Axar Patel’s all-round show gives India a winning start against England in the first ODI
Axar Patel took four wickets and then an unbeaten 57 as India chased England down at Edgbaston to win the first ODI by six wickets and go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Jul 14, 2026
India finally have a win to show for their tour of England. After losing the T20I series 4-0, they opened the one-day leg with a six-wicket victory over England at Edgbaston on Tuesday, Axar Patel taking four wickets and then an unbeaten 57 to walk off with the player-of-the-match award. It was England’s first ODI defeat at Edgbaston since 2014, and it put India 1-0 up in the three-match series.
India’s bowlers rip through the top order
England batted first and were quickly in trouble. The seamers found movement with the new ball and the top order fell apart, leaving England 107 for 6 and staring at a total well below par. Prasidh Krishna took two for 50 and the rest of the attack kept the pressure on, before Axar returned to clean up the tail with four for 62.
The innings was saved by Joe Root and Liam Dawson. Root anchored things for an unbeaten 76 while Dawson made a maiden ODI fifty, the pair adding 121 for the seventh wicket to drag England to 258 all out in 47.5 overs. It was a fine rescue job, but on a good Edgbaston surface the total never looked like enough.
Rohit and Kohli fall early in the chase
India’s reply began badly. Rohit Sharma, back in the side, made 11 before edging Sam Curran to Harry Brook at mid-off, and Virat Kohli went the very next over, trapped lbw by Jofra Archer for 5. The two seniors, both returning to the one-day team, were gone in successive overs and India were suddenly under pressure.
Shubman Gill steadied it with the innings of the night. The captain made a commanding 80 from 75 balls before he was forced to retire hurt with cramp in his right leg, a minor scare but one worth watching over the next few days. Shreyas Iyer chipped in with 35, and by the time Gill left the field the target had been brought within reach.
Axar and Washington see it home
Axar Patel and Washington Sundar did the rest. The two all-rounders came together with the game still to be won and never let England back in, knocking off the runs in an unbroken stand to finish the job with 28 balls to spare. Axar ended on 57 not out and Washington on 52 not out, both unbeaten as India reached 262 for 4 in 45.2 overs.
For Axar it was a day that had everything, a four-wicket haul and a match-winning fifty in the same game, the kind of all-round shift that wins matches on its own. After a bruising white-ball fortnight in England, India will take real heart from a bowling effort and a chase that both clicked on the same night.
What it means for the series
India go 1-0 up with their confidence back and the next chance to close out the series in sight. England, who had been the sharper white-ball side all through the T20Is, now have to react quickly or risk handing the tourists an early lead they can build on. For a team that had gone the whole white-ball leg of the tour without a win, a night when the bowling and the batting came good together is exactly the reset they were after.