India captain Shubman Gill lauded his middle order after a six-wicket win over England in the first ODI. Chasing 259, Gill hit 80 before retiring, while Axar Patel (57*) and Washington Sundar (52*) saw India home at Edgbaston.
India captain Shubman Gill praised his side’s middle order for steering the team to a six-wicket win over England in the first ODI, saying the performance gives confidence to both the batting unit and the leadership group.
Gill on batting depth and toss decision
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Gill said India’s experienced batting line-up allowed the team to back its decision to bowl first despite fielding a relatively young bowling attack. “When you see your middle order, lower middle order score runs like that and finish off the job for the team, you get a lot of confidence as a captain and as a top order batsman,” Gill said.
Explaining the decision at the toss, Gill said the move was based on the team’s combination rather than the pitch. “It was more about our combination. We have a youngish bowling attack, so our batting is still a bit more experienced than our bowling. We wanted to bowl first… even if there’s a target of 320, we back the kind of batting order that we have,” he said.
Praise for bowling effort
Gill also lauded India’s bowling effort in the middle overs, calling it the most pleasing aspect of the victory. “I think how we bowled in the middle overs was very pleasing. We bowled brilliantly well in the first six or seven overs. The ball was doing a bit, and we bowled the right areas. They got away a little at the end of the powerplay, but the way we bounced back and took those five wickets was very important,” he said.
Eye on 2027 World Cup
The Indian skipper said the team is using the ongoing series to experiment with combinations ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup. “We are really trying different combinations to see which kind of combination gives us the best depth in bowling and batting, in both departments,” Gill said.
He added that the conditions in England offered a useful opportunity to prepare for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa. “I think the wicket and the conditions were a bit similar to South Africa. It wasn’t easy for the batsmen with the new ball as it was doing a bit, but the wicket settled in nicely. If we can test different combinations on these kinds of wickets, it would be great for us,” Gill said.
How the match unfolded
India defeated England by six wickets in the first ODI at Edgbaston to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Chasing 259, captain Shubman Gill scored a fluent 80 before retiring hurt, while Axar Patel (57*), Washington Sundar (52*) and Shreyas Iyer (35) guided India to victory. Patel and Sundar’s unbeaten 102-run partnership sealed the chase with more than four overs to spare.
Axar, who also claimed four wickets to help bowl England out for 258, was named Player of the Match.
Joe Root (76*) and Liam Dawson (68) were England’s top scorers, while Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar took two wickets each for India.
The win was India’s sixth successive ODI victory over England and handed the hosts their first ODI defeat at Edgbaston since 2015. (ANI)
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