England started off strongly in the first ODI against India, with openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett providing an aggressive foundation. England won the toss and chose to bat first. They initially took a cautious approach but quickly shifted gears. Salt and Duckett accelerated the scoring rate, helping England race to 52 runs in just six overs.

The match also marked a debut ODI outing for two promising young Indian cricketers in the form of Harshit Rana and Yashasvi Jaiswal. However, Harshit had a very poor introduction to international cricket as he was on the receiving end of a brutal onslaught from his own Kolkata Knight Riders teammate, Phil Salt.

In the sixth over of the innings, Salt took full advantage of Harshit’s nerves, hammering 26 runs in a display of fearless power-hitting. Phill Salt started the over with a towering six off the first ball, followed by a four off the second.

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The onslaught continued as he dispatched the third ball for another six and cracked the fourth ball for yet another boundary. Though Harshit managed to dot the fifth delivery, Salt finished the over in style with another six, pushing England past the 50-run mark in no time.

 

 

 

At the toss, England captain Jos Buttler highlighted the good vibes in the dressing room. “We have got a nice thing going in the dressing room. It’s great to have Joe Root back, and the morale is high. Baz (Brendon McCullum) ensures that everyone is in a good headspace.”

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Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, revealed that India had also wanted to bowl first. “We wanted to bowl first and be aggressive at the start. This series is a fresh opportunity for us to play well. Jaiswal and Rana make their debuts, but unfortunately, Virat Kohli is not playing due to a right knee issue that happened last night.”

With England off to a flying start, India will be hoping for early breakthroughs to gain control of the game.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami

England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(c), Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood