ENG vs IND: 1st ODI Review – Bumrah’s six-for blows England away

India romped home to a massive 10-wicket victory in the first of the three ODIs against England, bundling out the hosts for a paltry 114 before gunning it down inside 18 overs to secure a 1-0 lead. 

Jasprit Bumrah was the wrecker-in-chief, rattling England from the word go after Rohit Sharma inserted them to bat. He showed up a Player of the Match show of 6/19, and in the process ended up recording the best figures by an Indian pacer in England. 

Bumrah’s rhythm was evident as early as his opening over, which reaped him two wickets for no runs, enough to push England on the backfoot to the extent they never came back in the game as four batters from England’s top six returned without troubling the scorers. 

That England could manage to set India a three-digit target was also down to Moeen Ali’s 14 off 18, David Willey’s 21 off 26 and Brydon Carse’s 15 off 26 after Jos Buttler hung around for a while in a 30-run knock. Mohammed Shami, meanwhile, took only half as many wickets as Bumrah but was no less menacing in his seven-over outing, returning 3/31.

Chasing 115, India broke no sweat with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan ensuring that they do the job alone. Rohit belted runs with authority, scoring heavily behind square with some crisp pulls in his unbeaten 76 off 58 that had six fours and five sixes, while Dhawan played the perfect foil, standing unbeaten 31 off 54 with four boundaries. 

Top performers 

Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah was at his beastly best, asking tough questions with a ball that was moving aplenty under the overcast conditions at the Oval. Bumrah removed Roy and Root in his opening over before returning to scalp Bairstow and Livingstone inside the powerplay to leave England in all sorts of worries. He added two more in the form of Carse and Willey, wrapping up the tail and capping off a sensational six-for. 

Rohit Sharma

Rohit looked in sublime touch and took the role of an aggressor in the 111-run stand alongside Dhawan. He punished the England bowlers for bowling short to him, while he also unfurled some glorious drives on the offside whenever offered width to play with. In the end, he ended up knocking off nearly 70 per cent of the target all by himself. 

What next for the teams?

They play the second ODI at Lord’s on July 14.