At the Kennigton Oval in London on Tuesday, India defeated England by 10 wickets in the opening One-Day International of the three-match series.
India trounced England by 111 runs in 18.4 overs without losing a wicket as Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten 76 off 58 balls and Shikhar Dhawan added a 31 not out.
Jasprit Bumrah amassed the astounding statistics of 6 for 19, surpassing Ashish Nehra’s 6 for 23 in the 2003 World Cup as India’s best against England by the time England had been crushed by 10 wickets in a total of 44 overs.
That haul featured two for 0 in 3 balls in his opening over of the game, on the way to 4 for 6 in his first 4, and two for 0 in 7 balls at the end, sawing off an unyielding but vain attempt at slogging from England’s tail.
Ben Stokes’ first-ball duck in his second over and Jos Buttler’s 30 from 32 were taken out by a top-edged pull to deep square leg. A sucker-punch came one ball after he had successfully picked off the last of his six fours in the same direction. Shami was more expensive but no less crucial in thwarting England’s intentions after being asked to bat first.
This was another statement performance from a team that is starting to come together in a menacing way ahead of two World Cups in quick succession, the T20 version in Australia in four months, and a home 50-over campaign in the new year.
Jasprit Bumrah played a big part in India’s victory
The performance followed India’s 2-1 series win in the T20Is, a score line made all the more emphatic by their quashing of a pair of “timid” England displays in the first two games.
Something similar has happened against South Africa at Lord’s in 2017 and Australia in Adelaide the following winter.
These are the two previous occasions when England’s pedal-to-the-metal approach had spectacularly failed after being asked to bat first in advantageous conditions and against a formidable seam attack. England’s collapse was foreshadowed early.
