England captain Jos Buttler has called on his side to play better for longer after falling to a four-wicket defeat against India in the first of a three-match ODI series in Nagpur.
Phil Salt’s 43 off 26 balls saw England race to 75 without loss after electing to bat first, only to lose three wickets in the space of eight balls and never manage 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 target with 68 balls to spare.
The latest defeat follows a 4-1 T20 series loss against the same opposition, with former England captain Kevin Pietersen labelling their bowling as “predictable” during India’s run chase.
“Obviously disappointed not to win,” Buttler said in the post-match presentation. “We got off to a fantastic start, the two guys [Salt and Ben Duckett] were very aggressive in the power play.
“Losing four wickets so close together put us back. When you see the way the wicket played, another 40 or 50 runs could have been crucial.
Phil Salt scored 43 and Ben Duckett posted 32 for England
“This is not how we want to play. We want to put the opposition under pressure and keep the momentum going as long as possible. That has been the same through the T20s, as well as today.
“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 ‘need to sharpen up’
England’s defeat came in their first ODI match since a series defeat against the West Indies in November, with Joe Root and Buttler both returning to 50-over international cricket since 2023.
Buttler’s side now have two more matches to improve ahead of this month’s Champions Trophy, live on Sky Sports, with Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan in their group for the eight-team tournament.
“The tools are all there,” former England cricketer Matt Prior told TNT Sports. “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 could tell they haven’t played 50-over cricket for a long time. There were just sloppy mistakes and it was just a bit lacklustre. For England, the talent is there, the ability is there, but they just need to sharpen up in a number of areas.”
Former England bowler Steven Finn, also part of TNT Sports’ coverage, added: “If India see a chink in your armour, especially bringing all their big guns back in, they are going to take advantage 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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