On Thursday, at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, Rohit completely flopped. He returned to the pavilion after scoring just 2 runs off 7 balls. He was caught by Liam Livingstone off the bowling of England’s fast bowler Saqib Mahmood. In his last 16 innings across all three formats, Rohit has scored 166 runs at a poor average of 10.37. During this period, Rohit scored 6, 5, 23, 8, 2, 52, 0, 8, 18, 11, 3, 6, 10, 3, 9, and 2 runs. He only managed to score 20 or more runs only twice in those 16 innings.
Talking about the match, India defeated England by four wickets with 68 balls to spare, thanks to excellent bowling from Ravindra Jadeja (3 wickets) and Harshit Rana (3 wickets), and half-centuries from Shubman Gill (87), Axar Patel (52), and Shreyas Iyer (59). With this win, India has taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
India’s innings started poorly, losing two wickets for just 19 runs in response to England’s 248. Captain Rohit Sharma (2) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) were dismissed. Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer then steadied the innings, putting on a 94-run partnership for the third wicket. This partnership was broken in the 16th over when Jacob Bethell bowled Iyer LBW. Shreyas Iyer played a knock of 59 runs off 36 balls, including nine fours and two sixes.
Axar Patel then joined Gill and the pair added a strong 108-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Adil Rashid broke this partnership in the 34th over, bowling Axar Patel. Axar Patel scored 52 runs off 47 balls, including six fours and a six.
Adil Rashid then dismissed KL Rahul (2) caught off his own bowling, giving India their fifth blow. Saqib Mahmood then dealt a major blow to India, dismissing Shubman Gill (87), who was caught by Buttler, as he was nearing a century. Gill played a crucial innings of 87 runs off 96 balls, including 14 fours. India reached 251 for 6 in 38.4 overs, winning the match by four wickets. Ravindra Jadeja (12) and Hardik Pandya (9) remained unbeaten. Jadeja hit the winning boundary off Saqib Mahmood’s bowling.
For England, Saqib Mahmood and Adil Rashid took two wickets each. Jofra Archer and Jacob Bethell took one wicket each. Earlier today, at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first. England’s opening pair of Phil Salt and Ben Duckett made a brilliant start, putting on a 75-run partnership for the first wicket.
In the ninth over, wicketkeeper KL Rahul ran out Phil Salt, giving India their first breakthrough. Phil Salt scored 43 runs off 26 balls, including five fours and three sixes. In the very next over, Harshit Rana dismissed Ben Duckett (32), giving England their second blow. In the same over, Harshit Rana dismissed Harry Brook (0), giving India their third success.
In the 19th over, Ravindra Jadeja bowled Joe Root (19). In the 36th over, Harshit Rana had Liam Livingstone (5) caught by wicketkeeper KL Rahul, giving India their sixth success. In the 40th over, Mohammed Shami dismissed Brydon Carse (5). In the 43rd over, Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Jacob Bethell (51), shattering England’s hopes of a big score.
Jadeja bowled Adil Rashid (8), giving England their ninth blow. In the fourth ball of the 48th over, Kuldeep Yadav had Saqib Mahmood (2) caught by wicketkeeper KL Rahul, ending England’s innings. Thanks to fighting knocks from captain Jos Buttler (52), Jacob Bethell (51), and Phil Salt (43), England managed to reach 248. Jofra Archer remained unbeaten on 21. For India, Harshit Rana and Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets each. Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, and Kuldeep Yadav took one wicket each.
