Krunal Pandya is the fastest player to make a half-century in a first one-day international.
| First one-day international, Pune |
| India 317-5 (50 overs): Dhawan 98 (106); Stokes 3-34 |
| England 251 (42.1 overs) : Bairstow 94 (66); Krishna 4-54 |
| India wins by 66 runs |
| Scoreboard |
England missed the chance to win in a shaky first international against India and lost by 66 runs in Pune.
Jonny Bairstow, who shone with 94 off just 66 balls, put the world champions on course for their 318 goal.
The Indian bowlers fought back and England, who were without Joe Root, lost five wickets for 41 runs before losing by 251 runs.
Earlier, the hosts reached 317-5, not by Krunal Pandya, who made the fastest start by a debutant in a one-day international with a 26-yarder, but by 98 and 58 Shikhar Dhawan.
On a painful day, England captain Eoin Morgan had to leave the field with a cut on his right arm, while Sam Billings dislocated his collarbone joint when he tried to stop at the boundary.
Rohit Sharma was hit on the elbow by Mark Wood and, worst of all, Lancashire newcomer Shreyas Iyer suffered a partial dislocation of his left shoulder.
The second game of a three-game series is scheduled for Friday on the same field.
India wins a duel instyle
The one-day game on this long tour of England is of less importance than the defeats of the tourists in the Test and Twenty20 series, but the two teams in the world rankings still made for an exciting match in an empty stadium.
While England have been guided to World Cup 2019 glory by all-out aggression, India still prefer the old-fashioned approach of 50-over cricket.
Their confidence in a late attack could have backfired if Krunal and KL Rahul had not taken advantage when England removed the influential captain Morgan in the 41st over.
The hosts failed to respond to Birstow’s cheekiness, only to get back up and let the game slip away again.
England had to rely on an inferior order that played little cricket and gradually nipped the hosts in the bud.
Waste England Birchtow Gloss
Bairstow’s surprise goal was a reminder of England’s defeat to win the 2019 World Cup and threatened to derail the chase.
He hit the ball mainly on the leg side and devastated the Indian attack with seven sixes and six fours.
But when Jason Roy was caught at point 46 after just 14.2 overs, ending an opening stand of 135, England had lost the plot.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar made himself scarce, while debutant Prasid Krishna took four wickets and Shardul Thakur three.
Ben Stokes rolled to cover, Bairstow went back to the leg side, Morgan bounced and Jos Buttler was caught on the crease and had to be beaten.
Moeen Ali, playing only his second game since November, had a tough day. He dropped Dhawan and conceded 28 runs in his three overs.
He wanted to save England with the batting, but when he left Bhuvneshwar for 30, the hopes of the tourists went with him.
Emotional Krunal tilt India
The father ofKrunal and Hardik Pandya passed away in January.
In the field, Shikhar was an excellent wicketkeeper, sharing 64 with Rohit and 105 with skipper Virat Kohli, who threatened and helped himself to 56.
Left-hander Shikhar also got two lefts, the first a difficult diving chance on 16, the second an easy chance for Moen on the leg boundary on 59.
As India looked to accelerate, Mark Wood came back to force Kohli to deep square and Dhawan dropped towards mid-on for Stokes at 3-34 in his first ODI since the World Cup final.
Morgan had just left the field when Krunal, Hardik’s elder brother, joined Rahul and started shaking the ball, which was flying in all directions.
A mixed left-hander, cut to the off side and beaten by the pads, is the catalyst for 112 runs over the final 9.3 overs.
The Pandya brothers’ father passed away in January. Krunal took his cap emotionally before the match and also during the half-time interview, hugging Hardik with tears in his eyes.
One of our best wins
Captain Eoin Morgan of England: We did a lot of things right today. I think the bowlers were excellent, as were our two knives. We couldn’t go through with the construction. We play aggressive cricket, we just need to execute it better than we did today. That’s how we play, and that’s how we’ll continue to play.
Captain Virat Kohli of India: This is one of our greatest victories in recent history. The return of all our bowlers was an incredible success. I am very proud, the team showed a lot of character and intensity.
