on strike. Too short this time and punished, Gill comes to the party with a confident pull shot that whistles across the baize through square leg. Jos Buttler looks a frustrated man, his bowlers aren’t really executing any plans at the moment.
11th over: India 77-2 (Gill 12, Iyer 40) Here comes Adil Rashid, can he stop the boundaries and snare the breakthrough? Not this over. A reverse-sweep is nailed by Iyer for four, he’s middling everything at the moment.
10th over: India 71-2 (Gill 11, Iyer 35) Brydon Carse replaces Mahmood. He’s had an impressive tour so far but he can’t stop the flow of Shreyas Iyer’s blade! Three fours off the over, two drives creamed through cover and one flayed behind point. The partnership is over fifty and Iyer has done most of the damage.
9th over: India 59-2 (Gill 11, Iyer 23) Archer into his fifth over, this might be the last of his opening spell. Gill flicks away off his hip for four in style and then swats the last ball for four too, slightly weary short ball from Archer and it whistled to the fence.
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8th over: India 50-2 (Gill 3, Iyer 23) A decent over from Mahmood is spoilt at the last as a short ball is swivelled away by Iyer for another four. This is a dangerous looking partnership for England, they need to break it sharpish.
7th over: India 43-2 (Gill 1, Iyer 18) Archer drifts onto the leg stump and is punished with four leg byes off Gill. Iyer then clubs consecutive SIXES off the quick man in some serious style! The first is smeared over the leg-side, a 90mph back of a length ball treated with disdain and then an upper cut up and over point for six more, using the rapid pace of Archer and showing excellent timing.
6th over: India 25-1 (Gill 0, Iyer 6) Shreyas Iyer is the new batter, he plinks a drive in the air through the covers. Cries of ‘Catchit!’ but the ball was in the gap, albeit not in totally convincing fashion. Iyer then clips off his pads fine for four, no danger in that shot. Too straight from Saqib.
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WICKET! Sharma c Livingstone b Mahmood 2 (India 19-2)
Huge wicket and a real hush around the stadium as Rohit departs! He’d been starved of the strike and tied down, an attempted flick over the leg side flies high in the air where Liam Livingstone settles under it at wide mid-on and takes a tricky catch under lights.
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5th over: India 19-1 (Sharma 2, Gill 0) Shubman Gill joins Sharma in the middle. Archer finishes off a fantastic wicket maiden, arrowing in on the stumps and pads at high pace.
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WICKET! Jaiswal c Salt b Archer 15 (India 19-1)
Goddim! Archer gets reward for bowling fast and accurately, he’s been past Jaiswal’s edge a handful of times already and theres a tickle on this one. Lovely ball, at the top of off stump and shaping away just enough. England have their first.
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4th over: India 19-0 (Jaiswal 15, Sharma 2) Jaiswal get’s a meaty edge off Mahmood that flies away wide of the cordon for four. Streaky but he won’t care. Shot! Nowt streaky about that! Mahmood goes full with an inswinging yorker, Jaiswal gets his toes out of the way and drives with a compact backlift down the ground for four. He timed the undercrackers off that one. Rohit gets off the mark with a clip through mid off for two as India pick up the pace.
3rd over: India 7-0 (Jaiswal 6, Sharma 0) England have kept India quiet early doors, just a single off Archer’s second over as the bowler cranks up his speed to 92MPH. A short ball flies through at pace and a quicker one to follow up skids past the forward poke. Excellent fast bowling.
2nd over: India 6-0 (Jaiswal 5, Sharma 0) Saqib Mahmood shares the new nut, he had a very impressive fourth T20I, pocketing three wickets in an over. England would dearly love him to… gah his first delivery is too wide and clattered away through point by Jaiswal! Saqib responds well, beating the youngster on the outside edge a couple of times as he attempts to smash the thing to smithereens. Guilty of trying to hit it a bit too hard I think. A leg bye off the final ball.
