India beat England by 3 wickets in a thriller contest in the first match of the Paytm ODI series. The match, played at the MCA Pune International Stadium, was the first limited over international match for Virat Kohli led Team India.
Kohli won the toss for India and invited the visitors to bat first. England scored 350-7 in their quota of 50 overs, courtesy of half-centuries from Jason Roy, Joe Root and Ben Stokes. Stokes in particular was the epitome of English hitting in the death overs as he hit five sixes in his 40-ball 62. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya took two wickets each amid the run fest.
In return, India got off to a very poor start. The Indian top order, with the exception of Virat Kohli, failed miserably chasing a mammoth 351. They were reeling at 63-4 when Kedar Jadhav walked in. He along with Virat Kohli steered the Indian innings clear of danger with a magnificent 200 run partnership in just 149 balls. With Kohli and Jadhav at the crease, the required run-rate was never a problem for the host nation. Kohli completed his century with a six off a Chris Woakes delivery, having faced 93 balls. Jadhav was quicker than Kohli as he completed his swashbuckling century in just 65 balls. Scoring this century, Kohli now has the most centuries(15) in successful run chases beating the previous record of Sachin Tendulkar(14).
After completing their centuries, both Kohli and Jadhav got dismissed in a span of four overs to Stokes and Jake Ball respectively. In the end, the unbeaten partnership of 38 runs between Hardik Pandya and Ravichandran Ashwin was enough as India crossed the winning line with 3 wickets in hand and 11 balls to spare.
Kedar Jadhav was adjudged the Man of the Match for his fast paced 120 runs off 76 runs.
The next match of the series is scheduled to be played at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on 19th January.
