Skipper Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav hit blistering centuries to help India chase down 350 and stun England by three wickets in the first one-day international in Pune on Sunday.
Kohli (122), who was leadingaa the limited overs side for the first time, and Jadhav (120) put on 200 runs for the fifth wicket as India achieved the target with 11 balls to spare.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya kept his nerves to take India home with his unbeaten 40 off 37 deliveries, hitting a huge six to finish off the match in style.
Earlier put into bat, England posted their highest-ever ODI total against the hosts in India, 350-7, with Jason Roy (73), Joe Root (78) and Ben Stokes (62) scoring half-centuries.
In their reply India were tottering at 63 for four when Kohli and Jadhav combined forces for a blazing counter attack that caught the England team unawares.
The 28-year-old skipper lived up to his epithet of Clinical Pakistan level series with six-wicket win’King Kohli’ as he smashed 8 fours and 5 sixes during his 105-ball stay at the crease.
The star batsman, who brought up his 27th ODI hundred with a six off Chris Woakes, batted with purpose to bring alive a capacity crowd at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium.
However, it was the lesser known Jadhav, who was the aggressor in the partnership putting the England attack to the sword.
Jadhav, who recorded his second ODI ton in just his 13th game, hit 12 fours and 4 sixes in his 76-ball knock.
- India pulled off the joint-third-highest run chase of all time, their joint second best and the largest by anyone against England.
- This is the fastest successful chase of a total of more than 350 in ODI history. No score in excess of 350 has ever been chased inside 49 overs.
- Since the beginning of 2016, Virat Kohli has played 11 ODI innings, scoring four hundreds and four half-centuries, averaging 95.66 with a strike-rate of 102.01.
- Ben Stokes’ 33-ball fifty beat the 25-ball efforts of Andrew Flintoff and Owais Shah to become the fastest by an England batsman against India.
- The 105 added by England in the final eight overs of the innings is their second highest in an away ODI.
- Joe Root has passed 50 in six of his past eight ODI innings and has made nine 50-plus scores in his past 15 innings.