1st over: India 1-0 (Jaiswal 1, Sharma 0) Jaiswal gets his first run in ODI cricket with a flick behind square on the leg side. That’s the only run off the over though as Archer lands it on a handkerchief and keeps Rohit honest with a hint of movement back into the pads.
Righto, here we go. Rohit and Jaiswal -on his ODI debut - are strolling out to the middle in quickly fading light. The floodlights beaming down. Jofra Archer has the ball. Let’s play!
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Thanks Tom and hello everyone. Steve Finn is in the TNT studio wearing his elephant’s breath coloured shacket and talking up India’s bowlers. Very impressive performances from Harshit Rana and Ravindra Jadeja have left England with a below par score and needing to take early wickets if they are to give themselves a sniff in this match.
Right, that’s my stint done. James is back from his post-Sri Lanka v Australia power nap and ready to talk you through India’s reply. Do keep him company.
India need 249 to win
So, England are up against it once again. Salt, in particular, and Duckett gave them a great start with some aggressive hitting that only Jofra Archer at the back end of the innings could match. Those first three wickets falling so rapidly gave India a control that they never relinquished. Jadeja was masterful, with three for 26, and Harshit, who also took three, and Kuldeep also impressed. There were composed 50s from Buttler and Bethel but it doesn’t look like being enough.
Wicket! Mahmood st Rahul b Kuldeep 2, England 248 all out
47.4 overs: England 248 (Archer 21 not out). Mahmood calmly pushes a single to get Archer on strike to Kuldeep, and Archer obliges by sweeping for four and splitting the field smartly. He takes another single, but Mahmood goes next ball, advancing and swiping at a googly, getting nowhere near it and giving. Rahul an easy stumping.
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47th over: England 242-9 (Archer 16, Mahmood 1). Jadeja’s ninth over pegs the batters back and keeps England to a couple of singles before cleaning up Rashid to take his third wicket.
Wicket! Rashid b Jadeja 8, England 241-9
Jadeja tempts Rashid with a sweep, skids one on and bowls him cleanly.
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46th over: England 239-8 (Rashid 7, Archer 15). Left-arm spin at both ends as back comes Axar. Rashid drives down the ground for two, then adds a single, in an over that Axar hurries through at super-speed. England becalmed again.
45th over: England 236-8 (Rashid 4, Archer 15). Jadeja restores normal service with a maiden at Archer
44th over: England 236-8 (Rashid 4, Archer 15). Jofra’s on the charge! Hardik rejoins the attack, and Archer has no option but to have a pop. He swipes over long-on for four, then goes one better with a nonchalant pull over deep midwicket for SIX. The follow-up is a stunning straight drive for four. Archer is doing what no other England batters have managed since the opening overs.
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43rd over: England 220-8 (Rashid 3, Archer 0). Jadeja returns. Rohit reviews for both an lbw and a run out against Bethell, who’d hoiked and missed. On-field umpire says no, but ball-tracking says yes. And thus ends a fine innings. My esteemed colleague Rob Smyth spent our Christmas do eulogising the transformational potential of Jacob Bethell (this is what we chat about when we’re off the leash), and he’s certainly proved he can cut it in all manner of roles – Test No 3, and here ODI all-rounder in the toughest environment of all.
Wicket! Bethell lbw b Jadeja 51, England 220-8
Rohit reviews for both an lbw and a run out against Bethell, who’d hoiked and missed. On-field umpire says no, but ball-tracking says yes.
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42nd over: England 218-7 (Bethell 50, Rashid 2). Unlike Jamie Overton last week, Bethell is happy to trust Rashid with the strike, taking a single off the first ball of Shami’s over. Rashid pulls to the deep for another. Bethell then plays his best shot of the innings, stepping back and threading a punchy cover drive to the boundary for four before bringing up a composed 50 with a single. Well played.
