Gill stars as India comfortably beat England in first ODI

Shubman Gill led India to a comfortable four-wicket win against England in the first ODI at Nagpur on Thursday.

The Indian batsman struck an assured 87 from 96 balls to help his side chase down England’s total of 248 with 68 balls remaining.

Coming into the first of three ODIs as heavy underdogs across cricket bookmakers after losing 4-1 in the preceding T20I series, the visitors opted to bat first.

They made a strong start, with Phil Salt (43) and Ben Duckett (32) putting on a rapid-fire 77 runs for the opening wicket inside nine overs.

It all came undone in the space of seven balls, however, as Salt was run out, Duckett bowled, and Brook dismissed for a three-ball duck.

Reeling at 77/3, England rebuilt nicely through Joe Root (19), Jos Buttler (52) and Jacob Bethell (51) to reach 170/4 in the 33rd over.

But persistent wickets at the backend of England’s innings were their downfall, with Jofra Archer’s 21 runs the only contribution of note from the final five batsmen.

With Harshit Rana and Ravindra Jadeja both claiming three wickets, the English were ultimately skittled for a below-par 248 from 47.4 overs.

In response, India began poorly, losing both openers inside the first six overs and scoring at a snail’s pace.

The introduction of Gill and Shreyas Iyer (59) turned the match on its head, however, with the two putting on just shy of 100 runs for the third wicket.

When Iyer fell, Gill built another handy partnership with Axar Patel (52), taking India to within touching distance of the target.

Three quick wickets gave English fans some hope, but it was too little, too late as Hardik Pandya (9) and Jadeja (12) guided India home.

The two sides meet again in Cuttack on Sunday, February 9, where India will be heavy favourites to wrap up the series.

Cricket betting sites have brought India into -250 to win that match, with England’s odds lengthening to +200.

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