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25 overs England 145 for 0 (Bell 74, Cook 66) v India
Ian Bell progressed to a fluent half-century as England started well © BCCI
It was difficult to judge how many runs England needed to feel impregnable in the opening ODI in Rajkot. There was probably not such a figure. Certainly, a score of 300 did not come close and as serenely as Ian Bell and Alastair Cook proceeded to give England a flattering start, India would have have felt that they could chase just about anything.
Bell and Cook had both sailed well beyond the half-century mark at halfway, Bell looking so comfortable at the top of England's order in 50-over cricket that it is now hard to believe that it took him so long to end up there. There was nothing outlandish in his strokeplay, just a succession of attractive strokes which kept England's innings ticking along at a rate not too far short of six an over.
England will need much more than six an over by the end of the innings, in fact they may need closer to seven, because this was the most amenable of surfaces and Bell, who had already made a hundred in an England warm-up, a defeat against Delhi, soon took advantage. His form has been a boon to England's new limited-overs coach, Ashley Giles, their productive relationship at Warwickshire when Giles was director of cricket restated at international level.
Bell's first boundary came courtesy of four overthrows and he had a few uneasy moments in the opening overs. On 15, he edged Buvneshwar Kumar between MS Dhoni and R Ashwin, who was virtually stood at second slip, with both fielders motionless. It is incumbent upon a wicketkeeper-captain who sets his slip that wide at least to put a desperate dive in, but it was apparent in the Test series that Dhoni's captaincy responsibilities sometimes submerges his keeping and he remained stood still.
Kumar had a close lbw appeal, too, in his next over, but these moments were soon distant regrets, forgotten as Bell took command. He went creeping up the pitch surreptitiously in search of elegant drives and he reached his half-century from 60 balls with the gentlest of reverse paddles against Ravindra Jadeja. As ever, with Bell at his best, there was not the merest hint of strength, just technique and timing.
Cook was not quite as mellifluous, and saw less of the strike, but he settled in against the spinners, helped by the regulation which now demands that five fielders remain within the inner circle. It is a big ask for a spin bowler to bowl to that field on such a placid pitch and the rotation in the middle overs which, to their detriment, was once such a feature of ODIs, was not as apparent as both batsmen hunted boundaries.
England had lost 15 and won one in their last three ODI tours of India, none of their thumpings any worse than the 158-run defeat at the old Madhav Rao Scindia ground five years ago when Yuvraj Singh, with 138, set about them.
A new stadium gave them hopes of a change in fortunes. A quick glance and it might have been Lord's. The media box behind the arm was, to all intents and purposes, a replica; the gherkin no longer existing solely in north London. Gherkins are increasingly grown in India for export but this one has been imported and it will quickly ensure that the ground becomes instantly recognisable.
The Saurashtra stadium is also characterised by a flat pitch and a glassy outfield if the first 25 overs of England's innings are any guide. The Challenger Trophy, India's premier domestic one-day competition, also produced five totals of 300-plus in four games at the SCA stadium in late 2012.
Joe Root, called in for an England debut at No 4, would not have found many more encouraging days than this although as the innings progressed there was a prospect that he might be dropped down the order. India made one change from the XI that beat Pakistan in the final ODI of that series: a like for like change in the seam attack with Ashok Dinda coming in for Shami Ahmed, who had made an impressive debut.
India 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashok Dinda.
England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 7 Samit Patel, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Steven Finn, 11 Jade Dernbach.
Ian Bell progressed to a fluent half-century as England started well © BCCI
It was difficult to judge how many runs England needed to feel impregnable in the opening ODI in Rajkot. There was probably not such a figure. Certainly, a score of 300 did not come close and as serenely as Ian Bell and Alastair Cook proceeded to give England a flattering start, India would have have felt that they could chase just about anything.
Bell and Cook had both sailed well beyond the half-century mark at halfway, Bell looking so comfortable at the top of England's order in 50-over cricket that it is now hard to believe that it took him so long to end up there. There was nothing outlandish in his strokeplay, just a succession of attractive strokes which kept England's innings ticking along at a rate not too far short of six an over.
England will need much more than six an over by the end of the innings, in fact they may need closer to seven, because this was the most amenable of surfaces and Bell, who had already made a hundred in an England warm-up, a defeat against Delhi, soon took advantage. His form has been a boon to England's new limited-overs coach, Ashley Giles, their productive relationship at Warwickshire when Giles was director of cricket restated at international level.
Bell's first boundary came courtesy of four overthrows and he had a few uneasy moments in the opening overs. On 15, he edged Buvneshwar Kumar between MS Dhoni and R Ashwin, who was virtually stood at second slip, with both fielders motionless. It is incumbent upon a wicketkeeper-captain who sets his slip that wide at least to put a desperate dive in, but it was apparent in the Test series that Dhoni's captaincy responsibilities sometimes submerges his keeping and he remained stood still.
Kumar had a close lbw appeal, too, in his next over, but these moments were soon distant regrets, forgotten as Bell took command. He went creeping up the pitch surreptitiously in search of elegant drives and he reached his half-century from 60 balls with the gentlest of reverse paddles against Ravindra Jadeja. As ever, with Bell at his best, there was not the merest hint of strength, just technique and timing.
Cook was not quite as mellifluous, and saw less of the strike, but he settled in against the spinners, helped by the regulation which now demands that five fielders remain within the inner circle. It is a big ask for a spin bowler to bowl to that field on such a placid pitch and the rotation in the middle overs which, to their detriment, was once such a feature of ODIs, was not as apparent as both batsmen hunted boundaries.
England had lost 15 and won one in their last three ODI tours of India, none of their thumpings any worse than the 158-run defeat at the old Madhav Rao Scindia ground five years ago when Yuvraj Singh, with 138, set about them.
A new stadium gave them hopes of a change in fortunes. A quick glance and it might have been Lord's. The media box behind the arm was, to all intents and purposes, a replica; the gherkin no longer existing solely in north London. Gherkins are increasingly grown in India for export but this one has been imported and it will quickly ensure that the ground becomes instantly recognisable.
The Saurashtra stadium is also characterised by a flat pitch and a glassy outfield if the first 25 overs of England's innings are any guide. The Challenger Trophy, India's premier domestic one-day competition, also produced five totals of 300-plus in four games at the SCA stadium in late 2012.
Joe Root, called in for an England debut at No 4, would not have found many more encouraging days than this although as the innings progressed there was a prospect that he might be dropped down the order. India made one change from the XI that beat Pakistan in the final ODI of that series: a like for like change in the seam attack with Ashok Dinda coming in for Shami Ahmed, who had made an impressive debut.
India 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashok Dinda.
England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 7 Samit Patel, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Steven Finn, 11 Jade Dernbach.