Watch: Gautam Gambhir confronts Rohit Sharma after 1st ENG ODI as the duo engage in intense chat

Published - 06 Feb 2025, 10:12 PM | Updated - 06 Feb 2025, 11:39 PM

Gautam Gambhir Rohit Sharma Animated Cha
PC-X.com

The India National Cricket Team head coach, Gautam Gambhir, confronted the Test and ODI skipper Rohit Sharma after the first ODI of the three-match series against the England National Cricket Team.

Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma were seen engaged in an intense discussion for quite some time after the conclusion of the match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur, on Thursday, February 6.

Also Read: Watch: Shubman Gill faces devastating 'hamstring injury blow' in 1st ODI vs ENG

Rohit Sharma's India beat England in the 1st ODI

The Men In Blue registered a comprehensive victory in the ODI series opener against England. After losing the toss and bowling first, the Indian bowlers were taken to the cleaners by the English batters.

However, the run out of Phil Salt after a bizarre mix-up with Ben Duckett led to a batting collapse and the visitors lost three wickets in no time.

The comeback man, Joe Root, was also unable to do any major damage and had to walk back to the dugout after scoring just 19 runs. Thanks to the brilliant half-centuries from Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell, the Three Lions avoided embarrassment and ended up registering 248 runs on the board - getting bowled out in 47.4 overs.

Chasing the target, the new opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma failed miserably. They were not able to provide a good start to the team.

Rohit Sharma had to walk back to the dugout after scoring 2 runs off 7 balls and his horror run in cricket continued as in his last 17 innings in international cricket, he has scored just 201 runs at an average of 11.8.

Meanwhile, the middle-order of the Indian team shined and ensured a comfortable win. Shubman Gill, who is also the vice-captain, played magnificent innings of 87 runs while batting at the No. 3 position as Virat Kohli was unavailable for the match.

Shreyas Iyer smashed a sensational half-century and Axar Patel also hit a brilliant fifty as India completed the run-chase in 38.4 overs.

Despite registering a crushing victory, things seemed heated between the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and skipper, Rohit Sharma. The duo were engaged in an intense discussion, but it was unclear exactly what they were talking about.

Watch: Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir engaged in intense chat

I knew in advance that I could get a promotion because of left-right combo - Axar Patel

The spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel, who was one of the top performers for the Rohit Sharma-led side in the ODI series opener, spoke to the host broadcasters after the match.

While talking about his promotion to the No.5 spot in the batting order, Axar Patel said that he knew about it in advance because Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir wanted to maintain a left-right combo. Axar also said that he and Shubman Gill took calculative risks during their brilliant partnership.

When asked about the pitch, Axar Patel said that they just wanted to bowl in the right areas as the surface had enough for the bowlers, but opined that they would have been more successful had they varied their pace a bit.

"I knew in advance that I could get a promotion because of left-right combo. We tried to bowl spin in the powerplay but it was coming nicely onto the bat at that point. We just wanted to bowl in the right areas," the all-rounder said.

"Pitch had something in it for the bowlers. I felt they varied their pace well and got a turn. If we had done that as well we could have got more turn. We were trying to take calculative assaults (in the partnership with Gill)," Axar added.

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