41st over: England 211-7 (Bethell 44, Rashid 1). Power play three starts, fielders in, Kuldeep on. And he thinks he has Rashid given out caught behind, as he makes room and tries to cut. The finger goes up but the batter reviews straight away, and is vindicated by Ultra-edge, which shows no contact.
“My Jungian friend would just like to gently remind Richard that he still hasn’t fully answered the question about his dream,” chides Brian Withington with some tough probing. “He also remains intrigued about the loss of all three stumps rather than just the middle one, and suggests a course of hypnotherapy sessions may be appropriate to help unlock any repressed memories.”
40th over: England 206-7 (Bethell 40, Rashid 0). Shami returns and Bethell carves away on the offside that brings England, coughing and wheezing, to 200. Carse celebrates the milestone by top-edging a pull to the fine leg boundary for four, but if you’re gonna pull, pull hard. Sharp, athletic fielding from Rohit Sharma at mid-on deprives Bethell of a four. Shami then castles Carse – reward for captain and bowler.
Wicket! Carse b Shami 10, England 206-7
Excellent from Shami, with mid-off and -on brought up, tempting Carse to loft him, he swings, misses and Shami takes out the top off.
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39th over; England 199-6 (Bethell 38, Carse 5). Kuldeep is looking back to his best – this has been an impressive return – and the batters can’t find anything other than two singles. England may have their best ever white-ball spinner in their lineup today but nothing like the depth of the hosts. But we’ve long known that.
38th over; England 197-6 (Bethell 37, Carse 4). Axar is back on, and England take five singles. That’s all I got.
37th over: England 192-6 (Bethell 35, Carse 1). Kuldeep bamboozles Carse with a lovely googly that sits up, and then has a shout for lbw. He wants to review but his skipper and keeper don’t as it’s going down leg, so it’s two leg byes. Then – a four! – Bethell’s sweep eluding square leg.
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36th over: England 184-6 (Bethell 30, Carse 0). Harshit greets Livingstone with a fierce bumper, and then sends down a looser grubber that Livingstone swings and misses. He tries another slog next ball but can only edge behind, bringing another feisty young tyro, Brydon Carse, to the crease. Big responsibility on Bethell now. Harshit has three for 53 on debut.
Here’s Richard Woods again: “Brian Withington has turned what was already a harrowing memory into something that Hieronymus Bosch would have found too challenging. I truly hope it was being distracted by the cap that made me unable to deal with the guile of Boycott’s straight ball. And if not, my memory is welcome to keep everything locked away.”
Wicket! Livingstone c Rahul b Harshit 5, England 183-6
Livingstone tries to hurry things along, advances down the pitch, has a hack, edges and Rahul gathers. The finger goes up.
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35th over: England 182-5 (Bethell 29, Livingstone 5). Kuldeep replaces Axar, and sends down some wily, well mixed stuff. Four from the over.
34th over: England 178-5 (Bethell 28, Livingstone 2). So England have two big hitters out there now, who’ll have to go for it sooner rather than later. Harshit returns to the attack to see if he can add to his two scalps so far. It remains tight until Bethell steers the last ball of the over to the third man boundary for the first four for more than six overs.
33 overs: England 169-5 (Bethell 22, Livingstone 0). Axar’s come back well after being mauled in his first over, and Buttler and Bethel can only continue to do that thing what I’ve run out of new words for. Until – what’s this – Buttler miscues a sweep and dollies it right up to short fine leg. Ending a useful, meandering partnership. And that’s drinks.
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Wicket! Buttler c Pandya b Axar 52, England 170-5
Oh Joss. What was that? The England captain, having played so watchfully, toe-edges a mediocre shortish one from Axar, sweeping up and dollying a simple catch into the hands of Pandya behind square on the legside.
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32nd over: England 167-4 (Buttler 51, Bethell 20). There are only so many ways you can describe nudged and driven singles and my cricketing thesaurus is beginning to run on empty here. The durable Hardik Pandya continues to run in and prove his value with another tight set, denying width, putting it in the right area. Just two from the over.
