Well, that’s it from me. A great win for India and England now have to do what India did in the Test and T20 series, come from behind! The match report will follow, the next game is on Friday, thanks for all the emails and tweets, have a good evening.
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Kohli says it was an amazing effort from the bowlers and that’s he’s a proud man now. He says, we promote players who have intent, gives a special mention to Shikar and KL, back amongst the runs, back people to do a selfless job. Says there is a healthy competition for every slot, we have a big pool of players to chose from. Special mention to Dhawan his body language was amazing when he wasn’t playing, today made a very important contribution. I feel like these are going to be high-scoring games.
And Dhawan is the man of the match!
Eoin Morgan says England need to “upskill but losing like that is much better than losing by 10 or 20 runs. That’s the way we play. I think the game has always moved forward, technology, fitness levels, bats have moved the game forward, we need to push as much as we can, great to have the senior guys here and to reinforce that the method works for us. I thought the bowlers did an oustanding job, we were happy chasing 318.”
Nasser doesn’t think England were smart enough today. ERB says that Morgan and Billings were injured, but there was enough experience in that line up - they will be frustrated. You have to give credit to India, Kohli and his men feel they can win from any position. Dinesh Karthik says, yes this India think they can win from any situation, credit to the fast bowlers, yes some ordinary shots but the pressure they put on was brilliant. There are quite a few intense characters, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar can’t take a loss very well, Kohli leads with the bat and his body language.
A topsy-turvy game for England. We’re so used to them going big and intimidating the opposition into subservience, but India, as befits their status as No.2 in the world, weren’t having it. A smashing innings by Bairstow, that shouldn’t be forgotten, hope that’s bedded a few daemons, but a failure of fire-power in the middle order.
With the bat, India were methodical, then dynamic. Grand innings from Shikhar Dhawan, from Virat Kohli, from KL Rahul and debutant Krunal Pandya.
Peter Rowntree lets a final email flutter into the box: “Sorry to disappoint Brian, but the lack of turn is purely to do with aero-dynamics in Bogota, I am a wrist spinner, and not altogether believing that turn was impossible, tired every trick I knew and had to admit defeat. The only tricks a bowler is left with is to bowl line and length, and also to vary the angle of delivery, and of course the use of slower and quicker balls. But if he wants to come out here on a tour, he will be more than welcome cheap scotch at 5 pounds a bottle, plus the local firewater (aguadiente), makes for a pleasant passing of time on our terrace - but you will need to wait until the current Covid restrictions have been lifted. Because of the Brazilian variant all of Latin America is considered high-risk by European countries.”
“Then the Lawrence Booth tweet, suggesting England carried on with their stroke play as 135-0, in theory fine, but from what I saw the injuries to Morgan and Billings restricted both of them in terms of the shots they could play, and quite surprised that they did not alter their batting line-up to reflect this. Despite the great start, scoreboard pressure started to tell, simply because neither were able to play with their normal freedom.”
INDIA WIN BY 66 RUNS!
India take the first of the three match series, by a chasm. Smashing debuts by Prasidh, who finished with four wickets, and Krunal Pandya who grabbed a wicket to go alongside his memorable 58.
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WICKET! T Curran c Bhuvneshwar b Prasidh 11
Bhuvneshwar takes the catch from a Sam Curran skier, to end a smashing afternoon’s work, and that’s a mammoth win by India
42nd over: England 251-9 (Wood 2, T Curran 11) England need 318 to win Bhuvneshwar proves too good for England’s 10 and 11, who swing and miss.
“I enjoy the visceral spectacle of 20/20, but I have to say I prefer the longer short game,” mulls Julian Menz.
“A Pollock (not Graeme, Jackson see 20/20 cricket) is worthy of admiration, but we’ll always enjoy the post-impressionists. They pushed the borders (see 50-over cricket) without going fully abstract.
“Continuing with the art theme....Test cricket is like contemplating a Rothko while Dix is prodding you in the ribs. As much as I enjoy the shorter versions, I love test cricket.”
Could we simplify this to say T20 - felt tips; ODI - colour pencils; Test - oils?
41st over: England 248-9 (Wood 1, T Curran 9) England need 318 to win Curran T has a ping at Kuldeep and shovels him to the midwicket boundary.
David Procter writes from Cali:
“Re the comments I’ve just read about cricket in Colombia...I live in the tropical city of Cali and we’ve had a good set up for nearly 10 years now, thanks to David Muirhead who got it going again in 2011 and was involved in 2001/2002 as mentioned by Pete Rowntree, over 16. We now have annual tournaments and various meet ups every year against Bogotá (sometimes 2 clubs) and Medellín, and have received visiting teams from the USA too. It’s a predominantly expat atmosphere, but we’ve actually got a few talented, young Colombians in our group in Cali who were introduced to cricket by an ex-player from Guyana and one even represented Colombia in the South American Championships in Brazil in 2016. The hot, humid climate in Cali is very conducive to swing bowling we’ve found out!”
https://www.instagram.com/calicricketclubcolombia/
https://www.instagram.com/cricketcolombia/”
Fantasic!
40th over: England 243-9 (Wood 1, T Curran 4) England need 318 to win Bhuvneshwar now has 2 for 27 and England are down and out. Superb by India’s bowlers, who held their nerve despite England’s rollicking first 20 overs.
“Clear why England are collapsing in the middle,” says Pat. “Their middle batters eat up too many dot balls and erode the confidence of the batsman in form whose waiting!! And silly shots like Morgan’s, who had missed several head height balls before getting out to yet another one... they are much too blasé for their own good.”
To be fair to Morgan, that split webbing on his hand was probably giving him a bit of gyp.
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WICKET! Rashid c Rahul b Bhuvneshwar 0
Another wicket for the master! Rashid prods at a ball of full length and Rahul says thanks very much.
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39th over: England 240-8 (Rashid 0, T Curran 2) England need 318 to win In the England dugout, arms are folded.
WICKET! Sam Curran c Gill b Krunal
A chip from Curran travels not over the boundary but into the hands of Gill - the substitutes in the action today - Krunal saw his twitching feet and sensed what was coming.
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38th over: England 239-7 (S Curran 12, T Curran 1) England need 318 to win Bhuvneshwar really is on top of his game, after the wicket he bowls full at the Curran brothers, who can’t get him away. The pendulum swings again.
