New Delhi, July 15: In the first ODI match, England faced a 6-wicket defeat against India. Captain Harry Brook acknowledged that losing five wickets for just 20 runs in the middle overs severely impacted the team’s performance.
After the match held at Edgbaston in Birmingham, Brook stated, “Clearly, this is not a good start. We lost five wickets for 20 runs in the middle overs, which put us on the back foot. However, I felt the way the players fought back and tried to bring us back into the game with the ball was impressive. We reached a decent total that could have been defended. Nevertheless, all players made a commendable effort.”
He added, “Yes, losing five wickets for 20 runs is never ideal. We definitely wanted to perform better during that phase of the match. However, as I mentioned, scoring 260 runs and the way Joe Root and Liam Dawson batted was fantastic. Their partnership, along with some crucial contributions from others, helped us.”
When asked if a target of 259 runs was defendable, Brook responded, “We felt there was a significant change in the pitch. It became a bit slower, allowing them to play comfortably. They only needed 5-6 runs per over. Yes, during the break, we thought if the pitch remained the same, our score would have been sufficient.”
Batting first, England was all out for 258 runs in 47.5 overs. Joe Root was the top scorer with 76 runs, while Liam Dawson contributed 68 runs. However, the Indian team successfully chased down the target of 259 runs in just 45.2 overs, losing only 4 wickets. Captain Shubman Gill remained unbeaten at 80 runs, while Washington Sundar (52 not out) and Axar Patel (57 not out) also played significant innings.
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