England were 285/9 after winning the toss at stumps on the first day of the first Test against India at Edgbaston on Wednesday. Joe Root, the England captain, made 80 before his run out sparked a collapse that saw the hosts lose three wickets for eight runs in 25 balls in what is their 1,000th Test match. At stumps, Sam Curran was 24 not out and James Anderson unbeaten on nought. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took four wickets for 60 runs in 25 overs while paceman Mohammed Shami had two for 64 in 19. Get highlights of Day 1 of the first Test here.
Can India take advantage on Day 2?
Ashwin was in fine form, and Shami looked good in patches. But the real question that remains is if India can wrap up the first innings early and then score a big total of their own? India have started the Test well but England are not pushovers by any means. Do join us tomorrow for more live coverage of the Test. Until then, goodbye and goodnight!
India end strong
Dinesh Karthik drops a chance on the second last ball of the game and England survive to fight another day, at least temporarily. They end Day 1 at 285/9. Root was the top scorer with 80 runs but not getting a century will haunt him, no doubt. The third session undoubtedly belonged to India. R Ashwin deserves plenty of credit too for his lovely spell.
England hold fort
Anderson and Curran are doing their best to survive the onslaught of a bowling line-up that is absolutely baying for their blood at this point. Not long left for stumps now.
Ashwin gets Broad, England in trouble
OUT! Ashwin removes Broad and gets his fourth scalp of the day. His quicker one catches Broad unaware and he is trapped plumb. England look clueless.
Ashwin answers doubters
Arnab Sen, Sports Editor, HT Digital: Throw him to the wolves and he will return back leading the pack. Ravichandran Ashwin is showcasing his class here as India’s premier Test match bowler. What a spell on day 1 and now with Ishant removing Adil Rashid, the tourists have made a headstart to the Test series
England stand firm
Ishant is having to bend his back to get the old ball to do something whereas Ashwin is remaining as efficient as ever with his line and length. ENG are 278/7 after 83 overs.
India eye strong finish
Ashwin is still looking for wickets, but for now the pairing of Curran and Rashid are holding solid. India have not yet taken the new ball, for… some reason, we guess. With 81 overs finished, ENG are 276/7.
Adil Rashid counter-attacks
Adil Rashid decides to take on R Ashwin of all bowlers, hitting consecutive boundaries off his bowling. Not sure if he’s being entirely reckless or has just decided to take a chance while he can, but England fans won’t complain. ENG are 269/7 after 79 overs.
India seek more wickets
Mohammed Shami and R Ashwin have been relentless so far and the English batsmen are not looking to take any risks. Adil Rashid, the new man, is certainly looking a bit shaky as of now. ENG are 250/7 in 76 overs.
Ashwin removes Stokes
OUT! Stokes is now caught and bowled by Ashwin on 21 and England are tottering. England – who looked like posting a massive score before the start of the final session – could potentially be all out by the end of today. Test cricket is truly amazing.
Stokes, Curran solid
India have smelled blood at this point and are clearly looking for another wicket soon. However, Stokes and Curran are looking solid as of now. A big innings from Stokes could do wonders for him and the hosts. ENG are 242/6 after 72 overs.
England aim to steady ship
Given the quick loss of wickets in the third session, both Stokes and Curran are not looking to do anything but settle in at this point. Both playing cautiously at this point, although Stokes punishes Shami when the latter bowls a loose ball on the pads, flicking him for a boundary. ENG are 237/6 after 70 overs.
Ashwin dismisses Buttler
OUT! R Ashwin traps Jos Buttler on the latter’s second delivery that he faced, meaning he departs without affecting the scoreboard. England have now lost three wickets in the final session. ENG 224/6 after 67 overs.
Umesh removes Bairstow
OUT! Umesh Yadav removes the dangerous Jonny Bairstow and England are suddenly looking a bit vulnerable. They have now lost half their side and more importantly, both the set batsmen have departed after tea.
Stokes in, Bairstow key
A lot is dependant on Bairstow now, although new batsman Ben Stokes is a dangerous player when in form. With Jos Buttler still waiting in the dressing room, India cannot afford to get complacent after removing Root. ENG 221/4 after 65 overs.
Kohli runs out Root
OUT! India get the big wicket of Root at last and it’s from a wonderful throw by Virat Kohli. Root looks annoyed – not sure if with himself or Bairstow – but that’s another failure to convert a fifty into a hundred for the skipper. ENG 216/4 now after 63 overs.
Half chance to get Bairstow
Hardik Pandya comes extremely close to giving India its fourth wicket. He bowled it wide outside the off stump and Bairstow went for it. The connection wasn’t great and and the ball looped in the air but fell just short of a diving Virat Kohli at covers. The ball fell way short of Kohli who gave it his best. Mohammed Shami is bowling a probing line outside the off stump to both the batsmen on the other end. Indian bowlers trying hard to make something happen.