WICKET! Moeen c Rahul b Bhuvneshwar 30
Bootiful ball! Backspin, according to Dinesh Karthik, that flies off the shoulder of the bat and Moeen turns to watch it fall into Rahul’s gloves.
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37th over: England 237-6 (Curran 11, Moeen 30) England need 318 to win Krunal to Moeen, who chops into the pitch, then an old-magic wristy on drive for four, then wristy defence.
The target now a relatively leisurely 81 from 78 balls, but mind the wickets.
36th over: England 231-6 (Curran 10, Moeen 25) England need 318 to win Smashing shot from Sam Curran off Bhuvneshwar, he pulls a waist-high bouncer to the fence.
This England innings is bound to set tongues wagging. Should they have knocked it around from 135-0 in the 15th? Or were they right to do what they have done since 2015, and keep playing their shots? It's not served them too badly, after all...
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) March 23, 2021
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35th over: England 226-6 (Curran 5, Moeen 25) England need 318 to win Middle over perfection from Prasidh, leaking just three runs, he now has 3-54 from eight. This really feels like the calm before the storm. Moeen biding his time - don’t forget what a popular T20 pick he is round the world (if not by England)
Brian Withington writes:“Catching up after a long call I was intrigued to read from our man in Colombia (Peter Rowntree, over 16) that the altitude in Bogota is not conducive to either swing or spin. Whilst I can well imagine a very thin atmosphere constraining the likes of Jimmy Anderson with even the shiniest red cherry, would it really also hamper the wrist spin of an Adil Rashid? Or is there something about the Bogota wickets that Peter has not yet disclosed? Future tours are in the balance here ...”
34th over: England 223-6 (Curran 3, Moeen 24) England need 318 to win Krunal, huge diamond stud in his left ear, wheels his long arms and legs through a tidy over of his left-arm spin at about 60mph. Just a couple from it. Sky kindly show the run rate comparison, and England are still in front, but with two newish batsmen at the crease and not many wickets in hand.
33rd over: England 221-6 (Curran 2, Moeen 23) England need 318 to win On replay, you can see Billings’ bat twist in the air just as he plays the shot. What a shame for him, after such a long wait in the wings. Moeen plays a risky dab, picks up a couple, then substitute Gill misses what would have been a damn-cert run-out as Curran takes a risky single.
WICKET! Billings c Kohli b Prasidh 18
Billings drives straight into Kohli’s paws at cover and he’s not going to drop another one. Wicket pressure starting to take its toll.
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32nd over: England 216-5 (Billings 18, Moeen 21) England need 318 to win Kohli turns again to Krunal, who took a bit of a pasting earlier. Moeen and Billings can’t reach the boundary, but tick over easily enough.
31st over: England 212-5 (Billings 16, Moeen 19) England need 318 to win Oh that’s gorgeous from Moeen, he falls low on one knee and pulls out a wristy, sweep for four. Kuldeep beats him next ball but he retorts with another sweep in front of square for six. England need 106 from 114 balls
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30th over: England 199-5 (Billings 15, Moeen 8) England need 318 to win Krunal tickled for a few singles, as Billings and Moeen take the chance to breathe.
29th over: England 191-5 (Billings 9, Moeen 7) England need 318 to win Kuldeep, short, mop haired, long sleeves, keeps it tight until the final ball which Billings pulls square for four. The quietly fabulous Dinesh Karthik, translates some hindi on the pitch to tell us the ball is getting wet with dew.
After 30 overs India were 159 for 1.
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28th over: England 187-5 (Billings 7, Moeen 5) England need 318 to win Krunal, again improving with time, just a couple from the over as the rebuilding proves steady, red brick by red brick rather than huge concrete slabs.
“Just when you thought we were coasting to victory, England are perfectly capable of pressing the self-destruct button,”writes Colum Fordham.
“Let’s just hope that Moeen finds that flash of form in the second test when he hit the Indian attack for a merry 36. Hopefully, he’ll rediscover his sapped confidence as did KL Rahul for India, and score a match-winning innings.”
I hope so too!
“Interesting to read about the history of Mexican cricket. At least the Cornish pasty seems to have caught on.”
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27th over: England 185-5 (Billings 6, Moeen 4) England need 318 to win Thakur keeps his nerve and Moeen and Billings can only nurdle and nudge, Billings ducks under a helmet-skimmer.
“Hello Tanya!” “Hello Tim!” “The typo ‘Baristow’ has popped up a couple of times on today’s OBO. Is he meant to make frothy coffee, perhaps with a signature dusting of ginger, whilst simultaneously opening in ODIs, batting in the top order in Tests and T20s, whilst patrolling the cover boundary and keeping wicket ? This is gross mismanagement !
“It’s lovely to see him doing well though.”
Very good!
26th over: England 181-5 (Billings 3, Moeen 3) England need 318 to win Ooof, Moeen picks up two with an outside edge through where slip might have been. Five from Krunal’s over.
Good point from Gary Naylor. I think India are in experimenting mode though so maybe he’ll come back in the next two games.
Axar Patel can't get into this side @tjaldred?
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) March 23, 2021
25th over: England 176-5 (Billings 1, Moeen 0) England need 318 to win What was I saying? Quite the collapse there by England and we now have an injured Billings and rusty Moeen, who hasn’t played since the second Test in Chennai. A great chance for the spear carriers. And Thakur has 3-33 from his five overs.
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WICKET! Buttler lbw Thakur 2
The soft signal is out, Buttler reviews but it doesn’t look good ... and it’s not! One zipping in and catching him on the front pad and England’s happy-g0-lucky 169-2 has become 176-5.
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WICKET! Morgan c Rahul b THakur 22
Morgan and his split-webbing can’t cope with a bouncer, and he edges behind.
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24th over: England 175-3 (Morgan 22, Buttler 3) England need 318 to win Kohli brings back his trump card Bhuvneshwar and England can only nudge a pocketful of singles.
Oh dear, Robin Hazlehurst is cross with me: “’I can’t see England losing from here’. Aww bless, are you new to watching cricket? Top bit of jinxing mind, it’s gone rapidly pear-shaped since you wrote that. Fair to say I can’t see England winning from here?”
I know, I know, but I don’t judge this ODI team by usual England standards. England are still ahead of the rate....
23rd over: England 169-3 (Morgan 18, Buttler 0) England need 318 to win England faltering here but they’re still ahead of the game and they bat long, as they say. An excellent over from Thakur, just two from it and the main man gone. And a hearty backslap to Bairstow whose Test series went from bad to worse but was at his firey, fearless, best today.
