Road to South Africa and runs: Washington Sundar, Axar Patel deliver with bat and ball at Edgbaston | Cricket News

Axar Patel (left) and Washington Sundar added an unbeaten 102 runs for the fifth wicket in the first ODI against England. (BCCI | X)

TimesofIndia.com in Birmingham: All-rounders Axar Patel and Washington Sundar successfully guided Team India to a 259-run chase in the first ODI against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Tuesday. The six-wicket victory ended India’s three-week winless streak in the UK, which saw them suffer a 0-2 loss to Ireland and a 0-4 whitewash against England in the T20I series. The win also extended India’s unbeaten run against England in ODIs to six straight wins while ending England’s seven-match winning streak at Edgbaston.The 102-run stand between Axar and Washington for the fifth wicket, under a blazing sun, lifted the proverbial clouds that briefly gathered over India’s march to victory. Within 20 minutes, India lost skipper Shubman Gill to cramps, Shreyas Iyer to a run-out, and KL Rahul, who dragged a wide delivery on his stumps. India went from 149/2 to 160/4 in a flash, with the trio back in the hut. England, beaten by a 101-run partnership between Gill (80 off 75 balls) and Iyer (35 off 53 balls), suddenly roared in celebration, as did the 20,744 in attendance. ‘Wonderwall’, ‘It’s Coming Home’ and ‘Hey Jude’ rang out across the land as FIFA World Cup fever, fueled by Harry Kane & Co.’s run to the semi-finals, mixed with England’s surge at Edgbaston.With 99 runs still needed, the challenge is less about the required run rate of 4.5 and more about handling the sudden pressure after losing three quick wickets. Both Axar and Washington have just arrived at the crease and face a daunting task. Instead of getting rattled, the southpaws, the first left-hander in India’s XI after the quartet of right-handers, faced the situation with confidence.

India’s Axar Patel and Washington Sundar celebrate their partnership during the 1st ODI against England, at the Edgbaston stadium in Birmingham on Tuesday. (THIS picture)

The duo bowled out Will Jacks and Sam Curran, where four overs yielded just nine runs. The reintroduction of Adil Rashid allowed Washington to free his arms with a boundary and nine runs over. The next two overs, as Curran and Jacks continued, yielded 18 runs, with the duo’s confidence evidently growing.Axar is the main character of this episode. A slog sweep from Jacks and back-to-back boundaries off Jofra Archer meant the runs started comfortably. On the other end, Washington enjoyed watching his teammate at bat.

“The way he batted was magical and it was a treat for me to watch from the other end,” he said in the post-match press conference.The next four overs featured the same level-headed approach. As the fifty-run partnership came and went, the duo collected nine runs in three overs while seeing out Archer’s full quota of 10 overs. The next two overs produced another 19 runs, allowing Axar and Washington to slow things down again in the next three overs.After navigating the chase to perfection, the duo grew in confidence and momentum, fittingly capped by Washington’s cracking shot in the 45th over that sealed the game. A floated delivery from Adil Rashid was too full and in the slot for the 26-year-old, who sent it past the long-on boundary for a match-winning six.

Axar Patel (left) acknowledges the crowd’s reception after reaching his fifty in the first ODI against England at Edgbaston (BCCI | X)

“We thought we went down a couple of wickets today, we need to build a partnership now. And after four, five overs, we’ll think about what we need to do because of the way we started, and I think we were ahead of the game. So we have to build the partnership and just finish the game,” explained Player of the Match Axar Patel.Skipper Gill, whose availability for the Cardiff ODI in the two-day period remains uncertain, was happy to see India’s batting depth tested and come through successfully.

When you see your middle-order and lower-middle order score like that and get the job done for the team, you get a lot of confidence as a captain and as a top-order batsman.

Shubman Gill

“When you can see your middle order and lower middle order score like that and finish the job for the team, you get a lot of confidence as a captain and as a top-order batsman,” Gill said at the presentation.What was shown in the first ODI was the desire of India coach Gautam Gambhir to have a left-hander bat ahead of KL Rahul. At Edgbaston, that role went to Washington. During India’s Champions Trophy win last year, Axar was the preferred choice to win the higher order. It also helped that Rahul suited up at No. 6 rolls. Since 2025, he has scored 291 runs in that position at an average of 36.37 and a strike rate of 99.31. That doesn’t mean he didn’t make a mark at No. 5. The same can be said about Axar, who was also tested at No. 5 and handed over.

Washington Sundar (right) and Axar Patel (left) scored half-centuries against England in the first ODI. (BCCI | X)

This selection dilemma may be resolved later as only one of Axar or Washington can feature regularly in India’s plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa. If Hardik Pandya and Harshit Rana regain full fitness, there may be room for just one spin-bowling all-rounder.So far, Axar and Washington have given an excellent account of themselves, and India’s road to the 2027 ODI World Cup is up and running on a positive note.