Brian Withington has questions for the dream therapy group: “Would it be straying too far to enquire of Richard Woods whether Boycott is wearing anything other than his cap, in what is already a fairly disturbing dream? Asking for a Jungian friend.”
31st over: England 165-4 (Buttler 50, Bethell 19). Bethell brings out a nice reverse sweep but it’s straight to deep backward point and only a single. Another one brings Buttler his 50 from 58 balls – a composed mature knock, vaguely reminiscent of his 2019 World Cup final innings. Axar fancies an lbw review after Bethell sweeps and misses but no one else does.
30th over: England 162-4 (Buttler 47, Bethell 18). Hardik has Bethell playing and missing with a tantalising slanting delivery across the left-hander. A hurried single builds up a very low-key 50 partnership, but a necessary one. Bethell’s 18 from 36 balls is well below his red-ball strike rate.
“Ooerr, England not likely to hit 250 at this rate,” frets Andrew Benton, “let alone the 300+ they probably need to make a game of it. And where’s Bazball gone?” Hidden under a pile of high-class bowling and fielding to be fair. This is not a country in which England’s white-ball team have thrived for a long time.
29th over: England 153-4 (Buttler 46, Bethell 17). England need to run hard with India still applying the tourniquet, and Buttler and Bethell do just that to take two after a drive from the former. The crowd are making their own entertainment at the moment – the stage of the game where, in England, men in fancy dress totter around carrying cardboard trays of lager
28th over: England 153-4 (Buttler 42, Bethell 15). Hardik replaces Shami. Buttler scuttles a quick single before Bethell at last finds the boundary, helping a short ball down to the ropes at fine leg. Something to build on?
27th over: England 145-4 (Buttler 41, Bethell 8). Different left-arm spin now, with Axar, who got some treatment earlier, in different times. Only three from him this time though.
26th over: England 142-4 (Buttler 39, Bethell 7). Shami, round the wicket to Bethell, has the left-hander playing and missing with a beaut. Bethell then drives for one, as does Buttler. This is all England seem able to do against this high-class attack at the moment, but do it they must.
25th over: England 138-4 (Buttler 37, Bethell 5). Jadeja’s sixth over begins with Bethell pushing smartly on the onside for one. Buttler flicks another single. Bethell wants to get down the track to the spinner but not finding the room to. But he’s still there and looking unruffled. At the halfway stage, England have work to do.
24th over: England 135-4 (Buttler 36, Bethell 3). Shami comes back into the attack to give Kuldeep a rest, from the opposite end to that from which he opened. He flings a bouncer over Bethell that Rahul fumbles, coughing up a bye. Bethell is happier facing pace but neither he nor Buttler can get much from this over – only the two from it.
23rd over: England 133-4 (Buttler 35, Bethell 3). Jadeja is finding turn and flight and looking masterful, until he tosses up a rare half-volley that Buttler drives for four – the first boundary Jadeja’s conceded. Bethell almost gets one in the face as he goes down hastily to sweep and the ball jags up towards his grille. He’s still learning.
22nd over: England 126-4 (Buttler 29, Bethell 2). A four! Hallelujah. The first for 45 balls, Buttler cutting neatly through the gaps square for four. He gets another, punishing Kuldeep’s short one outside leg with a fierce pull to the ropes. England’s best over for a while.
21st over: England 117-4 (Buttler 20, Bethell 2). There hasn’t been a boundary since the 14th over. Jadeja puts it on the spot again, and all Buttler and Bethell can do is survive, and take what they can find. Which is three from the over.
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20th over: England 114-4 (Buttler 18, Bethell 1). This is a different form of cricket to that Bethell enjoyed in New Zealand – another tight over ensues, yielding three.
“I was a cricket obsessive from an early age,” writes Richard Woods. “Why can I not remember a dream in which I am raising my bat as the crowd acknowledges my perfectly constructed Ashes century? But no. All I can remember - and I recall it vividly - is getting comprehensively castled, all three stumps flying, by Geoff Boycott bowling in his cap.”
