India National Cricket Team vs England Cricket Team Match Scorecard – 1st ODI
The first ODI of England’s tour of India was played at Nagpur on February 6, 2025, and featured the much-anticipated India National Cricket Team vs. England Cricket Team match. India’s bowling display was impressive as they held England to 248 runs. Let’s examine the scorecard, significant events, and highlights of this thrilling match.
Match Summary
England: 248 All Out (49.4 Overs)
- Jos Buttler – 52 (58 balls)
- Jacob Bethell – 51 (62 balls)
- Jofra Archer – 21* (17 balls)
- Ravindra Jadeja – 3/26 (9 overs)
- Harshit Rana – 3/53 (8 overs)
India: 1/0 (0.3 Overs) – Target 249
- India needs 248 runs from 49.3 overs
- Current Run Rate: 2.00 | Required Run Rate: 5.01
- Win Probability: India – 68.98% | England – 31.02%
Match Highlights: England’s Batting Struggles
After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, England got off to a fast start. Early on, Phil Salt spearheaded the attack by scoring 26 runs off of a single over from Harshit Rana, who was making his debut. However, they were unable to score a significant total due to a lack of partnerships and India’s disciplined bowling.
Key Moments of England’s Innings:
- Powerplay Fireworks: Phil Salt and Ben Duckett gave England a flying start, but Salt was run out on 75 due to miscommunication.
- Harshit Rana’s Breakthrough: The young pacer took two quick wickets in an over, removing Duckett and Harry Brook.
- Middle-Order Collapse: England, from a solid 111/4, struggled to accelerate as Jos Buttler (52) and Jacob Bethell (51) were the only batters to cross 50.
- Jadeja’s Spin Magic: Ravindra Jadeja (3/26) proved to be a nightmare for England’s middle and lower order.
- Kuldeep Yadav’s Final Blow: The innings ended at 248 in 49.4 overs, with Kuldeep Yadav dismissing Saqib Mahmood via stumping.
India’s Chase – Can They Seal the Win?
India has made a cautious start at 1/0 in 0.3 overs, with 49.3 overs remaining to chase 249 runs. The key players to watch out for in the chase include:
- Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill – India’s opening duo will look to build a solid foundation.
- Shreyas Iyer & KL Rahul – The middle-order batters have been in great form recently.
- Hardik Pandya & Ravindra Jadeja – The finishers will play a crucial role if the game gets close.
With a 68.98% win probability in India’s favor, fans are eagerly waiting to see if India can secure a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
India established themselves as the favorites to take a 1-0 lead in this three-match series after bowling out England for 248 in the opening ODI in Nagpur.
The spinners inflicted the greatest damage, taking five of the nine bowler dismissals, with Ravindra Jadeja ending with 3 for 26. This was similar to the T20I series, which India won 4-1. However, the seamers played a part; Harshit Rana recorded 3 for 53 in his first ODI game.
Rana entered the fray early on, causing a top order collapse with two of three wickets to fall in eight deliveries at the end of what had been a fruitful powerplay for England. He had made his T20I debut as a contentious concussion substitute halfway through the fourth T20I in Pune. Yashasvi Jaiswal also made his ODI debut after being selected for the starting lineup on Thursday morning following Virat Kohli’s injury to his right knee the night before the game.
Considering Jos Buttler elected to bat after winning the toss, England’s captain will rue what seems like an under-par score. The only noteworthy innings were his 52 and Jacob Bethell’s 51, which together amounted to 59 for the fifth wicket after the visitors openers’ solid platform had been destroyed.
After a cautious start on this red-soil surface, Phil Salt took things a step further by smashing Rana’s third over for 26, including three sixes. Together with 15 runs removed from Axar Patel’s first set of six, those strikes—a top-edge, a slog-sweep off a slower ball, and a heave over midwicket to end the over—suggested that Salt and Ben Duckett were now at one with the surface.
Unfortunately, same could not be true for their running, as Salt was sent back trying a third on 75 after a misunderstanding ruined their opening stand. After pursuing the ball to the point boundary and then throwing to the striker’s end, where Salt was comfortably short of his ground, Shyreas Iyer made the dismissal.
Rana returned with a bang, taking two wickets in the next over. Duckett ran back from midwicket before a well-timed dive, requiring a superb catch from Jaiswal to clothe a pull shot. After a rising length delivery caught the bottom glove, KL Rahul, who had beaten Rishabh Pant to wicketkeeping duties, took Harry Brook well down the leg side.
Buttler continued to be cautious that he would have to bat through the rest of the innings after reaching 111 for 4 in the 20th over. With some deft work around India’s spinners, he achieved his first fifty-plus score in India at the 38th wicket off 58 balls. However, a mistake on an Axar long-hop handed Hardik Pandya a straightforward catch at short fine leg nine deliveries after reaching the milestone.
Bethell took over the duty of batting deep, but nobody could provide him with the same assistance that he had given his captain. The reintroduction of pace undid Brydon Carse (bowled for Mohammed Shami’s first) and Liam Livingstone (caught behind for Rana’s third).
Additionally, shortly after Bethell’s second ODI half-century from 62 deliveries—which included four boundaries, the first of which was a hard pull off Rana for six—the 21-year-old was declared leg before wicket on review after trying to hit the midwicket boundary off Jadeja after being initially given not out.
Jofra Archer gave England a chance to surpass 250 with a quick 21 not out, which included a magnificent hook off Hardik that was surrounded by two well-placed fours. However, with 14 deliveries left in the first innings, Kuldeep had the last word with a wrong-un that stumped the approaching Saqib Mahmood.
