Ind 316/9 (50 ovs) - England win by 9 runs
India: Gambhir, Rahane, Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Raina, Dhoni (C/W), Jadeja, Ashwin, B Kumar, I Sharma, Dinda
England: Cook (C), Bell, Pietersen, Root, Morgan, Kieswetter (W), Patel, Bresnan, Tredwell, Finn, Dernbach
England Innings
Runs
|
Balls
|
4s
|
6s
| |||
| Cook | c Rahane | b Raina |
75
| 83 | 11 | 1 |
| Bell | run out (Rahane) |
85
| 96 | 9 | 1 | |
| Pietersen | c Kohli | b Dinda |
44
| 45 | 4 | 1 |
| Morgan | c and b | Dinda |
41
| 38 | 4 | 2 |
| Kieswetter | not out |
24
| 20 | 1 | 2 | |
| Patel | not out |
44
| 20 | 6 | 1 | |
| Extras | 2nb 10w | 12 | ||||
| Total | for 4 | 325 | (50.0 ovs) | |||
|
|
25 over report: It was difficult to judge how many runs England needed to feel impregnable in the opening ODI in Rajkot. There was probably not such a figure. Certainly, a score of 300 did not come close and as serenely as Ian Bell and Alastair Cook proceeded to give England a flattering start, India would have have felt that they could chase just about anything.
Bell and Cook had both sailed well beyond the half-century mark at halfway, Bell looking so comfortable at the top of England's order in 50-over cricket that it is now hard to believe that it took him so long to end up there. There was nothing outlandish in his strokeplay, just a succession of attractive strokes which kept England's innings ticking along at a rate not too far short of six an over.
England will need much more than six an over by the end of the innings, in fact they may need closer to seven, because this was the most amenable of surfaces and Bell, who had already made a hundred in an England warm-up, a defeat against Delhi, soon took advantage. His form has been a boon to England's new limited-overs coach, Ashley Giles, their productive relationship at Warwickshire when Giles was director of cricket restated at international level.
Bell's first boundary came courtesy of four overthrows and he had a few uneasy moments in the opening overs. On 15, he edged Buvneshwar Kumar between MS Dhoni and R Ashwin, who was virtually stood at second slip, with both fielders motionless. It is incumbent upon a wicketkeeper-captain who sets his slip that wide at least to put a desperate dive in, but it was apparent in the Test series that Dhoni's captaincy responsibilities sometimes submerges his keeping and he remained stood still.
Kumar had a close lbw appeal, too, in his next over, but these moments were soon distant regrets, forgotten as Bell took command. He went creeping up the pitch surreptitiously in search of elegant drives and he reached his half-century from 60 balls with the gentlest of reverse paddles against Ravindra Jadeja. As ever, with Bell at his best, there was not the merest hint of strength, just technique and timing.
Cook was not quite as mellifluous, and saw less of the strike, but he settled in against the spinners, helped by the regulation which now demands that five fielders remain within the inner circle. It is a big ask for a spin bowler to bowl to that field on such a placid pitch and the rotation in the middle overs which, to their detriment, was once such a feature of ODIs, was not as apparent as both batsmen hunted boundaries.
England had lost 15 and won one in their last three ODI tours of India, none of their thumpings any worse than the 158-run defeat at the old Madhav Rao Scindia ground five years ago when Yuvraj Singh, with 138, set about them.
A new stadium gave them hopes of a change in fortunes. A quick glance and it might have been Lord's. The media box behind the arm was, to all intents and purposes, a replica; the gherkin no longer existing solely in north London. Gherkins are increasingly grown in India for export but this one has been imported and it will quickly ensure that the ground becomes instantly recognisable.
The Saurashtra stadium is also characterised by a flat pitch and a glassy outfield if the first 25 overs of England's innings are any guide. The Challenger Trophy, India's premier domestic one-day competition, also produced five totals of 300-plus in four games at the SCA stadium in late 2012.
Joe Root, called in for an England debut at No 4, would not have found many more encouraging days than this although as the innings progressed there was a prospect that he might be dropped down the order. India made one change from the XI that beat Pakistan in the final ODI of that series: a like for like change in the seam attack with Ashok Dinda coming in for Shami Ahmed, who had made an impressive debut.