Indian bowlers looking for wickets
The players are out in the middle for the final session of the day and the Indian bowlers are looking to strike some important blows before the close of play today. Root and Bairstow look solid but a wicket or two could set the cat amongst the pigeons. Root has been infamous for not converting his fifties in centuries since becoming captain and India would hope he fails to do so.
England 163/3 at tea
England end the second session in a solid position to post a big total on Day 1. Skipper Root brought up a 50-run partnership with Bairstow and both look in fine touch. India will need to fight back in the final session. Join us for updates on the last session of the day.
Root, Bairstow bring up 50-run partnership
Root and Bairstow both look in solid touch so far and have brought up their 50-run partnership. The sooner India get a wicket, the better for them. ENG 162/3 after 53 overs.
India search for wickets
Kohli is clearly desperate to break this partnership and brings back Ashwin and then Pandya. Ashwin is attacked by Bairstow whereas Root plays out a maiden over against Pandya. ENG 155/3 after 50 overs.
Root shows class
Joe Root is well settled now and he is giving India some nervous moments. He smacks Umesh for a four that has Kohli looking very unhappy. England are 148/3 after 48 overs.
Root, Bairstow start repair job
Root just brought up his half century and Bairstow is looking in fine touch too so far and is running well between the wickets. England are 139/3 after 46 overs.
50 for Joe Root
Half century for Joe Root! The England skipper brings up his 41st fifty with two runs through third-man and it has been a special innings from the Yorkshire batsman. England are 129 for the loss of three wickets.
Sensational Shami
Arnab Sen, Sports Editor, HT Digital: Mohammed Shami is capable of producing match winnings spells, but only when he is in the mood. We saw that at Johannesburg earlier this year. He has looked sharp in the second session and his ability to get the ball to jag back in from the good length spot has bothered a lot of batsmen in the past. Jennings and Malan just faced it.
Root’s record
Joe Root became the third fastest England batsman to reach 6000 runs as he brought up the milestone in 127 innings – one fewer than Kevin Pietersen and four fewer than Alastair Cook. ENG 122/3
Shami strikes again
Mohammed Shami is turning out to be India’s star performer as he dismisses Dawid Malan. It was a good delivery by the fast bowler and although the hosts went for the review, umpire’s call prevailed. The ball hit Malan on the back leg and the replay showed that the ball would have crashed into the top of the middle stump. ENG 113/3
Review wasted
A chance for India to take another wicket but the review goes against them. Dawid Malan took a huge stride and although the ball hit him on the boot, the impact was slightly outside the off-stump. One review down and India are still searching for the third wicket. Two balls later, Root edges one through slips and Rahane was unable to get his hand to the ball. England 112 for the loss of 2 wickets.
100 up for England
England have crossed 100 and Joe Root is still out in the middle with just few runs between him and a well-deserved fifty. However, the wicket of Keaton Jennings will be a big boost for the Indian bowlers and it will be interesting to see how they respond to this success. ENG 102/2
Shami gets the wicket of unlucky Jennings
Finally a wicket for India as Keaton Jennings is bowled by Mohammed Shami for 42. The ball took a thick edge off Jennings and the ball dropped directly on the wickets. This is exactly what the visitors needed and this can lead to a comeback for Virat Kohli & Co. England 98 for the loss of 2 wickets.
Bowlers falter
The line and length of the bowlers has not been consistent in this session. Ishant Sharma, who was their best bowler in the first session, has struggled to repeat the same magic and looks like both Root and Jennings are well on their way to half centuries. England 98 for the loss of one wicket.
India desperate for wickets
Right now, it is quite surprising to think that Virat Kohli actually wanted to bowl on this wicket. The first half hour saw some movement off the pitch, but Root and Jennings have handled the bowlers quite impressively. Kohli has already used all five of his specialist bowlers and they need a wicket quickly! ENG 95/1
New session, same story
Joe Root and Keaton Jennings are playing the same game as before in the second session as well. The duo are playing very cautiously against Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami with both of them in the 30s. This is not good news for India and they need wickets quickly to make a comeback. ENG 89/1
Back for second session
We are back for the second session and this is going to be a big one for both sides. The Indian bowlers were unable to bother the duo of Root and Jennings in the first session and a quick wicket is needed to raise the spirits. Umesh Yadav will bowl the first over after lunch as England are 83/1.
A good session for England
This session clearly belonged to England and the duo of Joe Root and Keaton Jennings who handed the proceedings brilliantly after losing the wicket of Alastair Cook. The bowlers were not bad but the batsmen played them out brilliantly to hand the hosts an advantage on Day 1. England 83/1 at lunch.