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WICKET! Bairstow c Yadav b Thakur 94
Bairstow goes for the heave, trying to reach three fingers in style and it falls into the hands of Yadav at deep midwicket.. A brilliant innings 94 off just 66 balls.
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22nd over: England 169-2 (Morgan 18, Bairstow 94) England need 318 to win The pitch map shows Kuldeep lacking accuracy, but he restricts England here, no boundaries, just a handfuls of singles.
21st over: England 165-2 (Morgan 15, Bairstow 93) England need 318 to win Beautiful shot from Morgan, all velvety gorgeousness through the covers off Thakur for four. And the rebuild continues.
To the person who asked if this article was an April Fool… er, no. Can I point out that today is March 23? https://t.co/Gt5y3UvNlW
— Emma John (@em_john) March 23, 2021
20th over: England 157-2 (Morgan 9, Bairstow 91) England need 318 to win Kuldeep sends down a tension-lifter, wide and loose, and 12 comes from the over as Morgan helps himself to a full toss and Baristow sweeps to enter the nervous nineties.
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19th over: England 144-2 (Morgan 2, Bairstow 86) England need 318 to win Sadly distracted as I’ve spilt the coffee that was being kept warm under a tea cosy. A disappointing trip hazard. This feels very much like scene 2 after a raucous opening . If the first scene needed a musical backdrop l I’d chose Phantom of the Opera with it utterly ridiculous bombastic-ity.
“Any idea why India are playing in their exact 1992 shirt? asks Ian Forth. “Or why England have adopted the 1992 shirt but without the rainbow design across the shoulders (mandated by the ICC at the time)? It feels like we’re being sent signals in the manner of code from a Russian orchestra during the war, the sort of thing Alan Turing would be all over, but I’m struggling to unravel the significance.”
18th over: England 140-2 (Morgan 1, Bairstow 83) England need 318 to win A stitched up Morgan is uncharacteristically jumpy, unable to throw the long hammer at Kuldeep Yadav. I’d have thought a stitched-up hand would hurt. A lot. But maybe I’m just a wimp.
17th over: England 137-2 (Morgan 0, Bairstow 81) England need 318 to win Super over from Prasidh, who should have a third wicket after Kohli, of all people, put down a skittish Morgan at slip, unable to hold on as he falls to the ground with the ball. He then fails to run out Morgan who would have been out of his crease. He will want redemption with every pore of his body. And what calmness on debut from Prasidh, after being tonked by Bairstow in his first spell.
WICKET! Stokes c sub (Shubman Gill) b Prasidh 1
Easy catch at extra cover! And an out of sorts Stokes makes his slow way back.
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16th over: England 137-1 (Stokes 1, Bairstow 81) England need 318 to win The wicket has bought India some breathing space as a watchful Stokes plays out four balls from Kuldeep before grabbing a single off the last ball. He was on 0 for nine balls.
A note from Peter Rowntree. “Tim’s Parthian shot at the end of his commentary stint was to recommend Emma John’s article on cricket in Mexico. I had already read this before his plug, just before taking an early morning shower here.”
“Like Tim, I can thoroughly recommend it as a good read. I can also very much relate to the central message of her article inasmuch as when I first came to live in Colombia 20 years ago, I was actively involved with playing cricket in Bogota. At that time there were two cricket clubs in Colombia, one in Bogota and the other in Cali. In Bogota, the cricketing population largely comprised one or two staff from the British Embassy, a group of young teachers from the British Council and a a group of Indian lads working on some sort of contract for a firm here in Colombia. There were noticeably no Colombians. In a sense the majority of people that played were ‘Horsemen Riding By’, to the extent that they were only ever going to be in Colombia for a fixed time. They clearly lived in their tight communities and mixed very little with the Colombians. My situation was quite different inasmuch as I was here for life, having married a Colombian national and had already started integrating into Colombian life. So, I encouraged some of the Colombians within my family to come along and join in. I wasn’t exactly ostracized, but it was clear that what I had done was considered bad form.”
“What Emma found in the cricket history of Mexico was also here, and the pattern has been similar across the whole of Latin America. The only places where cricket has taken root to any extent have been in Argentina, and Chile, because of these same anti-social issues. Having said this there are also other factors here which would prevent cricket as we know it developing as a sport. One issue is altitude, Bogota and the surrounding area is some 2600 metres above sea level, below the height of altitude sickness (4000 metres), but above the height at which a cricket ball can be made to swing or spin.”
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15th over: England 135-1 (Stokes 0, Bairstow 80) England need 318 to win I can’t see England losing from here, but whadda I know. India are on home turf after all. Newbie Prasidh picks up his first international wicket and Roy just falls short of what would have been his first fifty since lockdown. His farewell four deserves a mention though an outrageous lollop down to third man. What a sensational opening partnership that was!
WICKET! Roy c sub b Prasidh 46
At last! India get their breakthrough as Roy loses his bottom hand and drives to point where Suryakumar Yadav clutches the catch on the second attempt. The umpires consult - we don’t want the spirit of cricket to come under any more attack - but it is clean.
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14th over: England 131-0 (Roy 42, Bairstow 80) England need 318 to win Kuldeep manages to tame the lions until he tosses one up a little too high and Bairstow does the equivalent of stamping on it from a great height. Six! He calls for new gloves - the current ones seem to be working ok!
13th over: England 122-0 (Roy 40, Bairstow 74) England need 318 to win Losing track here, but two more mammoth monsters to Bairstow, a sweep and a polka down the track. Roy content to play second fiddle.
“My puppy and I are having a lovely afternoon watching the cricket” taps Francine. “We were very moved by the Pandya brothers earlier and especially impressed with kunars innings!Now loving watching England- it’s great watching bairstow doing well. Thanks for your coverage!!”
I agree, it is so good to see Baristow go, especially after his mixed winter.
Fifty for Bairstow
12th over: England 107-0 (Roy 38, Bairstow 60) England need 318 to win Bairstow brings up his fifty with a shovelled four to deep square leg with a side dish of burning intensity. Follows it up with six over midwicket and the lack of colour on the number on the back of his shirt is doing him no harm at all - he’s like the magical albino pigeon. Kuldeep Yadav’s first over goes for 13. Where next Kohli?
For contrast, India were 49-0 after 12 overs.
