Banking on a new set of actors to switch up performances when ratings dip is common practice in the showbiz industry.
For Indian cricket, a new set of entertainers arrived in time and helped deliver a moderate box-office hit in the form of a six-wicket victory in the first ODI versus England in Birmingham on Tuesday (July 14, 2026).
It was the away side’s first success after six T20 defeats during the ongoing sojourn of the United Kingdom.
In the second match of the series at Sophia Gardens here on Thursday (July 16, 2026), there will be another opportunity to build on the positives.
Captain Shubman Gill scored a typically classy 80 before having to retire hurt owing to cramps. The 26-year-old is expected to be fit for the encounter here, despite the short turnaround time.
Jasprit Bumrah, in his first ODI in nearly three years, bowled nine miserly overs for 31 runs. The 32-year-old troubled Ben Duckett with his swing early on, and had skipper Harry Brook caught at slip with a delivery that bounced a tad more and left the batter in two minds.
But it was not a happy return for the star duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Rohit looked scrappy in his 21-ball stay for 11 runs while Kohli was out leg-before for five after playing across the line to Jofra Archer.
Rohit, 39, has not been at his aggressive best for a while. Since the Champions Trophy triumph in March 2025, he has batted 13 times in ODIs, and has scored one century, four half-centuries, and a 48.
These are not bad numbers per se, but as Novak Djokovic said at Wimbledon, greats are “blessed and cursed to be used to the highest degree in terms of results and achievements.”
For Kohli, runs haven’t been an issue, for he had a productive IPL with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. But he would like to get back into his scoring rhythm quickly after having missed the home series against Afghanistan with a hamstring injury.
England, on the other hand, will want its present personnel to step up, for the loss in Edgbaston was its 20th in the 30 ODIs since the 2023 World Cup.
Of particular concern will be the collapse it suffered from 61 for no loss to 107 for six, with Brook, Jos Buttler and Sam Curran falling for a collective score of six.
There was also a severe lack of game awareness from the tail when the last three wickets fell for just eight runs. With Joe Root at the other end, all that Archer, Adil Rashid and Josh Tongue had to do was turn the strike over.
But Archer perished trying to hammer Axar Patel while Rashid paid the price for stepping out of the crease as England folded with 13 deliveries still remaining.
Brook later said that it was the top-order that needed to shoulder more responsibility rather than the bowlers being asked to be better at their secondary skill. But in the cut-throat universe of international cricket, every run counts.
The teams (from): England: Harry Brook (Capt.), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, James Coles, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Joe Root and Josh Tongue.
India: Shubman Gill (Capt.), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav.
Match starts at 5.30 p.m. IST.
Published – July 16, 2026 02:40 am IST