19th over: England 111-4 (Buttler 16, Bethell 0). A steady restorative stand is rudely ended when Jadeja snares Root lbw. It brings Bethell to the crease so England, in theory, have two explosive talents out in the middle. But in India, against world-class spinners, it’s much harder to ignite.
Wicket! Root lbw b Jadeja 19, England 111-4
Jadeja turns one slightly away, Root misses. It’s quite high on the pad and is given but Root reviews. No dice – it’s clipping the bails and thus umpire’s call, and Jadeja has Root for the fourth time in ODI cricket.
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18th over: England 110-3 (Root 19, Buttler 15). Root reverse sweeps again, taking one off Kuldeep. Buttler drives to long-off for another. Root cuts for one more, which is as much as England are able to do, until Root nudges two to fine leg.
17th over: England 104-3 (Root 15, Buttler 13). Jadeja finds some hitherto unseen turn, jagging one sharply away from Buttler. In the face of that the batters aren’t taking risks, pushing and nudging instead. This is very good bowling. India on top at the moment overall.
16th over: England 102-3 (Root 14, Buttler 12). The steady accumulative mood music continues against the spin of Kuldeep. And England could do with a bit of old-school middle overs meandering before going big again.
15th over: England 99-3 (Root 13, Buttler 10). Now it’s Ravindra Jadeja, a nice option to have 15 overs in. England opt wisely to work him around for ones and twos – there’s a lot of years of nous and experience in the middle now. Five from the over.
“My perennial cricket dream,” begins Brian Withington, “is the one where, with increasing frustration/panic, you simply cannot get ready in time to go out to bat, as various bits of kit are misplaced or can’t be donned efficiently. Aside from any tedious psychological implications it clearly disqualifies me from batting 5 or 6 for England. Oh well.” If any psychologists are reading, do feel free to send in your analysis. The OBO can double up as a clinic. We’re here to help.
14th over: England 94-3 (Root 10, Buttler 8). Spin returns as Kuldeep, who I love watching, comes into the attack. Buttler deftly sweeps him for one before Root masterfully reverse sweeps his first boundary. There’s yer subcontinental master of spin. A well threaded push for three ensues. There’s strike rotation too in England’s most satisfying over for a while.
And there’s drinks.
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13th over: England 85-3 (Root 3, Buttler 6). The parsimony continues from Hardik, yielding four singles. Good solid line and length stuff from the bowler, who’s conceded only eight runs from his three overs.
12th over: England 81-3 (Root 1, Buttler 4). There’s a contended burble in the crowd now as that flurry of wickets is followed by disciplined dot-bowling. Buttler too is unable or disinclined to work Harshit away until he pulls the final ball of the over to the square leg boundary for four, ending a run of 12 consecutive dot balls.
11th over: England 77-3 (Root 1, Buttler 0). Root and Buttler now need to draw on all their experience to rebuild this innings. They have the time, they need the momentum switch again. But they’re taking no chances against Pandya who sends down a tight and disciplined over, which is the innings’ third maiden. Quite the feast or famine, this.
“Morning Tom (well, afternoon where I’m sat, on a sun-dappled veranda outside Pondicherry, sorry about that).” Morning Martin Wright. “Many years go I dreamt I’d taken the wrong turning while heading off to bat in the nets at Lord’s indoor cricket school, and ended up bizarrely on the pavilion steps, being urged to hurry up and get out to the middle - realising to my horror that I was about to face Ambrose and Walsh. As I passed the outgoing batter, he said “You’ll be fine, just get down the track to them”... Mercifully I then woke up...” That was your subconscious predicting Bazball, ahead of its time, I reckon.
10th over: England 77-3 (Root 1, Buttler 0). Harshit swiftly returns to the attack. England eke out a couple of singles, the returning Root getting off the mark. Then a definite sense of momentum shift as Duckett is brilliantly caught by Jaiswal. Euphoric scenes in the crowd get more joyful as Brook also goes.
