IND vs ENG ODI | Positive signs for India but a few chinks in the armour remain

India's ODI series is crucial for ICC Champions Trophy preparation, with Harshit Rana impressing on debut.

The ongoing ODI series is India’s last chance to get its house in order ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy.

While the convincing four-wicket win in the opening fixture here gave some positive cues, a few more pieces of the puzzle remain to be solved.

At a time when the Indian team and fans are sweating over Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness and availability for the ICC event, it was imperative that someone like Harshit Rana got match practice to give the management an option in case the former doesn’t recover in time.

The 23-year-old pacer has had a dream run in the last few months, starting with his Test debut in Australia in November, followed by his maiden T20I appearance a week ago. On Thursday, he completed his collection of international caps when he made his ODI debut at the VCA Stadium and gave a good account of himself.

He struck thrice (7-1-53-3) and helped restrict England to a modest score before the batters chased down the target easily.

More than the wickets, what was more heartening was the way he bounced back strongly after being taken for 37 runs in his first three overs.

“There are always ups and downs in cricket. I only wanted to focus on my length, bowl where I have to, and I got rewarded later,” said Harshit when asked about being taken for 26 runs in an over by Phil Salt. But the Delhi pacer made the requisite adjustments in his second spell and bent his back to trouble Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone with extra bounce.