Harshit Rana made his ODI debut after being handed the India cap in the opening match of the three-match series in Nagpur on Thursday. However, his debut was overshadowed by an unwanted record, as Rana bowled the most expensive over by an Indian debutant in ODIs, conceding 26 runs in a single over — the highest ever in a debutant’s over where ball-by-ball data is available.

This costly over sparked a wave of criticism among cricket fans, many questioning the decision to include the right-arm pacer in the squad and starting XI. Social media platforms were flooded with comments challenging the team management’s choices.

One fan raised a valid concern: “How is Harshit Rana in the squad ahead of Siraj, the world’s highest wicket-taker in ODIs over the last two years? And how did Rana start in the XI ahead of Arshdeep Singh, who is part of the CT25 squad?”

Meanwhile, England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bat first against India. The hosts were without star batter Virat Kohli, who was ruled out due to a “sore right knee,” but pacer Mohammed Shami made his return to ODIs for the first time since the World Cup final against Australia on November 19. Shami, who was India’s top wicket-taker in the tournament with 24 wickets, had earlier made his comeback in the T20I series against England, which India won 4-1.

India also handed debuts to young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and seamer Harshit Rana. This marked India’s first ODI since August 2024, when they were defeated 0-2 in a three-match series against Sri Lanka.

England were dismissed for 248, while India completed the chase less than 40 overs, with four wickets in hand.

India: Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Shami.
England: Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (wk), Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Saqib Mahmood.