50 over report: It was difficult to judge how many runs England needed to feel impregnable in the opening ODI in Rajkot. To reach 325 for 4 achieved parity, but no certainty, especially with memories of their warm-up defeat against Delhi still fresh. The India of old would have felt that this chase was in range. An India that has lost a series to Pakistan will look at it and wonder.
50 over report: It was difficult to judge how many runs England needed to feel impregnable in the opening ODI in Rajkot. To reach 325 for 4 achieved parity, but no certainty, especially with memories of their warm-up defeat against Delhi still fresh. The India of old would have felt that this chase was in range. An India that has lost a series to Pakistan will look at it and wonder.
As serenely as Ian Bell and Alastair Cook proceeded to give England a flattering start, in an opening stand of 158 in 27.4 overs, England's most destructive batsmen, Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan, were restricted to a brace of 40s and an uninhibited final fling by Samit Patel, who made 44 not out from 20 balls as 38 came from the last two overs, was a necessary flourish.
Bell again looked so comfortable at the top of England's order in 50-over cricket that it is now hard to believe that it took him so long to settle there. There was nothing outlandish in his strokeplay, but it was a most amenable of surfaces and Bell, who had already made a hundred in England's defeat against Delhi, politely accepted its favours. His form has been a boon to England's new limited-overs coach, Ashley Giles, their productive relationship at Warwickshire when Giles was director of cricket restated at international level.
He was run out by Ajinkya Rahana, who hit direct as the batsman tried to steal a single to short fine leg and chose not to dive for the crease; Rahane also had a hand in Cook's dismissal, although on this occasion he had no need to exert himself in the same position as Cook top-edged a sweep at Suresh Raina.
Raina sneaked in five overs for 18 as England's innings slowed and with Ravindra Jadeja also bowling a relatively economical spell, India will have felt that their support bowlers achieved more than they had catered for. Others had less cause for pleasure: R Ashwin's tactic of stalling in his delivery stride, a method first employed by Robert Croft for England, was over used and disturbed his own rhythm more than the batsmen's.
To see Pietersen and Morgan joining forces at 172 for 2 in the 32nd over was unnerving for India, but both began tentatively as Ishant Sharma, for a time, varied his pace successfully - not that his final figures did much to prove it as he bowled at difficult times, conceded 20 in the penultimate over as he fed Craig Kieswetter's inside-out shots and leaked 86 as a result. Morgan, after some whip-crack flat-batting, fell to a return catch by Ashok Dinda, who fumbled and cradled the rebound and deservedly got the decision from the third umpire, Vineet Kulkarni. Pietersen lofted Dinda to long-on.
Bell had a few uneasy moments in the opening overs. On 15, he edged Buvneshwar Kumar between MS Dhoni and Ashwin, who was virtually stood at second slip, with both fielders motionless. It is incumbent upon a wicketkeeper-captain who sets his slip that wide at least to put a desperate dive in, but it was apparent in the Test series that Dhoni's captaincy responsibilities sometimes submerges his keeping and he remained motionless.
Buvneshwar had a close lbw appeal, too, in his next over, but these moments were soon distant regrets as Bell crept up the pitch surreptitiously in search of elegant drives and he reached his half-century from 60 balls with the gentlest of reverse paddles against Jadeja.
Cook was not quite as mellifluous, and had less of the strike, but he settled in against the spinners, helped by the regulation which now demands that five fielders remain within the inner circle. It is a big ask for a spin bowler to bowl to that field on such a placid pitch and the rotation in the middle overs which, to their detriment, was once such a feature of ODIs, is no longer as apparent. The game is probably better for it.
England had lost 15 matches and won one in their last three ODI tours of India, none of their thumpings any worse than the 158-run defeat at the old Madhav Rao Scindia ground five years ago when Yuvraj Singh, with 158, set about them.
A new stadium gave them hope of a change in fortunes. A quick glance and it might have been Lord's. The media box behind the arm was, to all intents and purposes, a replica; the gherkin no longer existing solely in north London. It will quickly ensure that the ground becomes instantly recognisable.
