Axar Patel produced a brilliant spell at the death to break into an exclusive list of Indian ODI cricket during the opening match against England at Edgbaston on Tuesday. The left-arm spinner became only the second Indian spinner to claim four wickets between overs 41 and 50 in an ODI innings. The only other Indian spinner to achieve the feat is Ravindra Jadeja, who did it against Sri Lanka in Port of Spain in 2013. Axar’s late burst helped India bowl out England for 258 after the hosts staged a remarkable recovery through Joe Root and Liam Dawson. England appeared headed for a modest total after collapsing from 61 not out to 107 for six. However, Root and Dawson put together a fighting 121-run partnership for the seventh wicket to frustrate the Indian attack and revive the innings. Root top-scored with 76 off 76 deliveries, while Dawson registered a career-best 68 off 83 balls. The duo took the pressure off by: Jasprit Bumrah before targeting other bowlers as the pitch became easier for batting. When England looked set to finish strongly, Axar struck again and again in the closing stages. He scrapped the lower order to finish with career-best ODI figures of 4 for 62, ensuring that England were restricted to 258 instead of pushing beyond the 275-mark. Earlier, India’s pace attack dominated the opening half of the innings. Bumrah, who returned after a six-week workload management break, produced a brilliant spell despite finishing with just one wicket. The pace spearhead conceded just 31 runs in nine overs, including 36 dot balls, while constantly troubling England’s top order with movement and bounce. Young left-arm seamer Gurnoor Brar impressed by dismissing Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett at the same time after a costly start, while Prasidh Krishna chipped in with key wickets in Jos Buttler and Sam Curran as England slumped to 107 for six. Root and Dawson rebuilt the innings before Axar’s late strikes ended the recovery. In doing so, the all-rounder not only recorded the best ODI bowling figures of his career but also matched a unique Indian bowling milestone that has remained untouched for over a decade.