Mon 16 Jan 2017, 10:33:14

Kedar Jadhav and commander-in-chief Virat Kohli orchestrated a sensational chase with sizzling centuries as India stunned England in the first one-day international here on Sunday.

Joining forces with India reduced to 63/4 in 11.5 overs while chasing a mammoth target of 351, Jadhav (120, 76b, 12x4, 4x6) and Kohli (122, 105b, 8x4, 5x6) forged a breath-taking counter-attacking 200-run alliance to power India to a rousing three-wicket win at a packed Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

It’s not often that a batsman outplays the irrepressible Kohli in a high-speed chase but the 31-year-old Jadhav, fighting for a permanent place in the side, played a cracking innings to walk away with all the plaudits.

Right from the time when he walked in with India staring down the barrel, Jadhav batted with his foot always on the pedal and rarely lifted it as the England bowlers watched the mayhem unfold in front of them with utter disbelief.

Jadhav destroyed England bowlers with some courageous hitting that allowed Kohli to settle in at the start and then open his shoulders in a match-winning partnership.In fact both Jadhav and Kohli, despite knowing their’s was the last known alliance left, kept finding the boundaries at regular intervals, ensuring the required run rate never crept above the danger level. While they did take fair amount of risks on a flatbed of a surface, they also played some jaw-dropping shots as the fans got their money’s worth.

They hardly allowed any bowler to settle into any sort of rhythm and with the pitch allowing one the freedom to swing through the line, they just kept chugging along at brisk pace. And when Kohli brought up his 27th ODI century — 17th in a chase — one began to believe India could actually surpass England.

However, England were handed a lifeline as Kohli perished while trying to heave Ben Stokes. For once, the Delhiite failed to be at the end of a chase and with 88 needed from 82 balls, India still had plenty of work to do.Despite losing his skipper, Jadhav continued to play the big shots as India marched closer towards victory. But he too fell soon after to leave the tail with the onerous task of completing the job. Hardik Padya then played a fine cameo, hitting a 37-ball 40 as India ended up with 356/7 with 11 balls to spare.

Earlier, riding on the explosive start provided by Jason Roy (73, 61b, 12x4), Joe Root’s (78, 95b, 4x4, 1x6) patient anchoring in the middle and a destructive finish from Ben Stokes (62, 40b, 2x4, 5x6), England posted their highest ODI total — 350/7 — against India to set themselves up nicely.

Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, the heroics of Roy and Root at the beginning and middle phases respectively

kept England steady at around six runs per over. Stokes then opened his shoulders in brutal fashion towards the end as England collected a whopping 105 runs in the final eight overs to propel themselves to a formidable total.

The match too looked well in their grasp by the end of the 12th over of the Indian innings as Shikhar Dhawan, K L Rahul, Yuvraj Singh and M S Dhoni all returned to the pavilion without making significant contributions. But the hosts found their saviours in Kohli and Jadhav as they scripted a famous win.

score board

ENGLAND

Roy st Dhoni b Jadeja 73
(61b, 12x4)
Hales (run out) 9
(18b, 1x4)
Root c Pandya b Bumrah 78
(95b, 4x4, 1x6)
Morgan c Dhoni b Pandya 28
(26b, 2x4)
Buttler c Dhawan b Pandya 31
(36b, 1x4, 2x6)
Stokes c Umesh b Bumrah 62
(40b, 2x4, 5x6)
Ali b Umesh 28
(17b, 3x4, 1x6)
Woakes (not out) 9
(6b, 1x4)
Willey (not out) 10
(5b, 1x6)
Extras (B-1, LB-11, W-6, NB-4) 22
Total (for 7 wkts, 50 overs) 350
Fall of wickets: 1-39 (Hales), 2-108 (Roy), 3-157 (Morgan), 4-220 (Buttler), 5-244 (Root), 6-317 (Stokes), 7-336 (Ali).

Bowling: Umesh 7-0-63-1 (nb-1, w-3), Pandya 9-0-46-2, Bumrah 10-0-79-2 (nb-3, w-1), Jadeja 10-0-50-1, Ashwin 8-0-63-0 (w-2), Jadhav 4-0-23-0, Yuvraj 2-0-14-0.

INDIA

Rahul b Willey 8
(18b, 1x4)
Dhawan c Ali b Willey 1
(10b)
Kohli c Willey b Stokes 122
(105b, 8x4, 5x6)
Yuvraj c Buttler b Stokes 15
(12b, 2x4, 1x6)
Dhoni c Willey b Ball 6
(6b, 1x4)
Jadhav c Stokes b Ball 120
(76b, 12x4, 4x6)
Pandya (not out) 40
(37b, 3x4, 1x6)
Jadeja c Rashid b Ball 13
(15b, 2x4)
Ashwin (not out) 15
(10b, 1x6)
Extras (B-1, LB-4, W-11) 16
Total (for 7 wkts, 48.1 overs) .........356
Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Dhawan), 2-24 (Rahul), 3-56 (Yuvraj), 4-63 (Dhoni), 5-263 (Kohli), 6-291 (Jadhav), 7-318 (Jadeja). Bowling: Woakes 8-0-44-0 (w-2), Willey 6-0-47-2 (w-3), Ball 10-0-67-3 (w-4), Stokes 10-0-73-2 (w-2), Rashid 5-0-50-0, Ali 6.1-0-48-0, Root 3-0-22-0.