Looking back: Kohli's debut as ODI captain and Jadhav's ton in the 2017 England series
Nearly a decade on, the January 2017 ODI series between India and England still stands out as a high-scoring contest. It was played on flat pitches, and scores of 350-plus were routine. India won the three-match series 2-1 under a new captain, and it gave Indian fans several memorable innings.
The series opened in Pune on 15 January and marked a changing of the guard. Virat Kohli was leading India in ODIs for the first time after taking over from MS Dhoni, who was playing his first match since giving up the limited-overs captaincy. Yuvraj Singh was also back in the ODI side after a gap of about three years. England batted first and made 350 for 7, their highest ODI total against India in India. Jason Roy, Joe Root and Ben Stokes all made fifties.
India's chase began badly. They were 63 for 4 inside twelve overs, with Yuvraj and Dhoni both gone cheaply. Kohli was still at the crease, and he found a partner in Kedar Jadhav, the Pune local. The pair added 200 for the fifth wicket. Kohli made 122 off 105 balls, which was his 27th ODI hundred. Jadhav hit 120 off 76 balls with twelve fours and four sixes. Hardik Pandya stayed unbeaten on 40 off 37 balls and took India home with 11 balls to spare. Jadhav was named Player of the Match for what was only his second ODI century.
The second match in Cuttack on 19 January was even bigger. India made 381 for 6, and Yuvraj, with 150 off 127 balls, was the player of the match. England's reply of 366 for 8 fell 15 runs short despite a strong effort from the visitors' middle order. More than 700 runs were scored in the game. The win gave India an unbeatable 2-0 lead. It also showed that Yuvraj could still play a big innings in the format.
England won the dead rubber at Eden Gardens on 22 January by five runs. Stokes was the key man again. He made an unbeaten 57 off 39 balls to take England to 321 for 8, then took three wickets as India chased 322. Kohli made 55 and Yuvraj 45. India were 173 for 5 at one stage, and Jadhav and Pandya revived the chase with a stand of 104. Pandya made 56 and Jadhav made 90. Chris Woakes bowled the last over with India needing 16 and held his nerve. India finished on 316 for 9, which gave England their only win of the tour.
What did the series mean for India? The first lesson was Kohli's ability as a chaser. He was now captain and had no trouble handling that role. The second was the depth in the middle order, because Jadhav and Pandya both played match-shaping innings. The third was the bowling. India's attack conceded 350-plus in Pune, and in Kolkata England recovered well in the closing overs, so there was work to do there.
For England, the tour showed an attacking side that could score heavily in Indian conditions but struggled to defend big totals. Twice they posted more than 350 and twice they lost the match in a chase or a shootout.
Cuttack came back into the picture in February 2025, when India beat England by four wickets there to seal another ODI series at home. Rohit Sharma's century in that chase suggested how much the format had changed since 2017, with Kohli's first series as ODI captain still a useful reference point.