Jos Buttler was left to rue England’s inability to press home their advantages once again after a comedic run-out sparked another batting collapse against India.
Although the final margin of England’s 14th defeat in 21 one-day internationals stretching back to the start of the World Cup here 16 months ago was limited to four wickets, it was the sacrifice of Phil Salt as early as the ninth over that altered the course of the contest.
England had raced to 75 at that stage, yet minutes later they were 77 for three. And when Joe Root’s first innings of this tour ended in the 19th over, they were 111 for four, on a scramble towards 248 – the target India set them in the fifth and final Twenty20 last weekend.
With the ball turning appreciably in the latter stages of India’s successful four-wicket chase, had Salt and Ben Duckett remained together for another half-dozen overs, it might just have been the difference between winning and losing.
‘We really had the momentum at that point and absolutely once we’ve got it, we need to continue to keep putting the opposition under pressure for longer,’ England captain Buttler said.
‘I think that’s been the story for us so far – how can we keep that momentum going for a bit longer when we’ve got it? And when we’ve got it, hold on to it.’
Jos Buttler was left ruing England’s latest batting collapse as they lost the first ODI to India
Another runout – this time of Phil Salt – triggered the collapse after a fast England start
Jofra Archer, defying a cut to his bowling hand, was rewarded for a high-quality new ball spell but could not do enough
Indeed, there were a couple of pinch points in the Twenty20 series between the two countries before England were consigned to a 4-1 reverse: in Chennai, India still needed 20 runs when their eighth wicket fell while in Pune, Harry Brook seemed in full charge of the chase when he succumbed immediately after passing 50.
Things had been gong so well here, after Buttler won his third toss in a row and perhaps having learned a lesson from the 2023 tournament – when his England players frazzled in the Maharashtra heat, allowing South Africa to set them a notional 400-run target – batted.
Salt silenced the 40,000 crowd by doubling the five-over score of 26 in the next over, flaying three sixes and two fours off fast bowler Harshit Rana, but a maddening communication breakdown from England’s opening partnership saw Shreyas Iyer slide to prevent a boundary and return over the top of the stumps as Salt hurtled back for a third run and Duckett remained motionless at the non-striker’s end.
Withdrawn from the attack with figures of 3-1-37-0, Harshit returned, taking the second of three wickets for two runs in eight balls when fellow one-day international debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal held a spectacular, over-the-shoulder catch to dismiss Duckett and the chaos continued when Brook gloved one down the leg side for a second-ball duck.
Twin half-centuries for Buttler and Jacob Bethell realigned the innings, but the early clatter contributed to the tourists being dismissed by another spin-heavy Indian attack with 14 balls unused.
India wheeled out a completely different batting unit for a series acting as a warm-up for the Champions Trophy, although a right knee injury incurred in training less than 24 hours earlier meant Virat Kohli, arguably the best 50-over player of all time, withdrew, allowing Jaiswal the chance to torment England just as he had in last year’s Test series.
He did not take it, however, as Jofra Archer, defying a cut to his bowling hand, was rewarded for a high-quality new ball spell with an edge behind.
When India captain Rohit Sharma miscued off Saqib Mahmood, England had removed both openers with the score on 19.
Buttler’s side have now lost 14 of their last 21 ODIs going back to their dismal World Cup run
India, meanwhile, recorded another victory on the back of their Twenty20 series victory
‘At that point the game’s in the balance again, if we could have found a way to take a wicket there,’ said Buttler.
However, Shreyas Iyer responded to Buttler posting himself at short leg by launching a savage counter-attack, beginning with successive sixes off Archer and worth 59 off 36 deliveries when left-armer Bethell pinned him leg before.
Three late strikes, including Shubman Gill for a classy 87, could not distort the fact there were still 11.2 overs in hand when Ravindra Jadeja squirted a four through wicketketkeeper Salt’s grasp, reminding England of the need to seize their moments if they are to beat the world’s number one team in their own backyard.
