England VS India Match ball by ball Commentary

Next stop Cardiff - That brings us to the end of an entertaining contest, with India taking a 1-0 lead in the series and moving a step closer to sealing it, while England will be eager to bounce back and restore parity. The action now shifts to Sophia Gardens in Cardiff for the second ODI on Thursday, 16th July, with the first ball scheduled for 12 pm GMT (5.30 pm IST). As always, be sure to join us a little early for all the build-up. Until then, it's goodbye and take care!

The victorious skipper of India - Shubman Gill says seeing the middle and lower order contribute with the bat gives him a lot of confidence, both as a captain and as a top-order batter. He explains that the decision to bowl first was driven more by the team combination than the conditions, adding that with a more experienced batting unit than bowling attack, India were confident of chasing even a total in excess of 300. Gill is pleased with the way the bowlers started in the first 6-7 overs and, even more so, with how they fought back after England began to gain the upper hand. Looking ahead, he says India will continue to test different combinations to find the right balance and depth in both batting and bowling. With conditions similar to those in South Africa, he feels this series presents an ideal opportunity to experiment and assess what works best.

The captain of England - Harry Brook admits England's middle-order collapse, where they lose five wickets for just 20 runs, proved to be the decisive phase of the innings. While pleased with the fight shown by his side, he feels that losing wickets in a cluster left England with too much to do. Brook credits Joe Root and Liam Dawson for their crucial partnership, saying it gave England a fighting total after they found themselves in serious trouble. However, he believes 260 was still below par and that a score in the region of 300-320 would have been much more competitive and brought their spinners more into play. Reflecting on the conditions, Brook says England felt the pitch slowed down as the match progressed. Says they were confident they had enough at the halfway stage if it continued to behave the same way. He also adds that team selection will continue to be based on the surface, while admitting the spinners were unable to have the influence England had hoped for.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Axar Patel wins the award for his all-round brilliance. 57* off 52 with the bat and 4/62 with the ball. Patel says this is the perfect start for the team after the disappointing T20I series. Adds that he is pleased with the way he performed. Shares that his plan was to bowl stump-to-stump while varying his pace. He also credits India's strong start with the bat for keeping them ahead of the game. On the partnership with Washington Sundar, Axar says the focus was on building a stand and finishing the chase.

Presentation Time...

Not enough runs - England will rue a few missed opportunities in both selection and execution. With plenty of assistance on offer for the seamers, they may wonder if an extra hit-the-deck quick would have been the better option. Harry Brook's decision at the toss was influenced by the expectation that the spinners would come into play, but they struggled to make any real impact. Sam Curran and Jofra Archer struck in quick succession after an inconsistent start, but the hosts failed to build on that momentum, allowing Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer to take the game away with a century stand. Brook's sharp run-out and Josh Tongue's wicket briefly reignited hopes, but England simply didn't have enough runs on the board to mount a sustained challenge.

England recover after a collapse in the middle - After electing to bat, England posted a competitive total, but it could have been much worse. Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell negotiated a tricky opening spell with a 61-run stand before both fell in the same over, triggering a collapse to 80/5. Joe Root then made the most of an early reprieve on 7, combining with Liam Dawson for a crucial 121-run partnership. Both brought up well-crafted fifties, with Dawson registering his highest ODI score, but England couldn't finish strongly as Root remained unbeaten on 76. India were impressive with the ball, though they would have hoped to wrap things up sooner. Axar Patel starred with four wickets, while Gurnoor Brar and Prasidh Krishna claimed two apiece, with Jasprit Bumrah and Shivam Dube picking up one each.

Calm heads finish the job - After the mini-collapse, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar ensured there were no further alarms. The left-handed pair soaked up the pressure before taking control with smart strike rotation and timely boundaries. Axar crowned a fine all-round return to the ODI side with a well-crafted half-century to go with his four-wicket haul, while Sundar also brought up a deserved fifty. Their unbeaten 102-run partnership shut the door on England, with Sundar striking the winning runs as India sealed the chase with less than five overs to spare.

Gill leads before India hit a roadblock - India made a brisk start to the chase with Shubman Gill setting the tone before back-to-back wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli left them at 48/2. Unfazed, Gill looked in sublime touch and, alongside Shreyas Iyer, stitched together a fluent 101-run stand that put the visitors firmly in control, with the skipper bringing up a classy half-century. But the momentum shifted dramatically as Gill, hampered by cramps throughout his innings, was forced to retire hurt on 80. India then stumbled, losing Iyer to some terrible running between the wickets before KL Rahul followed soon after, leaving the visitors needing another 99 runs to seal the chase.

Men in Blue draw first blood - India have finally opened their account on this tour of England. After enduring a 4-0 whitewash in the T20I series that also saw them surrender the No. 1 ranking to the hosts, the Men in Blue have bounced back in style with a commanding performance to draw first blood in the ODI series. The victory also extends India's dominance over England in this format, marking a sixth consecutive ODI win, while ending England's seven-match winning streak at Edgbaston. Fittingly, the last team to beat England in an ODI at this venue was also India, way back in 2014.