Riding on brilliant centuries from Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav, India defeated England by 3 wickets in the first ODI to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Chasing an imposing total of 351, the hosts began in the worst possible manner as both of their openers KL Rahul (8) and Shikhar Dhawan returned to the hut with the scoreboard reading only 24. India’s condition only deteriorated when they were reduced to 63 for 4 after Yuvraj Singh (15) and MS Dhoni (6) were dismissed by Ben Stokes and Jake Ball respectively. The stage was perfectly set for another Virat Kohli special and the newly-appointed skipper did not disappoint as he led from the front with a magnificent knock to help his team get close to England’s total and he was ably supported by Kedar Jadhav as they added 200 runs for the fifth wicket. And just when it was looking like India would make light work of the chase, they suffered a huge setback when Kohli got out for 122 after miscuing a short delivery from Ben Stokes. 28 runs later, Jadhav departed too after scoring a brilliant 120 runs from only 76 balls. But by then he had done his work and the remaining runs were scored by the lower-order batsmen without much trouble.
Earlier, the visitors churned out one of their finest batting displays in India. After losing Alex Hales cheaply, Jason Roy and Joe Root set the platform for a huge score with contrasting half-centuries. While Roy’s 73 came from only 61 balls Roots consumed 95 balls to score his 78 runs. And England’s middle-order batsmen took full advantage of the situation as they massacred the Indian bowlers to register their highest-ever score in India. Ben Stokes (62 from 40 balls) and Moeen Ali (28 from 17) led England’s charge towards the end as they scored a mammoth 350.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
First win for 2017! Well done Team India, this is an amazing start to the year. Keep winning #INDvENG
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 15, 2017
. @imVkohli & @JadhavKedar changed the momentum brilliantly & put the pressure back on Eng by playing some spectacular shots. #IndvEng
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 15, 2017
Best Test player … KOHLI Best ODI player … KOHLI. Best T20 player … KOHLI
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 15, 2017
The best bit about this run-chase is the lack of dew…even contest won fairly. Well done, India. ????? #INDvENG
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 15, 2017
ODI targets of 350 or more successfully chased most times…
3 by India
2 by South Africa
1 by England#IndvEng— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) January 15, 2017
It is such a joy to see the reaction of @JadhavKedar 's parents in the stands. Real. Human. Beautiful.#INDvENG
— Boman Irani (@bomanirani) January 15, 2017
https://twitter.com/fwildecricket/status/820654364993916928
No runner allowed?
No Problem!
Kedar Jadhav smashes two sixes in that over!
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) January 15, 2017
Kedar Jadhav ,take a bow.
An innings one dreams to play.#INDvENG— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) January 15, 2017
Don't know about result bt u r already won the heart's of 125m indians..
Well played #KedarJadhav.. Proud of u..!! @BCCI #INDvENG— P®@d!P (@gayali_pradip) January 15, 2017
https://twitter.com/AllTimeBakchod/status/820644000185065472
Loved the gesture from Kedar Jadhav after that boundary..
" You stay there I will take care "
Thug Life!
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) January 15, 2017
So happy for Kedar Jadhav, fearless innings yeah, but so much common sense and application. Played the big shots on call#IndvsEng
— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) January 15, 2017
Go Kedar Jadhav & @imVkohli . So well played both. Let’s win this India.
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) January 15, 2017
God wanted to play cricket so he made Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin wanted to play cricket even after retiring, so he asked God to send Kohli.
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) January 15, 2017
Virat Kohli Was Stopped Thrice From Taking Single On 99*. That SIX Was #Kohli's Way Of Saying "Ab Pakad Ke Dikha BC". 😉#INDvENG #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/qHry7qYvmk
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) January 15, 2017
A Bollywood dialog 4 England cricket team.Rishte mai hum tumhare baap lagte hai Naam hai virat kohli.captain leading from front @imVkohli???
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) January 15, 2017
https://twitter.com/AllTimeBakchod/status/820638208526585856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Oh My Kohli… nobody has made controlled demolition seem like such an art form in the ODI game. Nobody. #INDvENG
— Saurabh Somani (@saurabh_42) January 15, 2017
Back to @imVkohli for an Indian run-chase to work.Too many shots all around?
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 15, 2017
Don't recall Kohli playing so much in the air early on – inspired by Parthiv Patel perhaps#INDvENG
— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) January 15, 2017
Kohli started playing shots without waiting till 49th over, he can't be Dhoni.
— EngiNerd. (@mainbhiengineer) January 15, 2017
Now Yuvi says "Remember me?” #watha
— sanghi manghi (@poonduoorgaa) January 15, 2017
The only player from India that has performed as per expectations is Shikhar Dhawan #INDvENG
— Vighnesh Rane (@Vighrane01) January 15, 2017
Somewhere Between MS #Dhoni And #YuvrajSingh We Forgot That Even Bhumi Pujan Shikhar Dhawan Is Back After A Long Time.#INDvENG #INDvsENG
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) January 15, 2017
Dhoni did the right thing by stepping down as capitan.
He has set a perfect example for Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Arvind Kejriwal.— Android Goswami (@Arnab_Goswamii) January 5, 2017
Umesh has taken the Happy Hours thing a bit seriously.
Beamer. Warning. No-ball. Width. Six. Free hit.#INDvENG— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) January 15, 2017
Welcome to vintage Indian bowling, Virat Kohli! Good luck with these. #INDvENG
— Nikhil ? (@CricCrazyNIKS) January 15, 2017
Bumrah has bowled with a strategy today – Bowl a full toss and pray #INDvENG
— cricBC (@cricBC) January 15, 2017
Biggest lesson so far: Must refer Nandan's decisions#INDvENG
— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) January 15, 2017
Kohli said he will trust Dhoni as far as DRS concerned without second though and there comes India's first successful review.. ?
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) January 15, 2017
Umesh playing his last ODI. i guess. Bhuvi is and will be always better than Umesh
— 15Degrees (@desigiri82) January 15, 2017
Jasprit Bumrah hits the only stump directly from long distance. Well done Jasprit Arjun Bumrah. #INDvENG
— sunil the cricketer (@1sInto2s) January 15, 2017
And the journey begins for @imVkohli wishing all success
— Sundar Raman (@ramansundar) January 15, 2017
https://twitter.com/sagarcasm/status/820538081535086593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw