England’s Phil Salt ‘abandoned’ in disastrous mix-up during ODI defeat to India

England’s opening innings in the first ODI against India was a spectacular affair for the visiting team, boasting an impressive run rate of 8.42 within the first nine overs.

Nevertheless, calamity struck just before the ninth over could conclude when Phil Salt found himself “abandoned” by his teammate Ben Duckett on 43 runs from 26 deliveries.

Salt struck a delivery from Hardik Pandya through the offside, with Shreyas Iyer managing to prevent a boundary. As Salt charged for a third run, he was already halfway down the pitch when Duckett waved him back. KL Rahul swiftly capitalised on the situation, removing the bails with ease.

“He’s been left completely stranded… the first turn by Ben Duckett was painfully slow,” commented Sunil Gavaskar during the coverage on Fox.

“I imagine the dressing room is currently undergoing repairs; he must be absolutely furious,” Kevin Pietersen said later.

With Salt’s dismissal at 1-75, England struggled to recover from that setback. The next significant partnership was a 59-run partnership between Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell.

Both players reached half-centuries, guiding England to a total of 248 runs before being bowled out in 47.4 overs. Jofra Archer’s unbeaten 21 at the tail-end proved invaluable.

Debutant Harshit Rana claimed three wickets, while vice-captain Shubman Gill scored 87 runs off 96 balls, leading India to a four-wicket victory in the first ODI at VCA Stadium.

Rana finished with figures of 3-53 in seven overs, helping to dismiss England for 248 runs after Jos Buttler chose to bat first. Veteran spinner Ravindra Jadeja took 3-26, and pace bowler Mohammed Shami contributed with 1-38 in his eight overs.

Gill anchored the Indian innings following a quickfire half-century from Shreyas Iyer off just 31 balls. Iyer’s 59 runs forged a 94-run partnership off 64 balls with Gill, strengthening India’s total. Gill then partnered with Axar Patel, adding 108 runs off 107 balls, with Patel scoring 52—a significant milestone as his first half-century in ODIs.

India now leads the three-match series 1-0. The second ODI will be played in Cuttack on Sunday.