India’s batters, bar Shreyas Iyer, struggled to get going against a top-notch English bowling effort on a two-paced track as the hosts were outplayed in the series-opener in Ahmedabad on Friday.
The result was a eight-wicket defeat for India with 27 balls remaining in the second innings, making it their third heaviest defeat in the format.
Shreyas Iyer was the lone bright spot as he showed the way with an impressive 67-run knock that took Kohli’s men to 124/7 at the the Narendra Modi stadium after being asked to bat.
In the absence of scoreboard pressure, England overhauled the target with ease in 15.3 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
The Indian batsmen never got any momentum going as England’s pace-heavy attack, led by Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, used the extra bounce effectively to trouble them.
The world’s biggest stadium, which has a seating capacity of 1,32,000, played host to more than 67,000 fans, (which would be more than the 50% as…