India vs England: Kuldeep Yadav, Rohit Sharma's heroics power visitors to 8-wicket win in ODI series opener

Nottingham: Kuldeep Yadav took six wickets as India overpowered England in the first one-day international at Trent Bridge on Thursday. The left-arm wrist-spinner returned career-best ODI figures of six for 25 as England were dismissed for a mere 268 after India captain Virat Kohli sent them into bat. [caption id=“attachment_4729531” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] India’s Kuldeep Yadav (2nd R) celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of England’s Jonny Bairstow. AFP[/caption] Rohit Sharma, to the delight of thousands of India fans in a sun-drenched capacity crowd of over 17,000, then made a century as the tourists won by eight wickets with a mammoth 59 balls to spare. Sharma was 137 not out, after putting on 167 for the second wicket with Kohli (75) as India went 1-0 up in a three-match series that continues at Lord’s on Saturday. It was all a far cry from the 19 June ODI at Trent Bridge where England compiled a men’s ODI record total of 481 for six in a 242-run win over Australia during a 5-0 series rout of their arch-rivals. Top three fall to Kuldeep After Kuldeep had run through England’s top order with a burst of three wickets for five runs in 10 balls, Ben Stokes (50) and Jos Buttler (53) shared a fifth-wicket stand of 93. But neither could break the shackles and both fell to Kuldeep, who was just the third overseas spinner to take five wickets in an ODI in England after Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan (five for 34 at Lord’s in 1998) and India’s Suraj Randiv (five for 42 at Old Trafford in 2011). Kuldeep’s return was also the best by any spinner against England in ODI cricket. England, in the absence of the injured Alex Hales, saw openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow put on a brisk 73. But the introduction of Kuldeep for the 11th over changed the course of the match. It took Kuldeep, a thorn in England’s side during India’s 2-1 win in the preceding Twenty20 series, just two balls to strike. Roy (38), attempting an ambitious reverse sweep, gave a dolly catch to Umesh Yadav. Test captain Joe Root, in the team after being left out of the side that lost the third T20, then played back to Kuldeep and was plumb lbw for three. Bairstow, who would have been lbw for a duck in the first over had India reviewed an lbw appeal from Umesh, made an attractive 38 before he was lbw to Kuldeep — on review. England captain Eoin Morgan (19) then carelessly chipped leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to midwicket. Stokes and Buttler staunched the flow of wickets, with Buttler first to his fifty, off 45 balls. But with England hoping he would cut loose, Buttler’s glance off Kuldeep was well caught down the legside by wicket-keeper MS Dhoni. The normally hard-hitting Stokes then completed a fifty off a sedate 102 balls, including just two fours. Stokes was also unable to press on. One ball after reaching his fifty, the left-hander tried to reverse sweep Kuldeep only for debutant Siddarth Kaul to hold an excellent catch. Kuldeep, who did not concede a boundary in his maximum 10 overs, struck again with his final delivery when David Willey holed out to KL Rahul. After Shikhar Dhawan (40), sliced leg-spinner Adil Rashid to short third man, Sharma and Kohli kept the boundaries coming during a stand spanning 25 overs. Sharma, dropped on 92 by a diving Roy at backward point off fast bowler Liam Plunkett, completed an 82-ball hundred — his 18th at this level — when he drove Rashid for six. Kohli, surprisingly, didn’t reach three figures too and was instead stumped by Buttler off Rashid – but by then India had all but won the game.