Jadeja, Harshit Rana Shine As India Restrict England To 248 In First ODI

February 6, 2025: A superb three-wicket haul from Ravindra Jadeja and debutant pacer Harshit Rana helped India bowl out England for 248 in 47.4 overs at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday. With the target set at 249 runs, India needs to score the required runs to secure a 1-0 lead in the series.

England won the toss and elected to bat first, and their openers, Phil Salt and Ben Duckett, got off to a strong start. Salt, in particular, took a liking to debutant Harshit Rana, smashing him for two boundaries in his first over before taking 26 runs off Rana in the sixth over, which included three sixes and two fours. England quickly reached the 50-run mark in just six overs.

Duckett also played some aggressive shots, hitting three boundaries off Axar Patel’s spin. However, the 75-run stand was broken by a brilliant run-out from Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, removing Salt for 43 off 28 balls, which included five fours and three sixes.

Harshit then struck in his first ODI, dismissing Duckett for 32 in 29 balls, thanks to a stunning diving catch by Yashasvi Jaiswal off a top edge. England was 77/2 in 10 overs. Harshit continued to impress, picking up the wicket of Harry Brook, who edged a delivery to Rahul behind the stumps, leaving England at 77/3 in 10 overs.

With the top order falling, Jos Buttler and Joe Root sought to rebuild the innings. However, Root’s poor run in ODIs continued as he was trapped leg-before-wicket by Jadeja for just 19 runs. England was 111/4 in 18.3 overs, with Jadeja breaking a 34-run stand between Root and Buttler.

Buttler found support from debutant Jacob Bethell, who played some aggressive shots against the spinners. Buttler reached his 27th ODI half-century in 58 balls, including four boundaries. The 59-run partnership was broken when Buttler lobbed a delivery from Axar Patel into the hands of Hardik Pandya at short fine leg. Buttler was dismissed for 52 in 67 balls.

Harshit then removed Liam Livingstone for just five runs, with Rahul taking the catch behind the stumps. England was 183/6 in 35.4 overs. Bethell continued to fight back and brought up his half-century off 62 balls, with three fours and a six. However, his gritty knock ended when Jadeja trapped him leg-before-wicket for 51 in 64 balls.

England’s tail failed to offer much resistance as Jadeja dismissed Adil Rashid and Shami accounted for Brydon Carse. With Saqib Mahmood stumped off a Kuldeep Yadav delivery, England’s innings ended at 248 in 47.4 overs.

Jadeja (3/26) and Harshit (3/53) were the standout bowlers for India, although Harshit was hit for some runs. Kuldeep, Axar, and Shami each claimed a wicket.