"This is captaincy. This is leadership" - Fans go berserk over Rohit Sharma's aggressive tactics in 1st IND v ENG ODI 2025

Team India are currently locking horns with England in the first ODI of the three-match series at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday, February 6. After bowling the visitors out for 248 in 47.4 overs, the hosts are 45/2 at the time of writing, having lost both the openers.

India used several aggressive tactics while bowling, including positioning their fielders in unusual places. A lot of the credit for this was given to skipper Rohit Sharma, who also backed his bowlers to the hilt and gave them the freedom to express themselves to the fullest.

At one point, Harshit Rana, who was making his debut, seemed despondent on the field after giving away 26 runs in the sixth over. Sharma, however, went up to him and motivated him to give it another go after a short break. Fired up, Rana ran in hard and picked up two crucial wickets of Ben Duckett (32) and Harry Brook (0) in his next over.

Sharma's leadership skills did not go unnoticed by fans, who took to X to applaud him.

"Harshit Rana gave 26 runs in just 1 over. He was looking demotivated on the field. Rohit went and told him to bowl again. Harshit Rana took 2 wickets in just 1 over. This is captaincy. This is leadership," wrote Hydrogen X.

Here are some other tweets in support of Sharma:

"Good captaincy by Rohit Sharma today," a fan chimed.

"Now everyone will say Good bowling by the bowlers and no one will say Good captaincy by Rohit Sharma and if our bowlers were not taking wicket like this then everything must have just turned around and Rohit Sharma Would had suddenly became a bad captain. HYPOCRISY ON TOP," a fan wrote.

"Commentators have praised Rohit Sharma's captaincy and Mohammed Shami's bowling in recent matches," wrote a fan.

"What an outstanding captaincy by captain Rohit Sharma After such a bad first spell by Harshit Rana but Captain Rohit back him for the second spell and Harshit took 2 wickets. The great leader @ImRo45," wrote another one.

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India well placed against England in the first ODI

Debutant Harshit Rana picked up three wickets, as did all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to dismantle the English batting order after they chose to bat first. The visitors could hardly sustain the pressure they were put under and were bowled out for 248 in 47.4 overs.

Half-centuries from Jos Buttler (52) and Jacob Bethell (51) were the only saving graces for England with the bat in hand. India, in reply, are 45/2, with Shreyas Iyer and vice-captain Shubman Gill at the crease.

India will treat this one-day series against England as ideal preparation for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, which is slated to be played in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates later this month.