On Tuesday, young fast bowler Prasidh Krishna claimed India’s best bowling figures on debut in One-Day International (ODI) cricket. He finished with 4 wickets for 54 runs from 8.1 overs in the first ODI against England at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
In his maiden ODI game, Krishna cashed in the opportunity from both hands. The right-arm pacer dismissed Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Sam Billings and Tom Curran as India crushed England by 66 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Although Krishna was quite expensive in his first spell, including his third over, where he conceded 22 runs, but he came back strongly in his second spell and broke the crucial partnership of 135 runs held between English openers Roy and Jonny Bairstow.
Krishna removed Roy for 46 to claim his first-ever wicket in the 50-over format. He then dismissed Ben Stokes for 1 and almost got rid of England skipper Eoin Morgan but Indian captain Virat Kohli dropped the catch at slips. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) sensation picked up two more scalps in the form of Sam Billings (18) and Tom Curran (11) to enter in record books.
Krishna broke the 24-year record held by Noel David, who had registered figures of 3/21 against West Indies in Port of Spain in 1997. As many as 16 India bowlers had taken 3-wicket hauls on ODI debuts, but the Karnataka paceman became the first Indian to take more than 3 in the very first game of his career.
Best bowling figures on debut in ODIs for India:
4/54 – Prasidh Krishna vs England, 2021
3/21 – Noel David vs West Indies, 1997
3/24 – Varun Aaron vs England, 2011
3/30 – Subroto Banerjee vs West Indies, 1991
3/31 – Hardik Pandya vs New Zealand, 2016
Apart from Krishna, Shardul Thakur (3/37), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/30) and Krunal Pandya (1/59) finished with impressive performances to bundle out England for 251 in 42.1 overs.
Earlier, India posted 317/5 in their allotted 50 overs. Opener Shikhar Dhawan rolled back in the form as he scored 98 from 106 balls. Skipper Kohli made 56, while KL Rahul (62) and Krunal (58) also hit their respective fifties to put India in a strong position.
