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After bagging three wickets against England at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday, India seamer Harshit Rana reflected on Nagpur's pitch and said that the wicket is slightly double-paced.
On his maiden ODI game, Harshit picked up three wickets in his seven-over spell and gave 53 runs at an economy rate of 7.60. He dismissed Ben Duckett, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone in the first inning. The Men in Blue need to make 249 runs to win the first ODI match of the series against England in Nagpur. Speaking after the end of the first inning, Harshit said that he had worked hard to reach this level. The Indian pacer added that he planned to bowl at a certain length against the Three Lions in Nagpur. "Dream life, but I have worked hard and I am reaping the rewards. The idea was to bowl in a certain length. I was taken for runs earlier but still I stuck to it. They were trying to chance their arms when given the room, so Rohit asked me to bowl at the stumps. The wicket is slightly double-paced, the odd ball stops on it. We have bounced back well, bowlers have done well. It is a good total, we can chase it down," Harshit Rana was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying. Earlier in the first inning, England won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Phil Salt (43 in 26 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Ben Duckett (32 in 29 balls, with six fours) gave England a fine start with an explosive 75-run opening stand. After England stumbled to 111/4, with experienced Joe Root (19 in 31 balls, with a four) in the pavillion, skipper Jos Buttler (52 in 67 balls, with four boundaries) and Jacob Bethell had a 59-run stand. After Buttler was dismissed, Bethell reached his half-century, scoring 51 in 64 balls, with three fours and a six. A cameo from Jofra Archer (21* in 18 balls, with three fours and a six) took England to 248 in 47.4 overs. Ravindra Jadeja (3/26) and Harshit Rana (3/53) were top wicket takers for India. Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav got a wicket each. (ANI)
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