During the first ODI at the Oval on Tuesday, captain Rohit Sharma broke the record for the most fifty-plus scores by any visiting player (14) in men's ODIs in England, surpassing Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, and Kane Williamson. Dravid, Kohli, and Williamson have all hit 13 50 plus in men's ODIs in England.
Rohit scored 76 runs off 58 balls, while Shikhar Dhawan scored 31 runs off 54 balls, enabling India to chase the target of 111 runs in 18.4 overs.
“Looking at the overhead conditions and the pitch, the toss was a right call to make. We used the conditions upfront really well,” said Sharma. “There was some swing and seam upfront and we exploited them well.”
The England team was knocked out in 25.2 overs, their lowest total against India. Their previous low score was 125 in Jaipur in 2006.
“We have some guys in the form of their lives in Tests coming here and getting nicked off,” said England captain Jos Buttler. “Jasprit is a great bowler to come up against. He has bowled fantastically well today and deserves these figures.”
“I won’t be panicking… in the last seven years our batting has been our super strength in ODI cricket and the guys in the teams are some of the best players to ever play the format for England so we don’t want to panic.”
Earlier in the match, Bumrah delivered a masterclass in swing bowling, taking six wickets. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami added three more to dismiss England for 110.
The Indian pacer demolished England's top order in his first spell before returning to dismiss two tailenders to clinch his six-wicket haul. Bumrah's antics contributed to England's lowest-ever ODI total against India.
Bumrah's impressive performance in the one-day internationals has pushed him into third place on the list of Indian bowlers with the best ODI figures. To this day, Stuart Binny holds the top spot thanks to a stunning performance against Bangladesh in 2014. With three maiden overs remaining, Bumrah finished with 6-19 figures in 7.2 overs.
In his opening spell, Bumrah stripped the whole English top order, including Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, and Liam Livingstone. In his final spell, he dismissed Brydon Carse and David Willey, ensuring his six wickets.
Sharma and Dhawan had an easy outing with a target of 111. During the match, both players took advantage of England pacers who bowled either too full or short to get any swing in their opening stint.
In particular, England's quick bowlers pounded Rohit Sharma with short balls, and the Indian batsman continued slamming them for sixes.
David Willey attempted to restrain Rohit by slamming the ball short and against his body. The Indian opener swivelled on his front foot and pulled the ball, sending it ten rows back over the fine-leg boundary. Unfortunately, the ball landed and struck a kid in the crowd. England physio and doctor then raced to help the kid.
