After T20 disaster, Gill’s India win ODI series opener in England

After a disastrous T20 campaign, India made a strong start to the ODI series, beating England by six wickets in the first match in Birmingham.

India chased down a 259-run target with 28 balls to spare. Captain Shubman Gill made 80 before being sent back retired hurt. Axar Patel was the star of the show, making a fine 57 not out after bagging 4/62, his best figures in ODIs.

Shreyas Iyer, whose captaincy in the T20 series has come under a lot of scrutiny, made a decent 35 before Washington Sundar (52 not out) held a match-winning 102-run stand with Patel.

The OGs, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, could not provide the spark expected of the duo, making 11 and 5 respectively. Rohit played a scrappy innings and ended up gifting a catch to England skipper Harry Brook at mid-off off Sam Curran's bowling. Kohli was trapped leg before by Jofra Archer.

The return of Jasprit Bumrah made India's bowling sharper, while Gurnoor Brar impressed with two wickets in the same over, of the opening pair of Jacob Bethell (14) and Ben Duckett (43). England must have felt satisfied to post a respectable 258 despite Axar running through their tail.

The highlight of the English innings was half-centuries from Joe Root (76 not out) and Liam Dawson (68).

India will want to wrap up the series in Cardiff, where the second ODI will be played on July 16. The third and final match is scheduled to take place at the Lord's on July 19, the day of the FIFA World Cup final.