India pacer Harshit Rana had a debut to forget in the opening ODI against England at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Rana, who took the new ball alongside Mohammed Shami, struggled with his lines and lengths early in the game.
In his first over, Rana gave away 11 runs. However, he made a brief recovery with a maiden over and seemed to settle into a rhythm. But disaster struck in his third over as England opener Phil Salt took charge.
Salt started the over with a six, thanks to a top edge that flew over the head of keeper KL Rahul. He followed it up with a cover drive for four and then smashed another six, playing a slog-sweep over backward square leg. The next delivery saw Salt hit another boundary, driving a length ball through the covers.
Rana's fifth ball went for a dot before Salt ended the over with a flat pull shot for a massive six over mid-wicket. Salt scored 26 runs off the over, the most expensive over ever bowled by a debutant for India in ODIs. This flurry of runs helped England pass the 50-run mark in just the first six overs.
Salt, who was in excellent touch, ended his innings on 43 runs off 29 balls with a strike rate over 165, including 5 fours and 3 sixes. He was run out due to an error by his opening partner, Ben Duckett, with England at 75 for 1.
Despite the heavy punishment, Rana bounced back in his next over. He dismissed Duckett (32) and Harry Brook (0) to shift the momentum back in India’s favour. Rana will now look to build on his recovery and maintain the pressure.