11th over: England 94-0 (Roy 37, Bairstow 49) England need 318 to win Easy as you like, Roy picks up Krunal and smashes him through the covers for four. This is too, too easy, time to risk another spinner (even though England’s got smashed)? Four dots bring India a little respite.
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10th over: England 89-0 (Roy 32, Bairstow 49) England need 318 to win Bairstow demonstrates delicate monstrosity with a heave over square leg for six. Thakur pulls it back until the last ball which he drives with a heavy club straight down the ground for four.
9th over: England 77-0 (Roy 31, Bairstow 38) England need 318 to win Easy pickings for England here, as Krunal can’t match his super start with the bat, with the ball. His first over disappears for 15 as Roy joins in with two fours then a huge six over long on.
This is the 42nd time Bairstow and Roy have opened together in ODIs. 21st time they've put on 50.
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) March 23, 2021
8th over: England 61-0 (Roy 15, Bairstow 38) England need 318 to win Kohli, wisely, pulls Prasidh away from the firing line and replace him with Thakur. Bairstow is still in the mood, throwing the bat and picking up a series of twos and -ouch! Lancashire’s brand new Royal London signing Shreyas Iyer is in real pain after diving to stop a scorching drive from Bairstow at cover. He looks in agony poor guy as he’s helped off the pitch. Bairstow finishes the over with another boundary, a square drive . What is this Pune surface made from? Concrete?
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7th over: England 51-0 (Roy 15, Bairstow 28) England need 318 to win A tight wide is called from Bhuvneshwar’s first ball, Roy square drives his second with the heavenly hosts, but Bhuvneshwar regains control with a string of dots.
“Has the BCCI, perchance, run out of money that it is dressing its team for both T20s and ODI’s in the same, now quite jaded, 1992-retro kit ?” asks Uday Gupta. Perhaps England had first dibs on the light blue as World Champions?
6th over: England 46-0 (Roy 11, Bairstow 28) Poor Prasidh has one of those overs - it disappears for 22, two sixes, two fours, and a couple off a ricochet from the stumps, as Jonny Bairstow discovers that the ball has grown from the size of a pea to a cauliflower in the space of an over. Brilliant, clean hitting, YJB at his very best, which has visibly demoralised the bowler by the end of the over.
5th over: England 24-0 (Roy 11, Bairstow 6) Super over from Bhuvneshwar, who lures Bairstow into playing a top-ended heave first ball which lands safely by mid-wicket; his sixth somehow passes between Roy’s bat and pad and misses the stumps. A beauty.
Nice words from Kiran More.
Great to see @krunalpandya24 make his ODI debut, saw him as a seven year old coming to my academy and since then he has made rapid strides in his career, all the best Young man #cricket #IndvEng
— Kiran More (@JockMore) March 23, 2021
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4th over: England 21-0 (Roy 11, Bairstow 3) Prasidh keeps it tight until his penultimate ball which Roy off-drives: foot, head, elbow, bat, splat, like a ping pong ball being slapped down. The next ball is short and Roy rolls his wrists and hooks it high for four more. Kohli puts his hands on his head and looks mildly irritated.
3rd over: England 13-0 (Roy 3, Bairstow 3) A touch of movement for Bhuvneshwar, whose dark blue shirt is ruffling in the Pune breeze. Roy picks up his first runs with a dab into the covers.
2nd over: England 9-0 (Roy 0, Bairstow 3) India’s second debutant of the match, Prasidh Krishna, has a huge lbw appeal against Jonny Bairstow third ball. It looks a good shout, and Kohli leaves it to the last second to decide NOT to review. Deciding on reviews is definitely the moment on a cricket field when he looks least like a leader - you sense panic in his eyes as he barks questions at his luckless bowler/fielders. Prasidh, quite quick, slim, long arms, follows up with a huge wide that flies past KL Rahul (in for Pant) and down to the rope.
A email wings in from Abhijato Sensarma, “Great stuff from Krunal on debut - and he’s added a dash of humanity with that interview, which complements his swagger rather than contradicting it. I’ve seen him come through the ranks playing for Baroda, then Mumbai Indians, then Baroda again. He makes a great pair with his brother. Krunal’s the elder one, and both agree he’s got the more mature head on his shoulders as well. Imagine that: someone with the hitting skills of Pandya, but even better temperament. India keeps producing the multi-hit wonders, doesn’t it?”
They do - and Krual’s innings was superb
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England's innings
1st over: England 2-0 (Roy 0, Bairstow 1) Bhuvneshwar’s first ball is prodded back into the pitch by Roy for a sharp full stop Steady as he goes and just a leg bye and a single off the over.
Meanwhile, in Taunton.
Hello @jackleach1991! 👋👋👋#WeAreSomerset pic.twitter.com/iOeUTP6ciI
— Somerset Cricket 🏏 (@SomersetCCC) March 23, 2021
I’m a big fan of England’s baby blue ODI kit - far preferable to their T20 red. If the England team were to get their colours done, I’d think they’d be urged to stay well clear of the pillar box (winter?). Though, incidentally, I’ve always preferred the red kit in football. Ho-hum. Right ok, the players are out on the pitch already, Jason Roy to face the first ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Injury reports from the England camp: “Eoin Morgan has split the webbing between his right thumb and index finger. He has had four stitches inserted by the England team doctor. He expects to be able to bat. Sam Billings collar bone joint injury is not related to his previous shoulder injury. He’s receiving treatment and we are hopeful he will be able to bat later”
Thanks Tim! Great stuff as always, and a fabulous final flourish from India, especially debutant Krunal Pandya, whose emotion at the end would melt the hardest heart.
That interview
— Alexandra Hartley (@AlexHartley93) March 23, 2021
This photo
My heart 😩😩❤️
Pure emotion from Krunal Pandya after his maiden 50 👏🏽👏🏽
Class. #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/cqXQ8J362a
One last thing, sorry: something juicy to read in what may be a rather short supper break. Emma John, from The Spin, on cricket in Mexico.
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That was an innings of four quarters from India. They were first watchful, then commanding, then chaotic, and finally explosive. Ebb and flow a-go-go.
England’s seamers did supremely well to drag it back in the middle overs from 169-1 to 205-5, only to blow it at the death. Mark Wood, so exacting early on, ended up going for 75 off his ten overs, and although both Currans started well, only Ben Stokes, with three for 34, made much impression on the scorecard. He may need to bat well too, with Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings both nursing injuries – Billings’s is said to be his collarbone, not a dislocated shoulder, and it’s not clear whether he will bat.
