The Indian cricket team sealed a 66-run win over England in the first ODI on Tuesday, March 23, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
Prasidh Krishna, who became the first Indian to take a four-wicket haul on an ODI debut, and Krunal Pandya’s unbeaten 31-ball 58 powered India to punish a hapless England team that failed to contain the batting and the bowling prowess of the hosts.
Opting to bowl first, England drew the first blood with Rohit Sharma’s dismissal in the 16th over but from there onwards, it was simply a masterclass from the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and debutant Krunal.
Dhawan, who got dismissed on 98 - the fifth instance of the southpaw getting out in his 90s in ODIs - stitched a fine 105-run partnership with skipper Kohli to 169 in 32 overs.
Indian cricket team captain Kohli, playing in his 252nd ODI, became the fastest player to aggregate 10,000 runs across all formats at home.
| Fastest players to aggregate 10,000 runs across all formats at home (in terms of innings) | ||
| Player | Host country | Innings |
| Virat Kohli | India | 195 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 219 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 223 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 224 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 229 |
| Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 236 |
Krunal Pandya was the star of the show for the Men in Blue as he became the quickest half-centurion in ODI history and also registered the highest strike rate by an ODI debutant.
| Highest strike rate by an ODI debutant | |||||||
| Player | Runs | Balls faced | Strike rate | Innings | Opposition | Ground | Date |
| KH Pandya (IND) | 58* | 31 | 187.09 | 1 | England | Pune | March 23, 2021 |
| JE Morris (ENG) | 63* | 45 | 140.00 | 2 | New Zealand | Adelaide | December 1, 1990 |
| RO Butcher (ENG) | 52 | 38 | 136.84 | 1 | Australia | Birmingham | August 22, 1980 |
| BC Hollioake (ENG) | 63 | 48 | 131.25 | 2 | Australia | Lord's | May 25, 1997 |
| LJ Wright (ENG) | 50 | 39 | 128.20 | 1 | India | The Oval | September 5, 2007 |
On the bowling front. Prasidh Krishna scripted history as he bagged the best figures by an Indian bowler on debut and also registered the second-highest economy rate for any player with a four-wicket haul on ODI debut.
| Most wickets in an innings on debut for India | ||||||||
| Player | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy | Opposition | Ground | Date |
| M Prasidh Krishna | 8.1 | 1 | 54 | 4 | 6.61 | England | Pune | March 23, 2021 |
| NA David | 8 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 2.62 | West Indies | Port of Spain | April 21, 1997 |
| VA Aaron | 6.1 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 3.89 | England | Mumbai | October 23, 2011 |
| ST Banerjee | 10 | 2 | 30 | 3 | 3.00 | West Indies | Perth | December 6, 1991 |
As for England, it was a forgettable day in the office. Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy gave the visitors a confident start to the run-chase with a 135-run partnership at the top. However, it went in vain as their partnership went down as the second-highest opening stand in an unsuccessful chase. It also is England’s third-highest partnership for any wicket in an ODI defeat while chasing.
| Highest opening stands for England in an unsuccessful ODI chase | |||||||
| Players | Runs | Wicket | In | Out | Opposition | Ground | Date |
| OA Shah, ME Trescothick | 170 | 4 | 3/26 | 4/196 | Pakistan | Lord's | June 12, 2001 |
| NV Knight, ME Trescothick | 165 | 1 | - | 1/165 | Australia | Hobart | January 11, 2003 |
| JM Bairstow, JJ Roy | 135 | 1 | - | 1/135 | India | Pune | March 23, 2021 |
| RS Bopara, JC Buttler | 63 | 6 | 5/111 | 6/244 | Sri Lanka | Lord's | May 31, 2014 |
Virat Kohli-led India and Eoin Morgan’s England will return for the second ODI on Friday, March 26.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Punit Paranjpe
