England vs India 2018,1st ODI: 3 Heroes of the Match

What a start the highly anticipated ODI series has gotten off to. India had a weakened pace attack, with Bhuvneswar Kumar out of the game injured and Jasprit Bumrah out of the series due to injury as well, and playing in a stadium that has a reputation for being a happy hunting ground for English batsmen, there were fears that the Indian attack would be dispatched.

England also lost Alex Hales, who has a particularly prolific record in Trent Bridge but the odds were still in their favour to make a huge score.

It was not to be, however, as an inspired bowling showcase by Kuldeep Yadav and a clinical chase by the Indian top order, during which England never seemed to have the upper hand, gave India the win in a much more dominant fashion than was expected going into the game.

These players, however, had the greatest impact in the game:

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#1 Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep wrecked the English batting lineup, picking up his second five-wicket haul in three games

Dropping Kuldeep for the last T20I raised a lot of eyebrows and birthed a lot of theories as to the reason why it was done. One of the arguments was that he was being held back to preserve the mystery around his bowling, and if that was the case that sure has paid off for India.

Kuldeep was easily the pick of the Indian bowlers and he almost singlehandedly dismantled the English top and middle order. The England batsmen seemed to have a better idea of playing him in the second T20I, but Kuldeep managed to get the better of them tonight.

With astonishing figures of 6/25 in his 10 overs, this was a night to remember for Kuldeep as he broke numerous records. Some of the most notable ones are that that was the:

- Best figures by a left-arm spinner in ODIs

- Best figures by any spinner in ODIs in England

- Best figures by any spinner against England in ODIs

Thanks largely to his performance, at the end of the first innings it seemed India were set up for a comfortable chase.

#2 Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

Rohit and Kohli never seemed to be in a spot of bother throughout their partnership

Cheating a bit by not selecting an individual but both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were instrumental in the Indian chase, but Rohit to a greater extent.

India has built up a reputation for being a good chasing side and that came to the fore yet again, as a relatively straightforward chase by modern standards, of 268, was done with remarkable ease by both these batsmen.

Shikhar Dhawan gave a blitzing start, and Kohli carried on from where he left off as the fall of a wicket did not bring a change in fortune as England would have been hoping.

That being said, Kohli might be kicking himself for not going on to make a hundred and staying till the end of the chase.

In the tour thus far, they have both shown glimpses of being at or close to their best but they both came good in the first ODI.

With India looking to clinch this series, which will be very important both in sorting out their batting order and getting their confidence up regarding their chances in the upcoming World Cup next year, the form of Rohit and Kohli will oft be under the microscope.

Rohit, in particular, looks in excellent touch with his two much faster than a-run-a-ball hundreds on the trot.

Being two of the most important batsmen in these sides, their performance in this game is a welcome sign for India and they will hope to carry this over into the next couple of games as well.

#3 Jos Buttler

Buttler scored a quickfire 50 in an English batting performance without much to write home about

Both Buttler and Stokes were the redeeming performances in England’s batting performance which was littered with many starts with seven players scoring 19 or more, but only 2 going on to make 50 or more.

Stokes came in a decent position with England at 82/3 and Buttler in a more precarious one at 105/4.

They both had to rebuild to lead England towards a more respectable total and Buttler did so scoring at a faster clip than Stokes in their crucial 93-run stand.

Stokes batted with a slower strike rate with the intention of staying till the end, but after weathering out numerous overs of tricky spin from Chahal and Kuldeep, Stokes fell in the first ball of the last over of Kuldeep’s quota to a fantastic catch by Siddarth Kaul.

Buttler’s 53 off 51 proved crucial as England stumbled their way to 268 all out thanks in particular to a good finish from Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid who made quickfire twin 20s.

On a track that historically has been a setting for run fests, England’s score seemed below par but without Buttler and Stokes, it likely would have been graver.

The rest of the English team did not have standout days, except for Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid who put in tidy performances both with bat and ball.

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