It all took a very long time, but it was riveting stuff. Over to Tanya to see if England, who chose to chase, can hunt down 318. The force, I suspect, is with Krunal Pandya.
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Krunal Pandya is being interviewed already. He manages to say that his innings was “for my dad”, who died in January, and then breaks down in tears. These instant interviews can be misjudged, and the director recognises it by letting him go, but there’s a nice moment when the camera goes back to him and he’s being embraced by Hardik, the younger of the Pandyas. Brothers in arms.
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India race to 317!
50th over: India 317-5 (Rahul 62, K Pandya 58) Wood to Pandya. The first ball is short and pulled for four, and that’s the hundred partnership – 103 off 8.4 overs of mayhem. Wood fights back with a good yorker (single) and a midriff job (leg bye). Pandya flips over midwicket and is nearly run out by a sharp throw from Sam Curran. Rahul, trying a ramp, gloves for four to round things off. That’s a superb finale from India, powered by Krunal Pandya’s record-breaking debut. When England lost their captain, to a hand injury, they also lost their way.
49th over: India 304-5 (Rahul 56, K Pandya 52) India are now finding life so easy that even dear old KL Rahul has fifty. He’s quietly accelerated from a stuttering start, and he celebrates with a straight six to take India past 300. There’s a bit of needle in the air now, not sure why – Kohli’s not even out there.
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Fifty to Krunal Pandya!
Krunal clips Tom Curran’s yorker for two and that’s fifty, on debut, in style – off 26 balls. He’s been wonderfully fearless, and if Mike Atherton on Sky is right, he has the fastest fifty on debut ever in ODIs.
48th over: India 291-5 (Rahul 48, K Pandya 49) Wood returns, looking for a yorker but dishing up a half-volley, which Rahul picks up for six. Pandya piles in with a flash over cover that’s only one bounce short of going all the way, and then an upper cut that does goes for six. Wood does get one ball past the bat, but only by going leg side, so it’s a wide. That’s 21 off the over and India are right back on top. Dinesh Karthik wonders if England even noticed that there was reverse swing for Sam Curran – Wood was going cross-seam, which is what you do when there’s no movement in the air.
News of Eoin Morgan: he has split the webbing in his right hand and has had four stitches, but expects to bat.
47th over: India 271-5 (Rahul 39, K Pandya 38) The brotherly sub-plots continue, as in an episode of EastEnders. Tom Curran bowls a perfectly decent ball to Krunal Pandya, who flicks it for six with a flourish. Then he sets off down the track, Curran sees him coming and digs it in, but Pandya adjusts and plays a tennis smash for a single. His 38, on debut, has come off only 22 balls.
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46th over: India 260-5 (Rahul 37, K Pandya 29) Buttler keeps the faith with Rashid, more on past form than anything he has done today. Rahul says thank you very much and sweeps for four. Rashid has gone for 66 from his nine overs, and surely won’t get a tenth, as this partnership has raced to 55 from 34 balls.
45th over: India 250-5 (Rahul 31, K Pandya 25) England need to get rid of Krunal Pandya, so Buttler invites Tom Curran, da man in da bandana, to exact revenge on behalf of his brother. Krunal, unruffled, just stands and delivers with a golf swing, back over the bowler’s head. And Rahul goes aerial too, one-handed, over extra-cover, after spotting a slower ball. The complexion of the game has changed again.
44th over: India 238-5 (Rahul 25, K Pandya 19) Jos Buttler, running the show in Morgan’s absence, turns back to spin, which is bold given that the seamers have done so well and there’s been some reverse swing. It’s Rashid, and Rahul cashes in with a lofted straight drive into the non-existent crowd for six. Rahul has now made more runs today than he did in four games in the T20 series (15). Rashid then bowls two wides, the only horizontal ones of the innings – there was one called for altitude, harshly, from Sam Curran.
43rd over: India 225-5 (Rahul 15, K Pandya 18) Krunal, perhaps worried that we’ll think he’s just a leg-side Larry, drives Stokes through the covers for four more, but that’s another good over from Stokes, who has three for 34 off eight. On WinViz, India now have a 61pc chance, England 37, with the tie right up there at 2.
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42nd over: India 219-5 (Rahul 13, K Pandya 13) It’s a Curran to a Pandya, and there’s no brotherly love as Krunal plays two pulls for four. The first was a bit lucky, only just skimming over the man at midwicket, but the second was savagely good, whipped wide of long leg, and he ends the over with a flick for four to the same spot. He’s caught up with Rahul already, after facing just seven balls, and suddenly India have woken up again. Where do they get all these nonchalant debutants from?
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41st over: India 206-5 (Rahul 13, K Pandya 1) So one Pandya departs, to be replaced by another – Krupal, who looks every bit as cool as Hardik. He shows no nerves on debut, pulling his first ball for a single. But, injuries apart, that’s another cracking over for England, whose seamers have taken four for 42 in the last ten.
Wicket! Hardik Pandya c Bairstow b Stokes 1 (India 205-5)
The collapse continues! Stokes persuades Hardik to try a guide to third man and give a simple catch to Jonny Bairstow at slip. Credit to Morgan for having the slip in, or it may have been Buttler, as Morgan is off the field after taking a blow to the hand.
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40th over: India 205-4 (Rahul 13, Hardik 1) Rahul needs to do something, so he steps back and pulls Sam Curran for six! That’s the way to get out of a rut.
“Pandya and Pandya,” muses Abhijato Sensarma. ”Hardik at 6, Krunal at 7, and both pitching in together for the fifth bowler’s quota – they have the potential to be a symbiotic solution to lots of India’s LOI problems. Krunal hasn’t had a spectacular run in cricket recently (he’s been good as always though), so he’s in the team only because the management realises the need to change their eleven’s structure. Hopefully they give Pandya & Pandya the time they deserve.”
On Sky, we go to an ad for the Halifax Building Society with a soundtrack from Oasis (Stand By Me), so there are now three sets of brothers in action.
39th over: India 197-4 (Rahul 6, Hardik 0) India would much rather have lost Rahul than Dhawan. As it is, they have two new batsmen at the crease, Stokes follows up by beating Hardik Pandya outside off, and that’s a wicket maiden. Game on.
Wicket! Dhawan c Morgan b Stokes 98 (India 197-4)
Shame! Dhawan, who has lived by the pull, dies by it too, shovelling a short ball straight to Morgan at midwicket. He deserved better, and so did the fans with the flag on the hill.