The Saurashtra Stadium is also characterised by a flat pitch and a glassy outfield. The Challenger Trophy, India's premier domestic one-day competition also produced five totals of 300-plus in four games at the SCA stadium in late 2012.
India 316/9 (50 ovs)
25 over report (Ind): India needed to enter unchartered territory to beat England in the opening ODI in Rajkot. They had never scored more than 325 to win a one-day international on home soil and, even if they only needed one more run than their previous highest, they knew that history as well as recent batting form was against them.
India 316/9 (50 ovs)
India Innings - Close
Runs
|
Balls
|
4s
|
6s
| |||
| Rahane | c Dernbach | b Tredwell |
47
| 57 | 6 | 0 |
| Gambhir | c Bell | b Tredwell |
52
| 52 | 7 | 0 |
| Kohli | c Kieswetter | b Bresnan |
15
| 22 | 1 | 0 |
| Yuvraj Singh | c Dernbach | b Tredwell |
61
| 54 | 8 | 1 |
| Raina | c and b | Tredwell |
50
| 49 | 7 | 0 |
| Dhoni | c Root | b Dernbach |
32
| 25 | 0 | 4 |
| Jadeja | b Dernbach |
7
| 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ashwin | c Kieswetter | b Finn |
13
| 8 | 2 | 0 |
| B Kumar | not out |
20
| 16 | 2 | 0 | |
| Dinda | b Bresnan |
3
| 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| I Sharma | not out |
7
| 5 | 1 | 0 | |
| Extras | 1nb 7w 1lb | 9 | ||||
| Total | for 9 | 316 | (50.0 ovs) | |||
|
|
25 over report (Ind): India needed to enter unchartered territory to beat England in the opening ODI in Rajkot. They had never scored more than 325 to win a one-day international on home soil and, even if they only needed one more run than their previous highest, they knew that history as well as recent batting form was against them.
Not that the task initially seemed to trouble them. They began confidently with Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir rarely having to extend themselves in amassing 96 in 16.4 overs in an untroubled first-wicket stand, but both got out to gentle chip shots against James Tredwell to reach the mid-point at 136. India needed another 190 runs at 7.60 per over.
Tredwell, an understudy to Graeme Swann in England's ODI side, has had only intermittent opportunities, but Swann had been rested from the series, leaving him with an opportunity to assert himself. This was only his 10th one-day international, and his first against India and neither Rahane nor Gambhir played his offspin with total conviction before he dismissed them in successive overs.
There is little striking about Tredwell's mild-mannered, unassuming approach to the crease and he would have surprised himself if he had made one turn on such a benign surface, but he tossed one up to defeat Rahane's inside-out shot and had him caught at long-off. He then deceived Gambhir in the flight to have him caught at short mid wicket.
Gambhir, with a run-a-ball 52, had been the quicker scoring of the two openers, shamelessly reliant upon a succession of deliberate deflections between gully and slip as well as turns off his hip. With 66 on the board against ten overs of inconsistent pace bowling, India began confidently but Tredwell and the debutant, Joe Root, who bowled ahead of Samit Patel and slipped in a spell of part-time offspin without mishap, just as Suresh Raina had done for India earlier in the day, dragged England back into the game.
India's highest successful run chase at home was their 325-5 to beat West Indies also in Gujarat, down the road in Ahmedabad, in 2002. Yuvraj Singh was India's sole survivor and, at halfway, a lot was still required from himself and his colleagues if India were to outlast England to go one-up in the series.
50 over report: India had never chased more than 325 to win a one-day international on home soil and, if the old India might have regarded England as ripe for the taking, this present side lacks the same formidable presence. They came close, but when Ishant Sharma was left to hit Jade Dernbach's last two balls for six to tie the match, they probably knew in their hearts that the game was up.
50 over report: India had never chased more than 325 to win a one-day international on home soil and, if the old India might have regarded England as ripe for the taking, this present side lacks the same formidable presence. They came close, but when Ishant Sharma was left to hit Jade Dernbach's last two balls for six to tie the match, they probably knew in their hearts that the game was up.
England had lost their last 13 ODIs in India and had won only one match on their last three ODI tours of India. Two defeats in their warm-up matches did not auger well, but they served up a victory for their new limited-overs coach, Ashley Giles, at the first time of asking and will now face the rest of the five-match series with greater belief.
