India’s batting might crushes England in Orange City

Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer shine as India defeats England in ICC Champions Trophy preparation match.

Shubman Gill (87, 96b, 14x4) and Shreyas Iyer (59, 36b, 9x4, 2x6) ensured India kickstarted its ICC Champions Trophy preparation on the right note, guiding the side to a comfortable four-wicket win over England in the first one-day international at the VCA Stadium here on Thursday.

In front of a packed house, the duo put on a stellar display of free-flowing strokeplay, sending the English bowlers on a leather hunt. Their 94-run alliance off 64 balls for the third wicket ensured the host chased down a target of 249 in the 39th over.

Earlier, a disciplined bowling performance led by debutant pacer Harshit Rana (three for 53) and Ravindra Jadeja (three for 26) - playing his first ODI since November 2023 - helped the home team bundle England out for 248.

In reply, India started poorly when Yashasvi Jaiswal, making his debut and skipper Rohit Sharma, fell cheaply.

However, Shreyas came out guns blazing and took on the English pacers who attempted to pepper him with short-pitched deliveries. After flicking Saqib Mahmood to get going, the Mumbai batter pulled and ramped Jofra Archer for consecutive maximums to signal his intentions in the seventh over.

The 30-year-old then carved Brydon Carse for three boundaries, two through square on the off-side, followed by an exquisite cover drive to help his side race to 71 for two in 10 overs.

At the other end, Gill was not to be left behind and punished the English pacers’ unidimensional plan of trying to bang it in short by deploying his trademark short-arm jab pulls without any risk.