Wicket! Brook c Rahul b Harshit 0, England 77-3
And another! Brook gloves a steepler down leg to Rahul who takes a fine catch. His difficult tour continues. India are suddenly well on top.
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Wicket! Duckett c Jaiswal b Harshit 32, England 77-2
What a catch this is. Duckett opens his shoulders and hoys Harshit over midwicket. Jaiswal, backpedalling furiously, lunges for it at full stretch and takes it. Debutant catches, debutant bowls. Brilliant.
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9th over: England 75-1 (Duckett 31, Root 0). Hardik Pandya replaces Shami and gets Duckett thrashing and missing outside off. Some economy and control returns to India’s bowling, and is rewarded with a run out after a horrible mix-up ends Salt’s promising free-hitting innings. What a catastrophic shame for England.
“Morning Tom, morning everyone.” Morning Guy Hornsby. “I’ve actually been looking forward to the ODIs more than the T20s this month in India. Perhaps it’s the likely demise of 50 over cricket that’s drawing me in, but it’s much more of a narrative to me. I didn’t expect us to compete in the shorter format but I think this series could be fascinating, especially with the Champions Trophy looming. It still feels like we’re pretty short of spin options, (hi Liam Dawson) and we need a bit of variation on the pace battery, but really the batters need to fire or we’ll be toast on these pitches. It’s been good to see these two not feel the need to go nuts from ball one. But that Salt over was pretty enjoyable. As a Lancs member, I still hold out hope he’ll make it in the 50-over game. And I’m sure Jos Buttler is smiling to himself somewhere too.”
Wicket! Salt run out 43, England 75-1
Salt looks for an extra run that’s not there after pushing to the deep backward square boundary, the throw from Iyer comes in accurately, and Salt – confused and stranded – is gone.
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8th over: England 71-0 (Salt 40, Duckett 30). A change of tone now, as Axar Patel’s left-arm spin is introduced – and Salt greets him with an emphatic straight drive for four. A single brings Duckett on strike. Then Duckett plays an absolute dream of a sweep, with the spin, for four along the ground. It’s followed by a dream of a reverse-sweep to the opposite boundary for four more
Talking of dreams, I dreamt last night I was at the Adelaide Oval in a lengthy beer queue at an Ashes Test at which England were getting drubbed. Next thing I knew, I was out in the middle, fielding at midwicket. No wonder England were getting drubbed. Hit me with your cricketing dreams.
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7th over: England 56-0 (Salt 34, Duckett 21). For the first time on this tour, England are asking proper questions of India’s bowlers in a manner that must make McCullum and Buttler purr. Duckett picks up four more when he hacks beyond backward point and the spin on the ball befuddles Kuldeep on the boundary and eludes his scrambling attempt to retrieve. But it’s a better, tighter over.
5th over: England 52-0 (Salt 34, Duckett 17). Salt is on the charge. The first SIX of the innings come from a wild Salt top edge – England eh – that soars over the keeper, the backtracking fielders and the ropes. The next is a rather better shot, cracked through the off for four more. Then it’s SIX more as Salt advances to almost sweep a slower cutter from Harshit over backward square leg. Then four more with a thump on the onside. A brief dot ball respite is followed by another magnificently brutal SIX over long-on. England have scored 34 off their last eight balls.
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5th over: England 26-0 (Salt 8, Duckett 17). A wide down legside starts Shami’s third over as Shami comes round the wicket to tuck Duckett up. It works, Duckett unable to find room against this line and length, until Duckett advances and hammers one through the covers, splitting the field, for four. Another four ensues but it was a chance as Duckett miscues one just over mid-on. It goes for four but it was a fine over.
