TNI Bureau: Despite a valiant effort by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina, India lost the first ODI to England by 9 runs. This is the first time in seven years England won an ODI in India. The Indian bowlers gave away 38 runs in the last two overs. That hurt India in the end.
Earlier, England won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Alastair Cook (75) and Ian Bell (85) added 158 runs for the first wicket. With useful contributions from Pietersen (44), Morgan (41), Kieswetter (24*) and Samit Patel (44* off 20 balls), England reached 325/4 in 50 overs. Dinda took two wickets.
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India began the run chase on a very positive note. Gambhir and Rahane added 96 runs for the first wicket. Rahane was the first to go at 47. Gambhir scored 52. India lost three quick wickets, including that of Virat Kohli, which put additional pressure on Yuvraj and Raina.
Yuvraj was the top scorer with 61, while Raina made 50. When Raina and Dhoni (32) were at the crease, the victory was in the sight. However, with Raina and Dhoni’s departure, India lost the way. India finished at 316/9 in 50 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar too played a good innings, but remained unbeaten on 20 off 16 balls.
For England, James Tredwell took four wickets, while Jade Dernbach and Tim Bresnan took two wickets each. Tredwell was declared ‘Man of the Match’.