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38th over: India 197-3 (Dhawan 98, Rahul 6) Sam Curran fancies Rahul, and it’s a surprise that Morgan hasn’t given him a slip, or two. He raps Rahul on the knuckles and his over goes for just a single. Sam has figures of 8-1-28-0 and they don’t flatter him.
37th over: India 196-3 (Dhawan 97, Rahul 6) Morgan needs to keep a couple of overs of Wood up his sleeve, so it’s either back to spin or back to Stokes. He chooses Stokes, who repays his faith by conceding only three singles. England have been much better in the past five overs, taking two for 28. Don’t you love a bit of ebb and flow?
36th over: India 193-3 (Dhawan 95, Rahul 5) Sam Curran replaces his brother, and he so nearly gets Rahul with a nasty little bouncer. Rahul nicks it, like the out-of-form batsman he is, and it goes just wide of Jos Buttler, for four. This is already Rahul’s second-best score of the white-ball section of the tour.
Another sorrowful stat for you: in his last 20 ODIs, including this one – going back to February 2019 – Moeen Ali averages 15 with the bat and 119 with the ball. He’s far too good for that.
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35th over: India 187-3 (Dhawan 95, Rahul 0) So Wood gets a delayed reward for bowling so well early on. And here is KL Rahul, the man who averaged 3.75 in the T20 series, and eventually had to be dropped, against all India’s instincts.
“It’s ridiculous that we’re two and a half hours in with 32 overs bowled,” says Gary Naylor. “Do you think all this time spent not playing cricket (and extending innings to four hours or so) helps build players’ personal brands with TV face time that would cost a fair few crore to buy?”
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Wicket! Iyer c sub (Livingstone) b Wood 6 (India 187-3)
Iyer top-edges Wood over cover and Billings’s understudy, Liam Livingstone, trots in to take a crisp low catch. The collapse is on!
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34th over: India 183-2 (Dhawan 95, Iyer 2) While Shreyas Iyer plays himself in, Shikhar Dhawan continues on his merry way, playing an exquisite late-cut for four off Tom Curran. He should have an adoring crowd lapping it up but there are at least a few fans on a distant hill, standing there with with a flag, waiting for his hundred.
33rd over: India 178-2 (Dhawan 91, Iyer 1) Dhawan’s not bothered: he pulls Wood for a particularly serene four. And another pull from Dhawan brings a diving stop on the rope from Sam Billings, who hurts his shoulder and lies worryingly still. I have a nasty feeling it’s dislocated.
The good news for England is that the switch to seam has worked. Morgan brought Tom Curran back at the other end for the previous over, sneaking him on while I was making the coffee. Rashid has bowled seven overs and Moeen three, so Morgan could stick with seam all the way, but Sam Curran and Stokes will have to be on their mettle as the big hits begin to fly.
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Wicket! Kohli c Moeen b Wood 56 (India 169-2)
Redemption for Moeen! Kohli, down the track, swings Wood to deep square, and this time Mo makes no mistake. So Morgan has the breakthrough he badly needed, and Kohli misses out on the hundred that was beckoning to him.
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31st over: India 164-1 (Dhawan 81, Kohli 52) Morgan, realising he needs to do something, takes Moeen off and summons Mark Wood for some pace. He gives him a slip too, almost a gully, and Kohli is respectful – dot, dot, single. But then Wood goes too full and Dhawan pings it past extra cover with lovely timing. That’s the hundred partnership and it’s been a model of calm acceleration. Time for a cold drink in Pune and a coffee in London.
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30th over: India 159-1 (Dhawan 77, Kohli 52) Kohli eases Rashid into the covers to reach fifty, for the 104th time in ODIs, and, if I’ve added it up right, the 184th time in Indian colours. He’s a phenomenon. Dhawan throws in a sweep for four, flat and hard. It’s all one-way traffic at the moment.
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29th over: India 150-1 (Dhawan 71, Kohli 49) Kohli, facing Moeen, plays a routine off-push and Stokes misfields, so that’s a freebie four. Dhawan’s turn to rub it in, carting a six over extra cover. The third fifty of the innings has taken only 33 balls (the first 78, the second 62), and England’s wheels are threatening to come off. Send for a Curran!
28th over: India 135-1 (Dhawan 61, Kohli 44) Just when he was back in the groove, Moeen drops Dhawan, and this is a sitter, unlike the chance to Roy earlier. Rashid bowls a stinker of a long hop, Dhawan is so surprised that he gives catching practice to deep midwicket, and Moeen is so surprised that he spills it when it woulds surely be easier to snaffle it. “Terrible cricket all round,” says Nasser Hussain.
27th over: India 130-1 (Dhawan 59, Kohli 41) Moeen manages to go for five singles, which is a minor triumph in the circumstances.
“Boring to watch ODI match after watching the T20s,” says Shakir. “Feeling sleepy.” Don’t worry, the batsmen have got the message.
26th over: India 125-1 (Dhawan 57, Kohli 38) Kohli is on fire now, whipping Rashid to the square-leg boundary. He has 38 off 39 balls and the partnership is 61 off 65. It looks as if the commentators were right: 300 is on.
25th over: India 117-1 (Dhawan 55, Kohli 32) Seeing one of his spinners under attack, Eoin Morgan sends for the other, and here at last is Moeen Ali. Both batsmen are itching to tuck in and Kohli manages it off the last ball, seeing Mo go too full and wide and playing a lovely late drive for four. At the halfway stage, India are well on top.
24th over: India 109-1 (Dhawan 52, Kohli 27) Dhawan decides it’s time to ruin those figures of Rashid’s, slog-sweeping him for six to reach a fine fifty and bring up the hundred. Rashid replies with an LBW appeal that brings a review... and it’s umpire’s call. To rub it in, Kohli hits a murderous straight drive for four, and Rashid goes off shaking his head. Twelve off the over: the touchpaper is finally alight.
Meanwhile Brian Withington is back for more. “Having now safely negotiated my morning mug of tea,” he says, “I was intrigued to see your reference to Kohli’s bat doing the talking (over 17) – truly fluent in all languages and formats, as witness the peerless cover drive off the Ben ‘call me Beefy’ Stokes buffet trolley (over 21). So here’s my question: what happens to his used bats – they must be worth an absolute fortune? Or does he never wear them out with that silky, caressing timing?”
