That's all from the opening ODI of the series! After being outplayed in the T20I leg, India have responded in emphatic fashion, registering their first victory of the tour with a clinical performance to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
The action now shifts to Cardiff for the second ODI on Thursday, a day-night encounter that has suddenly become a must-win game for England. The hosts will need to bounce back strongly to level the series, while India will be eyeing another victory to seal the series with a game to spare.
For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Dev Rajawat who, along with scorer/analyst Raju Khariya, statistician Aman & helping hand AkshayaKrishna Polya brought all the updates of this clash. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋
Shubman Gill (India Captain): (On India's winning start to the ODI series) "Definitely, it's the perfect start. When you see your middle order and lower order scoring runs and finishing the game for the team, it gives you a lot of confidence as a captain and as a top-order batter.
(On wanting to bowl first) It was more about our combination. We have a relatively young bowling attack, while our batting is more experienced. We wanted to bowl first because, even if we had to chase a score around 320, we backed our batting line-up to get the job done.
(On what pleased him most about the team's performance) I was really pleased with the way we bowled in the middle overs. We bowled in the right areas early on when the ball was doing a bit. Although they put us under pressure towards the end of the powerplay, I thought the way we bounced back and took those five wickets was outstanding.
(On experimenting ahead of the 2027 World Cup) We'll try different combinations throughout the series and see which gives us the best balance in both batting and bowling. The conditions here are quite similar to what we might expect in South Africa. The new ball wasn't easy to face, but the wicket settled down later. It's a good opportunity for us to test different combinations in these conditions."
Harry Brook (England Captain): "(Today's performance from the team) Um, not ideal. Obviously we lost 5 wickets for 20 in that middle period which would obviously put us on the back foot. I thought we made a strong fightback there with the bat and also tried to strike with the ball. Our efforts were phenomenal. We thought we could defend that score. It was a great effort from the lads.
(Is there anything that he would like to change whether it's the toss decision or the batting approach) Yeah, obviously, losing 5 for 20 is never ideal. We would've definitely liked to play slightly better in that period. Like I said, getting 260 on the board, getting that partnership was a great effort from Rooty and Dawson.
(Thoughts during the innings break) Well, we thought that the pitch changed during the second innings. It got a little bit slower which allowed them to cruise along really. The required to get 5-6 runs an over. At the break we thought that we might have got enough had the pitch stayed the same.
(Is he happy with the balance of the side?) We try to make selections based on the pitch and obviously, we had managed to get a few more runs over there, our spinners might have managed to take them down. It comes back to that 5 for 20 which wasn't ideal. In our day, if we had 320 or 330 then our spinners would've played a massive part.
(Quick turnaround to Thursday for the 2nd ODI) We get to Cardiff. We will have a look at the pitch and then we will make a decision regarding our team. We will look to comeback stronger."
Axar Patel (Player of the Match): (On India's winning start to the ODI series) "It's the perfect start to the series. The T20 series didn't go well, so I'm very happy with the way I performed today.
(On his four-wicket haul) I thought I needed to bowl in the right areas, keep it tight, and attack the stumps. I did exactly what I wanted to do, and I'm happy that I ended up with four wickets.
(On India's batting approach after being four wickets down) We got a very good start, and after that we knew we were ahead of the game. The plan was to rotate the strike, build partnerships, and finish the chase well.
(On his partnership with Washington Sundar) When I came in, Sundar was already at the crease. We had lost a couple of wickets, so we knew we had to build a partnership first. We decided that after four or five overs we would assess the situation again. Since we had such a good start, it was about staying ahead of the game, building the partnership, and finishing the match."
Player of the Match: Axar Patel
11:25 PM IST & 6:55 PM Local Time: Time for the Post-Match Presentation!
Players to score 50+ runs and take 4+ wickets in an ODI Match (Batting & Bowling at Number 6 or lower):
Maurice Odumbe (Kenya) vs Bangladesh, Johannesburg, 2003 (52* & 4/38)
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) vs Sri Lanka, Sharjah, 2011 (75 & 5/35)
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) vs West Indies, Providence, 2013 (76 & 7/12)
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) vs Ireland, Belfast, 2016 (60* & 4/21)
Chris Greaves (Scotland) vs Sri Lanka, Bulawayo, 2023 (56* & 4/32)
Axar Patel (India) vs England, Birmingham, 2026 (57* & 4/62), This Match*
NUMBERS GAME: 52* is the highest individual score for Washington Sundar in ODIs. The previous one was 51 vs New Zealand, Christchurch in 2022
Highest Individual Scores for Axar Patel in ODIs:
64* vs West Indies, Port of Spain, 2022
57* vs England, Birmingham, 2026, Today*
56 vs Bangladesh, Mirpur, 2022
52 vs England, Nagpur, 2025
STAT ATTACK: England had won their previous seven ODIs at Birmingham after their last defeat to India at the venue in 2014. That streak came to an end today as India beat England at Birmingham for the first time in 12 years.