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England frittered away a fine start in Nagpur to be 248 all out and India chased down the total with nearly 12 overs to spare.
England trail 0-1 in the three-match series. (BCCI Photo)
Since the end of 2023 World Cup, England have played 12 ODIs and have won just four of them while losing the remaining. During this period, they have lost three series in the format – twice against West Indies and once to Australia. Currently, they are on white-ball tour of India ahead of the Champions Trophy and have lost five of the six (five T20Is and an ODI) matches played so far.
On Thursday, England looked set for a mammoth total during the first ODI against India in Nagpur after opting to bat first. Phil Salt and Ben Duckett had added 75 runs in just 8.4 overs before their inning unraveled and the 2019 world champions were bowled out for 248 in 47.4 overs.
For all their batting might, England haven’t been able to utilise batting friendly conditions to the hilt, often ending up with below par totals in across formats.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra has pointed out how the Jos Buttler-led side hasn’t been making full use of the good batting condition of late.
“By the way, how poor is English batting. Last three tours. Across three formats. Got bowled out 19 out of 25 innings that they’ve batted. And were 9-down in the remaining 6 innings. On good batting surfaces. I don’t know about Bazball…the fact is that they haven’t been able to spot the ball much lately,” Chopra posted on X.
By the way, how poor is English batting. Last three tours. Across three formats. Got bowled out 19 out of 25 innings that they’ve batted. And were 9-down in the remaining 6 innings. On good batting surfaces.I don’t know about Bazball…the fact is that they haven’t been able to…— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 6, 2025
After the defeat in Nagpur, Buttler acknowledged his team were 40-50 runs short of what could’ve proved to be a challenging target for India.
“Disappointed not to win the game. We got off to a fantastic start in the powerplay, but we lost wickets. Another 40-50 runs could have been handy with the way the wicket played towards the end…We have to play better for longer,” Buttler said.
England have two more chances to improve their batting display before the Champions Trophy gets underway later this month.
- Location :
Nagpur, India, India