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23rd over: India 97-1 (Dhawan 45, Kohli 22) Stokes is determined to stop this game going to sleep. He tries a short one to Kohli, but the ball just sits up like a dog that’s too eager to please and gets pulled for four. Stokes retorts with five dots in a row, mixing it up, switching to the cross-seam. Good contest.
22nd over: India 93-1 (Dhawan 45, Kohli 18) Kohli is amusing himself by running through the coaching book. He plays a forward defensive to Rashid of the kind that was once taught to small boys as the basis of all batting, in fact of all civilisation. Then he rocks back and cuts for two. But Rashid hasn’t gone for four yet, and he has the tidy figures of 3-0-9-0.
21st over: India 89-1 (Dhawan 44, Kohli 15) For the first time today, we have nobody bowling whose name is Curran. Back comes Stokes, and Kohli, stirred by the sight of a fellow champion, greets him with an off drive that’s on the imperious side of majestic.
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20th over: India 83-1 (Dhawan 43, Kohli 10) Rashid has an LBW shout against Dhawan. It’s pitching in line, just, but it’s the leg-break not the googly, so the turn was taking it past leg stump. Three off that over, too: still very measured from India.
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19th over: India 80-1 (Dhawan 42, Kohli 8) Morgan persists with Tom C, so we’ve now had 11 overs from the Currans out of 19. Match that, Pandya Bros! Only three off the over, so Tom has 5-0-18-0, to go with Sam’s 6-1-22-0. They’ve acted like a couple of tranquillisers, which is way out of character.
18th over: India 77-1 (Dhawan 41, Kohli 6) Stokes comes off, rightly, as Eoin Morgan wants to attack Kohli with Adil Rashid, who bowled well to him in the T20s. Armed with a slip, he starts strongly – four dots, two singles, several googlies.
17th over: India 75-1 (Dhawan 40, Kohli 5) Kohli, using his feet again, nips over to off stump to flick Tom Curran for a lordly two. It’s as if his bat is saying, “Leave the talking to me.”
16th over: India 71-1 (Dhawan 39, Kohli 2) So here is Virat Kohli, bringing us his new-found concern for the spirit of the game. He may be a flaming hypocrite, but he’s also a very good player. He gets right forward to ease Stokes past point for a single, then goes right back to dab to third man. Dhawan adds a flick off the hip for four, so Stokes has been both the most incisive bowler and the most expensive one.
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Wicket! Rohit c Buttler b Stokes 28 (India 64-1)
The breakthrough! Stokes does the trick, with a quite terrible ball, short and wide. Even Ian Botham might have been embarrassed by that one.
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15th over: India 64-0 (Rohit 28, Dhawan 34) More dots and nicks from Tom Curran. If this really is a 300 pitch, it’s wearing a crafty disguise. But then Rohit dances down the track and plays a front-foot pull for four. Next ball, another edge. I just don’t know what’s going off out there.
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14th over: India 58-0 (Rohit 23, Dhawan 33) Sammy C finally gets a breather, and on comes Ben Stokes, who always makes things happen. Sure enough, Dhawan gives him the charge and clips to leg for two, before swivelling and pulling for four, to fine leg’s left. And that’s drinks, with honours fairly even so far. India have built a solid platform, but England have bowled well and fielded sharply. A lot will hinge on whether the England spinners can keep it as tight as the seamers.
“Jonty!” says Sreekanth, answering my question from the 10th over. “That man at 51 was trying those one-handed horizontal missile jumps as if it was his breakfast.” He would have snaffled the chance that Roy put down.
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13th over: India 51-0 (Rohit 23, Dhawan 27) The commentators keep saying that this is a 300 pitch, but to my untrained eye the ball is nibbling around and there’s a reason why the Indian openers have been watchful. Rohit is beaten past both edges of the bat by Tom Curran, who then draws a nick from Dhawan – only to see it fly through the vacant second slip.
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12th over: India 49-0 (Rohit 22, Dhawan 26) Sam is still on, so I hope their mum is watching. Spotting Dhawan trying to get after him, Sam bowls a bouncer that climbs steeply, bringing a superb take out of Jos Buttler – and getting called wide, rather harshly. Sam’s too small to bowl a vertical wide! Seven off the over, and – sorry, Mrs Curran – time for another change.
11th over: India 42-0 (Rohit 20, Dhawan 22) Yes, Wood goes off, after one of the best none-fors you’ll ever see. On comes Tom Curran, looking even less like his brother than usual in a black bandana. He keeps it tight too, conceding three singles. Together, the Currans have bowled six overs for 18 today. Hard to tell if they’re competing with each other or throwing down a gauntlet to the Pandyas.
10th over: India 39-0 (Rohit 19, Dhawan 20) A flurry of singles off Curran, so the PowerPlay ends with the openers still there and looking more comfortable. Come on Morgs, time for a bowling change.
“Talking about Brian Lara,” says Sreekanth Nandakumar, “he was smashing it all around the park in the Legends T20 series in India. What an absolute joy that series was! A reprise of the 90s and 00s with Sachin, Viru, Yuvi, KP, Jayasurya, Rhodes etc.” Jonty! Can he still field like a demon?
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9th over: India 34-0 (Rohit 17, Dhawan 17) Still no change of bowling, so Wood has the rare sensation of bowling a fifth over. He begins it with a near-yorker which Rohit edges just short of Ben Stokes at second slip. It’s hard to see why Rohit is still out there, but he suddenly plays a back-foot cover drive, on the up, for four. Then he straight-drives, more classically, for four more. This is a rare case of a sportsman being in acute discomfort and great form at the same time.
8th over: India 26-0 (Rohit 9, Dhawan 17) Sam Curran continues and has Dhawan dropped by Jason Roy at backward point, diving to his left. It was another full-blooded cut and you could hardly blame Roy for not clinging on – he gets some credit for saving four. Another good over. Memo to younger readers: this is what one-day cricket was usually like until 1996, when the Sri Lankan openers put a rocket up its arse.
Another delay as Rohit gets some strapping on that battered elbow. “We’ve only had seven overs,” says David Lloyd. “Is this a two-day international?”
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7th over: India 24-0 (Rohit 8, Dhawan 16) Wood thinks he’s got Dhawan with a full delivery, but there was a thick inside edge before it rapped the pad. Just when I’m working out that how many scoring shots there have been in 21 balls – two – Dhawan flashes a cut for four. Brian Lara would have been happy with that. Next ball, Dhawan gets well forward for the first time and shovels a drive for four more, mistimed but effective. He adds a quick single and suddenly the initiative is with India, even though England have managed 30 dots.
