Indian captain Rohit Sharma was delighted after Team India defeated England by 10 wickets in the first ODI at the Kennington Oval, London on Tuesday. Sharma decided to bowl first in overcast conditions and he was delighted after his bowlers made the most of the favorable conditions.
Jasprit Bumrah bowled a superb first over as he got rid of England opener Jason Roy and talisman batter Joe Root. Bumrah was right on the money throughout the innings and bowled in the right areas to continuously trouble the opposition batters.
Bumrah got the ball to swing and seam and the England batters were at sea while facing him. The gun pacer also accounted for Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone in his first spell.
Subsequently, Bumrah dismissed David Willey and Brydon Carse to return with figures of 6-19, which is his best in the 50-overs format. Furthermore, Mohammed Shami also took three wickets as he sent back Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Craig Overton.
Four English batters were dismissed without even troubling the scorers and Bumrah picked three of such wickets. Thus, England could only manage 110 runs on the board as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
On the other hand, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma helped India chase down the score in 18.4 overs. Dhawan, who was making a return to the team after a long time, scored 31 runs whereas the Indian captain scored a free-flowing knock of 76 runs.
Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation, “Looking at the overhead conditions and the pitch, the toss was a right call to make. We used the conditions upfront really well. We never worry about the conditions because we have got the guys who can just come out and use those conditions. There was some swing and seam upfront and we exploited them well. When you play in such conditions, you have to understand the assistance and have field placements accordingly. We knew our bowlers could swing the ball both ways and hence had that kind of field. Shikhar and me understand each other quite well, except for the first ball where there was that misjudgement. He is playing ODIs after a long time. We know what he brings to the table for us. Experienced player and he has done well for us in the past in these conditions. The hook is a high-risk shot, I understand that, but as long as it comes out right, I am happy.”
India will look to continue the same form in the second ODI, which will take place at Lord’s on Thursday.
