Birmingham, July 14 (IANS) All-rounder Axar Patel brought out his career-best performance of 4-62 as Joe Root was left stranded on the other end at 76 to guide England to 258 all out in 47.5 overs in the first ODI against India at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham on Tuesday.

England bounced back from a dramatic middle-order collapse to post a competitive total after Joe Root and Liam Dawson put together a fantastic 121-run partnership for the seventh wicket in the opening ODI against India.

Ben Duckett scored 43 off 45 balls, and Jacob Bethell added 14 off 31, giving England a strong start. They managed to put up 61 runs for the opening wicket while effectively handling Jasprit Bumrah’s opening spell. This was Bumrah’s first ODI game in 968 days.

Gurnoor Brar struggled in his first spell but changed the game after switching ends. He was brought back in the 13th over and dismissed both openers in the same over, giving Duckett a send-off and triggering England’s collapse.

Bumrah made an impact right away, catching Harry Brook at first slip for just 1 run after returning to the attack. Meanwhile, Prasidh Krishna tore through the middle order, taking two wickets in one over. Jos Buttler’s landmark 200th ODI ended disappointingly as the England captain fell cheaply. Sam Curran also lost his wicket with a poor shot, leaving the team in trouble at 80/5.

Will Jacks, with 20 off 19, tried to shift the momentum back, but Shivam Dube took his second ODI wicket when KL Rahul made a stunning one-handed catch behind the stumps.

With England in serious trouble, Root and Dawson led the recovery with their impressive 121-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Dawson reached his first ODI half-century, while Root notched his fourth consecutive score of over 50 in the format. Their effort steadied the innings and gave England’s bowlers a total to defend.

Axar Patel eventually broke the dogged resistance in the 44th over, getting rid of Liam Dawson for a career-best 68 off 83 balls and ending a valuable 121-run seventh-wicket stand with Joe Root. But Root took advantage of a reprieve when Shivam Dube dropped a simple return catch off his own bowling and went on to remain unbeaten on 76 from 76 balls, taking England past 250.

Jofra Archer added a quick 12 from six balls towards the end, but Adil Rashid and ODI debutant Josh Tongue both fell in the 48th over, meaning Root’s innings was cut short as England were bowled out for 258.

Brief scores:

England 258 all out in 47.5 overs (Joe Root 76, Liam Dawson 68; Axar Patel 4-62, Prasidh Krishna 2-50) against India

–IANS

hs/bsk/