Ben Duckett-Jacob Bethell, IND vs ENG 3rd ODI: The host team has made an explosive start in the third and final ODI match between India and England at Lord's.
England, having won the toss and elected to bat first, saw their openers completely disrupt the line and length of the Indian bowlers. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian bowling attack proved ineffective, allowing the English openers to rain runs all around the ground.
Indian bowlers took a batterin
In this match, the English opening pair of Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell stitched together a century partnership for the first wicket.
Notably, England discovered this new opening duo during this very series, and they have delivered a magnificent performance in their debut series together.
Riding on the back of this century partnership, England ended a 36-year-long winless drought against the Indian team at Lord's.
This marks the first time in a long wait of 36 years in international cricket that an England opening pair has recorded a century partnership against India at the historic Lord's ground.
Looking at the overall record at Lord's, this is the first instance since 2010 where England's opening duo has added more than 100 runs for the first wicket. Prior to this, in September 2010, the opening pair of Andrew Strauss and Steven Davies had shared a 113-run stand against Pakistan.
Since then, no English opening pair had managed to reach the century mark for the first wicket at this venue a feat that the duo of Duckett and Bethell has achieved today.
England's long drought in ODIs comes to an end
Moreover, this century-plus opening partnership marks a significant milestone for England in ODI cricket after a long hiatus.
Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan had shared a 115-run stand for the first wicket against Bangladesh at Dharamsala during the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Since that match, this is the first time the England team has managed to put together an opening partnership of over 100 runs in ODI cricket at any venue.
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