On Thursday, February 6, during the first ODI of the India-England series played in Nagpur, Sunil Gavaskar chastised KL Rahul’s batting strategy. Notably, Axar Patel was elevated above Rahul to the fifth position in the batting order.
The all-rounder scored a 47-ball 52 to demonstrate his skill with the willow. India was only 28 runs shy of their 249-run target when Axar left. When KL Rahul arrived, Shubman Gill was batting at 81. He chose to play defensive cricket to let the Punjab batsman reach the three-figure mark. But the Karnataka cricketer’s strategy backfired, as he chipped a delivery back to Adil Rashid.
KL Rahul was only able to score two runs off of nine balls as a result.
Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja took India home after Gill was removed for a solid 87 from 96 balls in the next over.
“This is just what I said. You do not need to withdraw into yourself. It’s a cooperative game. In an attempt to help your partner reach a hundred, you may occasionally try to bat it out or tap the ball back, but this is how it can turn out. During the host broadcaster’s English commentary, Gavaskar described Rahul’s dismissal as “a half-hearted shot.”
India will play England in Cuttack after taking the series lead.
With four wickets remaining, Team India managed to chase the score in just 38.4 overs. This came after the first innings, when Jadeja and Harshit Rana were outstanding with the ball. They each took three wickets, and half-centuries were hit by Jacob Bethell and Jos Buttler.
In 47.4 overs, England was bowled out for 248. Axar, Shubman, and Shreyas Iyer recorded half-centuries for India in the meantime. On Sunday, February 9, the second ODI is scheduled to take place in Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium. To survive the three-match series, the Three Lions must win the game.
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