4th over: England 17-0 (Salt 8, Duckett 9). A maiden. Harshit finds a better length against Salt and is rewarded with a few dots and then sends an awkward one into Salt’s mirdriff as the batter attempts to pull. That’ll smart a little. A really good comeback over from Harshit after going for 11 in his first. We’ve had two maidens in the first four overs
3rd over: England 17-0 (Salt 8, Duckett 9). England are up and running now. The first runs off Shami come from a beautiful orthodox cover drive all along the ground from Duckett for four. Two more to deep square leg follow. Then just as we were musing on what a nice true surface this is, one keeps low and befuddles Duckett, as does the subsequent ball, a jaffa off the seam that beats the batter all ends up.
2nd over: England 11-0 (Salt 8, Duckett 3). A new ball spell on debut for Harshit Rana, who starts with a lifting ripper that beats Duckett outside off. He showed enough in that contentious T20 spell for England to be wary. Duckett gets England under way with a square cut for three and Salt goes one better next ball, lashing a back of a length ball outside off to the cover boundary for four. Four more ensure when Salt goes high over midwicket. He doesn’t quite time it but it still goes to the boundary.
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1st over: England 0-0 (Salt 0, Duckett 0). Mohammad Shami gets the new ball, two slips in, and finds some agreeable early swing. He has Salt playing and missing inside the line twice in succession in an ominously tight maiden, to which Salt was rightly circumspect.
The teams emerge into the afternoon sun in Nagpur for the anthems …
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The teams
There’s ODI debuts for Yashavi Jaiswal, one of the most thrilling talents to emerge at Test level in the past year or so, and Harshit Rana, but Virat Kohli won’t play, some knee-knack emerging overnight.
India: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Shubman Gill 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mohammed Shami
England: 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Phil Salt (wk), 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook, 5 Jos Buttler (capt), 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Jacob Bethell, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Saqib Mahmood
England win the toss and bat
Jos Buttler calls correctly and opts to bat on a surface that is deemed pretty batting-friendly. “It’ll be a tough test and one we’re excited about. Rohit says he would have bowled first. “We have to come out and be aggressive with the ball at the start,” he says, declaring himself refreshed after some time off after the tough Australia tour. “We’ve hardly played this format since the World Cup so it’s important for us.”
And down in Sri Lanka, the hosts have made a steadier start than in the first Test against Australia, currently 94 for 2 after winning the toss. The Stakhanovite James Wallace, who’ll be along here later, is describing it now:
Some news, reflecting these times here:
And a slice of pre-match reading as Jonathan Liew tries to make sense of what the Hundred sell-off means:
Preamble
Morning/afternoon everyone. Here’s a (not much) fun fact: since the Hundred was introduced, the only teams England’s men have beaten in away ODI series are Bangladesh and the Netherlands. And if you think I’m gratuitously eliding these two separate facts to sledge-hammer home a point about the downgrading of domestic 50-over cricket and its effects, you’d be right. And look! Jos kind of agrees.
Right, having given that particular hobby horse of mine its periodic flogging, let’s turn our attention to what awaits us in Nagpur as a tweaked England side seek to put their 4-1 T20 shellacking behind them in the first ODI. The most talked-about tweak is, of course, the return to international white-ball duty of Joe Root for the first time in more than a year. And the former Test captain had such a blast at the SA20 recently that he has not ruled out putting himself up for Twenty20 selection again.
Right now though, Jos Buttler and his team must dust themselves down for the three-match series that starts today. Ominously, Varun Chalravarthy – the latest talent to step off the ever-productive Indian conveyor belt – has been added to the squad after tormenting England in the T20s with 14 wickets. Oh, and a recuperating Jasprit Bumrah is pencilled in to return for the third match. In the meantime India’s attack is set to include controversy’s Harshit Rana in a squad brimming with talent. India’s batting line-up meanwhile also welcomes back the old stagers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, currently bigger on reputation than recent runs.
The hosts are undoubted favourites but England have a chance to make white-ball Bazball click and should be fired up. Go nowhere. Play starts 8am GMT; 1.30pm local time.
