Shubman Gill walks off the field in pain in middle of 1st ODI vs ENG to give India huge injury scare

During India's pursuit of a 259-run target in the opening ODI against England at Edgbaston, captain Shubman Gill was forced to cut his innings short and walk off the field.

Shubman Gill gets retired hurt, taken off the field

The star opener had initially received medical attention on his right leg from the team physio just before the 24th over. Despite attempting to battle through the discomfort, which could be caused either due to cramp or injury, he was ultimately forced to abandon his knock just before the final delivery of the 26th over.

ALSO READ: ICC contemplates introducing WTC semis with big change in ODI World Cup format

Before the injury interruption, Gill was anchoring the chase beautifully, looking in sublime touch while striking 80 runs off 75 balls, a knock studded with 11 boundaries and a six. The situation took a drastic turn during the 26th over when the skipper collapsed to the ground, clutching the back of his right leg in obvious pain. The worrying sight left commentators debating whether the star batsman was merely dealing with severe dehydration cramps or a more alarming muscle tear, leaving him with no choice but to retire hurt.

This sudden setback introduces major selection headaches for the Indian team management, who are already under immense scrutiny following a dismal run in the shortest format. India enters this 50-over series on the heels of consecutive T20I series whitewashes, having suffered a 2-0 defeat against Ireland before being soundly thrashed 4-0 by Harry Brook's dominant England side.

England saunter to 258-run total

India’s bowling unit put on a clinic to restrict England to 258 runs in the opening ODI at Edgbaston, frustrating the hosts after they elected to bat first. The primary architect of this defensive chokehold was left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who dismantled England’s middle-order resistance with a phenomenal four-wicket haul. He was ably supported by the fast-bowling duo of Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar, who captured two wickets apiece by extracting disciplined pace and bounce from the surface. Additionally, leading speedster Jasprit Bumrah chipped in with a dismissal, achieving a major career milestone by securing his 150th ODI wicket.

England's innings was a story of a flying start derailed by a catastrophic collapse, culminating in them being bowled out in 47.5 overs. After building a solid platform early on, the home side completely lost their way in the middle overs, dramatically losing five wickets for the addition of a mere 19 runs. It took a resilient partnership between Joe Root and Liam Dawson to bail the hosts out of a precarious situation and lift them to a respectable total.

Root proved to be the anchor for England, fighting through the collapse to top-score with an unbeaten 76 runs while shielding the tail. He found an excellent ally in bowling all-rounder Dawson, who contributed a vital, gritty 68 runs to give the English bowlers a competitive score to defend.