England post mammoth 350-7 against India in first ODI

Jason Roy (73) and Joe Root (78) helped England post a mammoth 350 for seven in 50 overs against India in their first One-Day International (ODI) match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Sunday.

Besides Roy and Root, all-rounder Ben strokes (61) and wicket-keeper Jos Buttler also produced fine knocks and contributed handsomely to the visitors' cause.

Put in to bat, England started the proceedings on a cautious note as both openers Roy and Alex Hales (9) were playing the ball to its merit.

Just when things seemed good for the visitors, India bounced back in style to sent back Hales in the seventh over with 39 runs on board. He was run out by medium pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

The fall of wicket brought in Root, who along with Roy forged a crucial 69-run partnership with an average run rate of 5.67.

In the 19th over, Mahendra Singh Dhoni planned a stumping dismissal of Roy off left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja as the batsman was terribly mistaken as the ball went straight on underneath his bat.

Roy played 61 deliveries and slammed 12 boundaries with 119.67 strike rate.

The fall of Roy's wicket brought in skipper Eoin Morgan, who also contributed 28 runs and built 49-run partnership with Root for the third wicket.

But after seven overs, Morgan was sent packing by medium pacer Hardik Pandya with 157 runs on board. He gave an easy catch to Dhoni, who did not make any mistake.

Incoming batsman Buttler and Root then slammed 63 runs in 10 overs for the fourth wicket to put England on drivers' seat before Buttler was caught by Shikhar Dhawan off Pandya in the 38th over.

The middle-order also stepped up to the occasion as Ben Strokes and Moeen Ali (28) stitched a 73-run partnership for the sixth wicket in just six overs.

Ali's 17-ball knock was laced with three boundaries and one six while Strokes slammed two boundaries and five massive sixes.

Seventh and eighth wicket also contributed as they scored 34 runs in the end to post 350 in their allotted 50 overs.

For India, medium pacers Pandya and Bumrah took two wickets each while left-arm spinner Jadeja and pacer Umesh Yadav chipped in with one wicket each.

Brief scores: England 350-7 (Joe Root 78, Jason Roy 73, Ben Stokes 62; Hardik Pandya 2-46, Jasprit Bumrah 2-79) against India.

--IANS

gau/pur/vt