6th over: India 15-0 (Rohit 8, Dhawan 7) Sam Curran keeps the pressure up and has an LBW shout against Dhawan, with a length ball that’s straight but probably too high. After 15 dots, Dhawan breaks the spell with a single to midwicket, but even that is off the edge. Rohit, still looking shaken, manages a paddle over short fine leg for an ingenious four.
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5th over: India 10-0 (Rohit 4, Dhawan 6) How do you follow that? Some fast bowlers would be bloodthirsty and bang it in. Wood opts to pitch it up, forcing Rohit to play, which he does calmly enough. The last ball has a bit of ferocity but he manages to evade it. Consecutive maidens!
Rohit takes a bang on the elbow
Mid-5th over: India 10-0 (Rohit 4, Dhawan 6) Four more dots from Wood, tying Rohit down and then rapping him on the right elbow at 148kph (91mph), via the edge of the bat. Ouch! The blow draws blood and leaves Rohit swigging from a bottle of water and flexing his fingers, gingerly.
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4th over: India 10-0 (Rohit 4, Dhawan 6) Six dots on the trot from Sam Curran, keeping Dhawan quiet by probing at middle-and-off.
3rd over: India 10-0 (Rohit 4, Dhawan 6) Wood, bowling to the left-handed Shikhar Dhawan, beats him too, cutting him in half like a magician’s assistant. But Dhawan has the right riposte, seeing some width and smacking the day’s first four with a cut so rasping that it splits the seam on the ball.
“Good job,” says Brian Withington, “I didn’t have a mouthful of hot tea when reading about Virat ‘the Special One’ Kohli’s latest lecture on threats to the spirit of the game in relation to on-field influencing of umpiring decisions! What’s next – Boris Johnson admonishing us on the importance of probity in public office?”
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2nd over: India 4-0 (Rohit 3, Dhawan 1) The new ball is taken not by Adil Rashid, as in the T20s, but by Sam Curran, who seems to have given his hairstyle another refresh – peroxide on top, sharp at the sides. He finds some swing and raps Rohit on the pad right away, but doesn’t review as the ball pitched just outside leg. Three more singles, so no fireworks yet.
The TV director shows us this morning’s first-cap ceremony for Krunal Pandya – it was presented by his brother Hardik.
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1st over: India 1-0 (Rohit 1, Dhawan 0) Wood produces a beauty to beat Rohit, lifting and leaving him. Rohit thinks he’d better get up the other end, where the pace will be a lot less hot, so he steals a quick single to square leg. That’s a strong start from Wood, in Jofra’s shoes.
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The field is set, with two slips, and it’s going to be Mark Wood, the Ashington Express. The pitch has a green tinge and the word is that it won’t change much as day turns to night.
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The national anthems are playing, which is one way to make some noise in a deserted ground.
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A tweet! “It is the Pandya brothers vs the Curran brothers,” says Sreekanth Nandakumar. “One all-rounder and one bowler, even though Krunal is a good batsman too. When was the last time it happened in cricket?” I’m hoping that question is rhetorical.
Kohli's having a laugh
He’s a superstar, but his press conferences are beginning to resemble Jose Mourinho’s. For his latest trick, he gives a lecture about the spirit of the game.
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India XI: no Pant!
A surprise from India, who leave out Rishabh Pant and hand the gloves to KL Rahul, so he returns from the wilderness after precisely one day. They bring on yet another debutant, Prasidh Krishna, a seam bowler. And they too field a pair of brothers, Hardik and Krunal Pandya.
India 1 Dhawan, 2 Rohit, 3 Kohli (capt), 4 Iyer, 5 Rahul (wkt), 6 H Pandya, 7 K Pandya, 8 Thakur, 9 Kumar, 10 Kuldeep, 11 Prasidh.
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England XI: Moeen's in!
If you’re an England supporter, there’s no need to resign just yet: Moeen’s back. Sam Billings and Tom Curran join him, so England have two Currans and two Sams. They bat long but look light on firepower.
England 1 Roy, 2 Bairstow, 3 Stokes, 4 Morgan (capt), 5 Buttler (wkt), 6 Billings, 7 Moeen, 8 S Curran, 9 T Curran, 10 Rashid, 11 Wood.
Toss: England win and bowl first
Eoin Morgan calls heads... and it is. “It’s a double-headed coin,” he says with a chuckle. He and Murali Karthik get into an interesting chat and for a while Morgan forgets to say what he’s decided to do, but we all know he loves to chase.
Preamble: we go again
Morning everyone. Let’s twist again, like we did last... Saturday! Yes, after a full two days off, one of which was spent travelling, India and England are back for more, starting another new series. This time it’s the 50-over game, the middle kid in the cricket family – balanced, sometimes neglected, and not brought up by absolute beginners.
For Ben Stokes at least, this series will have some novelty value. The last time he appeared in England’s 50-over colours was in the World Cup final at Lord’s, back in July 2019. Spoiler alert: he did quite well. In fact, his last six ODI innings, all from that World Cup, are 82 not out, 89, 79, 11, 84 not out and (in the Super Over) 9 not out, making a total of 354 at an average of 118.
But that was then, and this is now, with the scales nicely poised. England are the world’s top-ranked team in ODIs, the World Cup holders and the master blasters, but they’re missing their spearhead, Jofra Archer, and they’ve just grabbed a T20 series defeat from the jaws of a 2-1 lead. India are the world’s second-ranked team, its dominant force, and the hosts. They’ve got Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on top form, and they’re running hot after coming from behind three times in six weeks – once in the Test series and twice in the T20s.
That momentum is enough to make India favourites. And, since Christmas, they’ve found a new superpower: it no longer matters if a few of their stars are missing, because the understudies seem to be just as good. Their 2nd XI may have to be offered a place at the next World Cup.
The caravan has left Ahmedabad, after almost a month, and settled in Pune, about an hour’s flight south, just inland from Mumbai. Last time England played an ODI here was four years ago, when they rattled up 350, reduced India to 63-4, and still lost. So, basically, anything can happen.
Play starts at 8am GMT, and I’ll be back around 7.35 with the toss and the teams. There’s one name I’ll be looking for like an anxious parent: Moeen Ali. He has toured three nations this winter and has played as many matches as he has caught viruses. Time, surely, for Eoin Morgan to show Mo some love.
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