The first ODI between India and England of the three-match series got underway at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on February 6, 2025. England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bat first.
India gave ODI debuts to Yashasvi Jaiswal, who replaced the injured Virat Kohli in the India XI, and pacer Harshit Rana, who partnered Mohammad Shami in the pacer department.
England opened with Phil Salt and Ben Duckett and the duo played out a few quiet overs to gauge the pace and bounce of the pitch. But then Duckett opened up and hit Shami for two fours in the 5th over and then Salt hammered 3 sixes and 2 fours, taking 26 runs on Harshit Rana in the 6th over.
Salt and Duckett continued the assault as Axar Patel was hit for three fours in an over and England sat pretty on 75 runs in the 9th over when they lost the first wicket.
Salt had hit a Hardik Pandya delivery past the backward point. After taking two runs, Salt wanted a third as well, but poor calling led to him being stranded in the middle. Shreyas Iyer, who chased the ball, made a perfect throw to keeper KL Rahul, who broke the stumps to give India their first wicket.
Phil Salt was dismissed run out for 43 in 26 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes.
In the next over, Harshit Rana took his first ODI wicket, as Ben Duckett mistimed a pull shot off a hard length ball. The ball went into the sky and Yashasvi Jaiswal ran back from mid-wicket to complete a well-judged, diving catch to send Duckett back. The left-hander had made 32 in 29 balls with 6 fours, leaving England 77/2.
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