High-spirited India look to seal the series

India are slowly but finally starting to realise the international cricket-ready potentials they have in their arsenal. The last few months have been very challenging but India have found new heroes in every series who have helped them emerge on top every single time. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah are the mainstays of Indian cricket but not once all of them have been part of the same playing XI since the start of the Australia tour in November 2020.

The way India toppled Australia without some of their big names is well documented, and the new stars have continued to shine even at home. We all know what Axar Patel and Washington Sundar did in the Test series against England, while Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan continued the trend in the T20Is. India handed maiden ODI caps to Krunal Pandya and Prasidh Krishna in the first encounter on Tuesday (March 23) and the two ended up making match-winning contributions.

Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul too returned back to form, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur continued to impress. India have been thrown out of their comfort zone in the last three white-ball games but have found a way to win despite having their back against the wall. Kohli and Co. looked down and out in the first ODI when Jonny Bairstow was going all guns blazing, but managed to make a phenomenal comeback to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The hosts will now be riding high on confidence when they take on England in the second ODI in Pune on Friday (March 26).

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM

Thakur's journey so far in international cricket is somewhat similar to Jadeja's. The latter, who made his India debut in 2009, was trolled for his inconsistency in the early part of his career but Jadeja kept improving and has now become one of the finest all-format all-rounders. Just like 'Sir' Ravindra Jadeja, 'lord' Shardul Thakur too is slowly starting to become everyone's favorite. The right-arm seamer from Mumbai doesn't have the "physique" of a fast bowler but his "khadoos" and never-give-up attitude makes him a bowler you would want to have in your team.

India could have easily lost their last three games (an ODI and two T20Is) if not for Thakur. The 29-year-old has picked up two wickets in an over in three consecutive games and turned them in India's favour. Thakur got rid of Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan in the same over in the fourth T20I, and did the same in the series-decider in Ahmedabad, dismissing Bairstow and Dawid Malan in the space of four deliveries. Thakur ended the T20I series as the leading wicket-taker and carried his wicket-taking form in the first ODI.

Chasing a target of 318, Jason Roy and Bairstow got England off to a fiery start. The two put on 135 in 14.2 overs before debutant Krishna dismissed Roy and Stokes in quick succession. England were still in control of the chase but that's when Thakur got rid of Bairstow, Morgan and Jos Buttler in the gap of two overs and put India on top. The aforementioned names also suggest that Thakur has got the knack of taking big wickets at crucial stages and that's exactly what you want from your premier seamer.

Apart from Thakur, Bhuvneshwar and Krishna too had a fantastic game. The latter was whacked for 37 runs in his first three overs but the paceman didn't lose his nerve and made a rocking comeback, finishing with figures of 4/54. Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar (2/30) too is getting back to his best and India couldn't be more delighted. The team management, however would be concerned about Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. The latter didn't feature in the first ODI as he has hardly done anything fruitful since 2019. Meanwhile, Kuldeep once again looked clueless and was smashed for 68 runs in his nine overs.

DHAWAN, RAHUL BACK TO THEIR BEST

"In international cricket, pressure is always there and the good thing is as an experienced player, I know how to handle pressure nicely. The way KL Rahul came back today and in the end, he and Krunal took us above (300) and I am sure this knock would have brought a lot of confidence to KL. You will see him playing more fluently," said Dhawan after the end of the first ODI.

Dhawan and Rahul were dropped from the T20I side because of their poor form but the two made sizeable contributions in the first ODI and helped India amass 317 in their 50 overs. Dhawan missed out on his 18th ODI century by just two runs, while Rahul slammed an unbeaten 62 to help India recover from 205/5. The wicketkeeper-batsman put on an unbeaten stand of 112 with Krunal (31-ball 58*) in just 9.3 overs and this would help him in the long run as India need him at his best in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

"WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY AN AGGRESSIVE BRAND OF CRICKET"

It looked like England would chase down the total with 5-10 overs to spare but the visiting side lost the plot after their openers were dismissed and ended up losing the game by 66 runs. The likes of Morgan, Buttler and Stokes have been inconsistent in the white-ball leg of England's tour to India and that has allowed Kohli's men to win games despite being on the backfoot. 

You could criticise England batsmen for playing too many shots but that's the same approach that won them the World Cup in 2019. "When we have bad days with the bat it can potentially look worse than it is. But we play an aggressive brand of cricket. When you look at our top seven, all have scored under 60-ball 100s in international cricket. It is something we pride ourselves on being able to take the attack to the opposition - and that is the way we want to play," said Morgan.

England are surely missing Joe Root who holds the innings together and allows other big-hitting batsmen to play their natural game. The visitors don't have to change their brand of cricket but could be slightly more smarter with their approach. They simply can't be losing games from a position they were in the first match.

PROBABLE XIs

The hosts might have to make a couple of forced changes in their batting line-up. Shreyas Iyer “subluxated” his left shoulder while fielding and has been ruled out of the remaining two games. In his absence, Suryakumar Yadav could make his ODI debut. Rishabh Pant too could fit in the middle-order. Meanwhile, Rohit was hit on his right elbow by a rising Mark Wood delivery and could be rested for the second ODI. If that happens, Shubman Gill could get an opportunity at the top-order.

INDIA: Rohit Sharma/Shubman Gill, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav/Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.

For England, Morgan will miss the final two ODIs. He split the webbing between his right thumb and index finger while fielding and needed four stitches, while Sam Billings sprained his collar bone and will be unavailable for the second ODI. Buttler will lead the side in Morgan's absence. 

ENGLAND: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Reece Topley, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.