England captain Jos Buttler has known as on his aspect to play higher for longer after falling to a four-wicket defeat towards India within the first of a three-match ODI sequence in Nagpur.
Phil Salt’s 43 off 26 balls noticed England race to 75 with out loss after electing to bat first, solely to lose three wickets within the area of eight balls and by no means handle to regain their momentum.
Buttler and Jacob Bethell half-centuries helped England to 248 all out in 47.4 overs, with India recovering from falling 19-2 to cruise to their victory goal with 68 balls to spare.
Jacob Bethell, proper, and Jos Buttler placed on a 59-run stand for the fifth wicket
The newest defeat follows a 4-1 T20 sequence loss towards the identical opposition, with former England captain Kevin Pietersen labelling their bowling as “predictable” throughout India’s run chase.
“Obviously disappointed not to win,” Buttler mentioned within the post-match presentation. “We received off to a unbelievable begin, the 2 guys [Salt and Ben Duckett] had been very aggressive within the energy play.
“Dropping 4 wickets so shut collectively put us again. If you see the best way the wicket performed, one other 40 or 50 runs might have been essential.
Phil Salt scored 43 and Ben Duckett posted 32 for England
“This isn’t how we wish to play. We wish to put the opposition underneath stress and hold the momentum going so long as potential. That has been the identical via the T20s, in addition to immediately.
“The game was in the balance, but credit to Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill, who put together a good partnership. We need to play better for longer, we need to execute our plans better, and when we get momentum and the opposition under pressure extend that for longer.”
England ‘have to sharpen up’
England’s defeat got here of their first ODI match since a sequence defeat towards the West Indies in November, with Joe Root and Buttler each returning to 50-over worldwide cricket since 2023.
Buttler’s aspect now have two extra matches to enhance forward of this month’s Champions Trophy, stay on Sky Sports activities, with Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan of their group for the eight-team match.
“The tools are all there,” former England cricketer Matt Prior instructed TNT Sports activities. “We know how talented the squad is and the team is, but you’ve got to go out and execute your plans on the field.
“For me, you may inform they have not performed 50-over cricket for a very long time. There have been simply sloppy errors and it was only a bit lacklustre. For England, the expertise is there, the power is there, however they simply have to sharpen up in quite a lot of areas.”
Former England bowler Steven Finn, also part of TNT Sports’ coverage, added: “If India see a chink in your armour, particularly bringing all their massive weapons again in, they’re going to make the most of it.
“England did have them on the ropes in that first nine overs, but a sign of a good team is one that does exactly what India did. The couple of crucial moments in the game, where they needed to take their opportunity to pile through the door, they did.”
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