1st ODI: Axar, Gill shine as India crush England in Birmingham

Birmingham: India comfortably chased down 259 to beat England by six wickets in the first ODI, with Shubman Gill scoring 80 before Axar Patel and Washington Sundar guided the visitors home with unbeaten fifties.

Shubman Gill continued his love affair with the Edgbaston cricket ground as the Indian captain's graceful 80 lay the foundation for a walk-in-the park six-wicket victory over England in the first ODI in Birmingham on Tuesday.

India, now, have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Axar Patel, much panned for his recent low returns in T20Is, played the perfect support cast with a superb all-round show of 4/62 and an unbeaten 57 off 52 balls in what could have otherwise been a tricky chase.

Chasing a perfectly gettable target of 259, the Indian skipper mixed poise and style in equal measure before suffering from cramps, but Washington Sundar (52 no off 63 balls) and Axar successfully completed the chase in 45.2 overs with a 102-run unbroken stand after being reduced to 160 for 4.

Gill was in fine nick despite being bothered by a dodgy hamstring and calf muscle cramps which forced him to retire when the 10th ODI century seemed to be there for the taking.

This was India's first win in the ongoing tour of the United Kingdom.

Gill, who hit 11 fours and a six in his 75-ball knock got a lot of support from his in-form deputy Shreyas Iyer (35) during their 101-run stand for the third wicket.

Just like Adelaide Oval had been a happy hunting ground for Virat Kohli across formats, the same could be said about Gill and Edgbaston. During the Test series last year, Gill scored 269 and 161 in Indian victory in Birmingham.

And now in the 50-over format, he once again showed his real class even as he was done in first by calf muscle cramps and then hamstring became an issue.

After veterans Rohit Sharma (11) and Virat Kohli (5) were dismissed cheaply with team score reading 48, Gill took charge of the proceedings.

The right-hander was never overly cautious nor did he take undue risks hitting those regal on-drives and picturesque cover drives. The pulled six off Josh Tongue was a treat for the eyes.

Once he retired hurt, suddenly the momentum shifted in England's favour.

The set Iyer was responsible for his cross-pitch running that made him traverse an increased distance only to be run-out.

KL Rahul was then beaten for pace by Tongue as he chopped one on to his stumps.

But Axar and Washington shrugged off their poor show in T20Is to maintain calm during their century stand in which they soaked in the pressure of a hostile spell from Jofra Archer, and scored against the spinners which Harry Brook played one too many.

Both the batters were below par with the willow during the T20Is but the longer format gave them time to settle down and since Gill had nullified the scoreboard pressure, they could score runs with consummate ease.

Shubman Gill (80), Axar Patel (57 & 4 wickets) and Washington Sundar (52) starred as India chased down 259 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Joe Root scored a run-a-ball 76, anchoring England's innings after an early collapse.

Liam Dawson contributed a career-best 68 off 83 balls, forming a vital partnership with Root.

Indian pacers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, initially wreaked havoc on England's top order with early wickets

Axar Patel claimed 4 wickets for 62 runs, running through the tail after the strong partnership.

The seasoned Joe Root and plucky Liam Dawson scored half-centuries in a gutsy seventh wicket stand for 121 runs as England posted a respectable 258 in the opening ODI despite Indian pace attack wreaking havoc in Birmingham on Tuesday.

From a solid 61 for no loss till the start of 13th over, England slumped to 107 for 6 before the end of the 22nd over and there seemed no chance of a recovery from that position.

However, Root with a run-a-ball 76, fought well alongside Dawson, whose career-best 68 off 83 balls took them to a position where bowlers had a decent total to defend.

Root played the field, waited patiently for Bumrah to complete his first two spells and attacked Axar Patel (4/62), Prasidh Krishna once the pitch showed signs of easing out. The best shot was a ramp off a Jasprit Bumrah bouncer. He hit six fours and a six in all.

While the peerless Bumrah (1/31 in 9 overs) was the best Indian bowler in terms of skills and quality on display, young Gurnoor Brar (2/61 in 9 overs) and the usually profligate Prasidh (2/50 in 10 overs) also chipped in with wickets despite going for runs. Axar ran through the tail after the Dawson-Root stand recording his best figures in ODI cricket.
 
England opted to bat on a pitch that had bounce and carry with good value for shots. Coming back after a six-week workload management related break, Bumrah hit the straps right away with a first spell of 4-0-8-0 with Jacob Bethell (14 off 31 balls) and Ben Duckett (43 off 45 balls) not able to handle the Indian legend.

He got the ball to move both ways either from length or from slightly back of it, with extra bounce creating doubts in the mind of batters. He bowled as many as 36 dot balls in his spell. What the wickets column won't show is the kind of impact that Bumrah created, something that was absent when the Indian team played the recently concluded forgettable T20I series.

Prasidh was also steady at the other end before Duckett launched into Brar's opening over that went for 17.

Brar went for a couple of boundaries in his next over before he finally found his length on the Edgbaston track in his third over getting two wickets in a space of three deliveries.

In the first two, he was slightly shorter and in the third over, he pushed the length from shorter to good length and the extra bounce found Bethell cramped for room going for a pull and Duckett slashed away from body -- both batters caught in the deep.

In the case of Duckett, it was a very well-judged catch by Bumrah, who managed to keep his body balanced at the third man boundary rope.

It was in a space of six deliveries that India took complete control of the proceedings as Bumrah coming in for his second spell bowled one from back of length that saw England skipper Harry Brook taken aback by extra bounce giving a regulation catch to Rohit Sharma at first slip.

Once Brar and Bumrah ran through top-order, it was the turn of Prasidh to join the party as he snuffed out Jos Buttler and Sam Curran in quick succession. Buttler got a leading edge while Curran edged one to KL Rahul behind the stumps.

Just when it seemed England will be all out for less than 150, Root-Dawson showed a lot of stomach for a good scrap.