Jasprit Bumrah’s wizardry, Axar Patel’s hand durability India’s first win on UK tour

It took the return of Jasprit Bumrah to hand India their first win on the UK tour. Playing his first 50-over match since the 2023 ODI World Cup final, India’s star fast bowler completely changed the mood of the tour as India won by 6 wickets in the first ODI of the series in Birmingham.

Some fiery fast bowling, led by Jasprit Bumrah, saw India trigger a mini-collapse in England’s batting order. The hosts recovered to post 258 runs but it was just not enough to stop a reworked Indian team that had the services of Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul among others.

It was a huge relief for coach Gautam Gambhir, who was left clueless during India’s 0-6 collapse against Ireland and England in the T20I series. Bumrah set the tone with a sensational opening spell after India opted to bowl first in Birmingham.

England vs India, 1st ODI: Update

England started their innings with two aggressive batsmen, the regular Ben Duckett and the experimental Jacob Bethell. Both struggled with Bumrah’s swing in the opening overs on Tuesday, with many plays and errors in the first 10 overs.

Bumrah was unable to find a breakthrough in the first 10 overs but rocked the English openers with the quality of fast bowling he displayed. The cracks appeared just before the over when Shubman Gill brought in fast bowler Gurnoor Brar in the 13th over of the game.

Brar was taken to the cleaners by Bethell and Duckett, who scored 26 of England’s first 51 runs in their opening spell.

With the field spread out, Shubman trusted his gut and brought back his childhood friend in hopes of a breakthrough. The 6ft 5in fast bowler struck immediately, dismissing both openers with short balls.

Bethell went first. Against a rising delivery, he managed to find Washington Sundar at deep mid-wicket. Two balls later, Duckett succumbed to a sensational catch by Jasprit Bumrah on the edge of the third-man rope.

In a sensational captain’s spell, Shubman brought back Bumrah immediately after the breakthrough and the impact was once again immediate. England captain Harry Brook, who terrorized India’s bowling unit in the T20I series, was unable to figure out Bumrah’s angles and ended up getting caught at slip to hand India three quick wickets.

Shaken by three quick wickets, England collapsed completely. Prasidh Krishna struck twice in the 17th over to send back Jose Buttler and Sam Curran to seal the fate of the English team.

The home side, unbeaten in the last week, surrendered in the 20th over in the first ODI.

After being 51/0 in 10 overs, England collapsed to 93/5 by the 20th over.

AXAR STARTS BACK SHIFT

Just when it looked like India would soon clean England up, veteran Joe Root put together a heroic stand with Liam Dawson for the seventh wicket. Root and Dawson added 121 runs, the seventh highest wicket between England and India.

The stand helped England not only stabilize their innings but also attack India in the death overs. India looked frustrated and at a loss as to how to dismiss the duo, but remained patient and turned on for a chance to arrive.

That moment came in the 44th over. Dawson went hard at Axar Patel off the last ball of the over, only to hit the shot and end up caught at deep backward square leg. Rohit Sharma, a veteran of 285 ODIs, made no mistake when the ball came his way.

Dawson’s wicket sparked another collapse for England, who were looking for quick runs and were eventually bowled out for 258 in the 48th over of the match.

Axar Patel, who started the collapse with Dawson’s wicket, ended the innings with three more wickets to his name.

It was an important match with the ball, given that he was dismantled in his previous game, the last T20I of the series.

SHUBMAN GILL STARS IN INDIA’S CHASE

Could it ever be a chase without India making it difficult? Probably not.

England struck on a pitch with a slight variable bounce with the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Thousands of people who had come to see two of the greatest batsmen of this generation, perhaps for the last time on this ground, left disappointed.

Rohit couldn’t really counter the bounce on the field, eventually falling to Sam Curran in the eighth over. Frustrated after defending several deliveries, Rohit tried to take on England’s slowest pacer, but at mid-off he delivered the ball straight to Harry Brook.

England captain Brook sensed an opportunity and brought back his best bowler, Jofra Archer, in the next over, just as Shubman had done with Bumrah earlier in the innings.

Again, the result was immediate. Archer set up Kohli with a short ball before sliding into a fuller delivery. The ball hit Kohli on the pads and ended his innings which lasted just six balls.

Shubman and his vice-captain Shreyas Iyer added 101 runs as they batted on a pitch that loosened up in terms of swing but still offered a bit of variable bounce.

The partnership left England begging for a wicket that just didn’t come.

The rebuilding effort involved plenty of running between the wickets from both batsmen, with Shreyas Iyer relying heavily on the strike rotation as his primary scoring option.

Shubman was up for it, but it took a toll on his body. England got a rare sniff in the 26th over when Shubman limped off the field and left in pain due to cramps.

Shubman’s departure sparked a brief collapse in India, with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul losing their wickets in the next 10 balls.

A RESILIENT AXAR PATEL WILL LEAD INDIA

Things could have gone really badly for India after the fall of the two senior men. But Axar Patel calmly took the stage and led India to an impressive victory in the 1st ODI series.

After a horror T20I series, Axar scored 57* off 52 balls, soaking up the pressure first and then hitting a flurry of boundaries at the end to bowl India out in the 46th over.

India arrived in Birmingham with the baggage of a winless tour and a dressing room low on confidence. They left with something far more valuable than two points. Bumrah reminded everyone why he remains the best fast bowler in the world, Shubman anchored another successful chase with the maturity of a captain growing into the role and Axar Patel produced a calm finish.

One win won’t erase a miserable UK tour or answer every question that’s been raised over the past month. But after weeks of tactical confusion, constant chopping and changing, injuries and six consecutive defeats, Birmingham finally gave India something they were desperate for: belief that this team could find its identity again.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

14 Jul 2026 23:31 IST