The first international at the Saurashtra Stadium lavished favours upon the batsmen. The pitch was amenable and the outfield glassy but James Tredwell, with international-best figures of 4-44, saw England home. An understudy to Graeme Swann in England's ODI side, he has a chance to assert himself with Swann resting out of the series, although "assert himself" is probably the wrong phrase because he is a mild-mannered unassuming chap, very much the introvert to Swann's extrovert.
This was only his 10th ODI, and the first time India had seen him. To their cost, four top batsmen now know a little bit more. Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir had prospered against England's quick bowlers, but Tredwell dismissed them in successive overs, tossing one high to have Rahane caught at long-off and then deceiving Gambhir in the flight to have him caught at short midwicket.
None of England's thumpings came any worse than the 158-run defeat at Rajkot's old Madhavrao Scindia ground five years ago when Yuvraj Singh, with 138, set about them. At a new stadium - immediately distinctive because of its Lord's-style media box - Yuvraj threatened to work his old magic, until he back-drove Tredwell to Jade Dernbach at short fine leg.
Briefly, it seemed as if the match might hinge on a reprieve for Suresh Raina, on 46, when he drove at Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan claimed a catch at third man, but there was just enough of a possibility on the TV replay that the ball had brushed the ground for the third umpire, Vineet Kulkarni, to rule "not out." India still needed 95 from 10 overs at that point, but Tredwell soon straightened one on a placid surface and held Raina's soft return catch. Swann would have looked ready to burst into song at that; Tredwell merely smiled in surprise.
The crowd were stirred, nevertheless, chants of "Dhoni, Dhoni" gaining in intensity after an outrageous one-handed six off Samit Patel. But Dernbach, whose line to the left-handers had been so awry that it demanded a scribbled reminder to do better if he could find space on those powerful, tattooed forearms, removed Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja in the same over, Dhoni failing to muscle a slower ball over long-off.
As serenely as Ian Bell and Alastair Cook proceeded to give England a flattering start, in an opening stand of 158 in 27.4 overs, England's most destructive batsmen, Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan, were restricted to a brace of 40s. An uninhibited final fling by Patel, who made 44 not out from 20 balls, as 38 came from the last two overs, was a necessary flourish. Ishant, who always seemed to be bowling at the wrong time, conceded 20 in the penultimate over and leaked 86 in all.
Bell again looked so comfortable at the top of England's order in 50-over cricket that it is now hard to believe it took him so long to settle there. There was nothing outlandish in his strokeplay, just an exercise in technique and timing. His form has been a boon to Giles, their productive relationship at Warwickshire restated at international level.
Bell, on 15, edged Bhuvneshwar Kumar between MS Dhoni and R Ashwin, who was virtually stood at second slip, with both fielders motionless. It was apparent in the Test series that Dhoni's captaincy responsibilities sometimes submerge his keeping and he remained rooted. But these moments soon became distant regrets as Bell crept up the pitch surreptitiously in search of elegant drives.
Cook was not quite as mellifluous, but his resourcefulness is beyond doubt. Whatever he puts his mind to at the moment, he achieves and he is minded to lead England to a one-day series win in India. That would not be one of his most important prizes, but it would be one of his most remarkable.
Bell was run out by Rahane, who hit direct as the batsman tried to steal a single to short fine leg and chose not to dive for the crease; Rahane also had a hand in Cook's dismissal, although on this occasion he had no need to exert himself in the same position as Cook top-edged a sweep off Raina.
Raina sneaked in five overs for 18 as England's innings slowed; Joe Root, on debut, was to do the same for England later. Others had less cause for pleasure: Ashwin's tactic of stalling in his delivery stride, a method first employed by Robert Croft for England, was over-used and disturbed his own rhythm more than the batsmen's.
To see Pietersen and Morgan joining forces at 172 for 2 in the 32nd over was unnerving for India, but both began tentatively as Morgan, after some whip-crack flat-batting, fell to a return catch by Ashok Dinda, who fumbled and cradled the rebound. Pietersen lofted Dinda to long-on. Just when it seemed that England's innings was losing impetus, Patel proved otherwise.
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