England vs India 2018,1st ODI: 3 Heroes of the Match
What a start the highly anticipated ODI series has gotten off to. India had a weakened pace attack, with Bhuvneswar Kumar out of the game injured and Jasprit Bumrah out of the series due to injury as well, and playing in a stadium that has a reputation for being a happy hunting ground for English batsmen, there were fears that the Indian attack would be dispatched.
England also lost Alex Hales, who has a particularly prolific record in Trent Bridge but the odds were still in their favour to make a huge score.
It was not to be, however, as an inspired bowling showcase by Kuldeep Yadav and a clinical chase by the Indian top order, during which England never seemed to have the upper hand, gave India the win in a much more dominant fashion than was expected going into the game.
These players, however, had the greatest impact in the game:
#1 Kuldeep Yadav
Dropping Kuldeep for the last T20I raised a lot of eyebrows and birthed a lot of theories as to the reason why it was done. One of the arguments was that he was being held back to preserve the mystery around his bowling, and if that was the case that sure has paid off for India.
Kuldeep was easily the pick of the Indian bowlers and he almost singlehandedly dismantled the English top and middle order. The England batsmen seemed to have a better idea of playing him in the second T20I, but Kuldeep managed to get the better of them tonight.
With astonishing figures of 6/25 in his 10 overs, this was a night to remember for Kuldeep as he broke numerous records. Some of the most notable ones are that that was the:
- Best figures by a left-arm spinner in ODIs
- Best figures by any spinner in ODIs in England
- Best figures by any spinner against England in ODIs
Thanks largely to his performance, at the end of the first innings it seemed India were set up for a comfortable chase.