Hard work for India pacers
Arnab Sen, Sports Editor, HT Digital: It has been hard work for the Indian bowlers here in the first session. The pacers have bowled their heart out without much luck while Ashwin has managed to give India a wicket. A few edges have flown here and there and a catch has also gone down. India need a bit of luck to make more in roads into this strong England batting line up. On the other hand, Root and Jennings have stitched together a 50-run partnership.
Virat hands ball to Pandya
The fifth bowler is introduced by Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya is the new batsman for India. Till now, the Indian fast bowlers have received good movement off the pitch and Pandya will certainly find it helpful to bowl a proper line outside the off-stump. The England batsmen are not looking to take any risk and the onus is on the bowlers to induce any kind of mistake. England 72 for the loss of one wicket.
Ashwin’s Cook connection
Batsman dismissed most often by Ravichandran Ashwin in Tests:
9 – David Warner
8 – Alastair Cook
7 – Ed Cowan
6 – Darren Bravo/ Marlon Samuels/ Mitchell Starc/ Morne Morkel
England continue to defend
This has been a gritty performance by Joe Root and Keaton Jennings. The duo are not looking for boundaries at all and it seems like they want to end the session without losing any wicket. As a result, it has been a lot of defensive shots and the Indian bowlers are no where close to providing a breakthrough. 20 overs gone and England are 62 for the loss of one wicket.
Pandya yet to be introduced
Virat Kohli have handed the ball to Mohammed Shami and he has been quite disciplined till now. Shami and Ashwin are bowling at tandem but they are not being able to bother Root or Jennings. The skipper still has a play to make as Pandya can be a good option on this pitch. In other news, away from the clamour of the on-going Test series, all-rounder Hardik Pandya shared a picture of him with Dinesh Karthik and captioned “My No.1 love”. Here a link to the full story.
India’s early success
The early wicket helped India to gain confidence after a somewhat shaky start to the game. After 15 overs, England are 47 for the loss of one wicket and a fun fact about Ashwin’s wicket – The last time an Indian spinner took first wicket of a series held outside Asia was Anil Kumble in 2007.
Virat Kohli celebrates after Ravichandran Ashwin bowled out England’s Alastair Cook. (Reuters)
England play cautiously
The wicket of Alastair Cook has halted England’s positive start and the batsmen are playing cautiously against the Indian bowlers. Contrary to the predictions, the pitch is already helping the spinners and Ravichandran Ashwin is taking full advantage. There were a couple of deliveries that had both the right amount of spin and bounce but the England batsmen were able to play them out. England 45 for the loss of one wicket.
Root joins Jennings
Joe Root is the new batsman for England and he will have to play a major role for England. Root and Jennings are playing Umesh and Ashwin sensibly and the duo have successfully kept the scoreboard ticking. On a side note, this was the eighth time that Cook has got out to Ashwin – the joint most he got out to a spinner alongside Nathan Lyon. ENG 42/1
Ashwin dismisses Cook
Ravichandran Ashwin provides the breakthrough for India as he dismisses Alastair Cook for 13. The former England skipper was completed fooled by the movement of the delivery and the ball crashed into the middle and off stump. This is a great start for India as England are 32 for the loss of one wicket.
India ‘slip’ up
Arnab Sen, Sports Editor, HT Digital: Alastair Cook hasn’t looked comfortable in the early exchanges so far and both Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma have managed to trouble him outside the off stump. But Cook’s ability to grind it out in the middle even in the face of some quality bowling ensures that he survives and goes on to score big.
Old habits die hard and they have come back to haunt India again. Ajinkya Rahane, India’s most trusted slip fielder, grounds one early. Ishant Sharma induced the outside edge off Keaton Jennings’ bat and the ball was travelling straight to Virat Kohli at the third slip, but Rahane went for an acrobatic low catch and dropped it in the process. Slip catching could be the biggest difference in this series.
Rahane drops Jennings
Early mistake from India as Ajinkya Rahane drops Keaton Jennings on 9. Ishant Sharma is bowling brilliantly and he was able to make Jennings edge the ball to fourth slip, but Ajinkya Rahane was unable to complete the catch and this can be a major problem for India in this match. ENG 22/0 after 6 overs.
Cook, Jennings steady
The openers – Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings – are getting the runs quite easily and Umesh Yadav is mainly responsible for that. Umesh is struggling to get his length right and the batsmen has also slammed him for three boundaries till now. Ishant is bowling well but without support, India will not be able to apply the proper pressure on the hosts. ENG 20/0
Ishant on fire, Umesh struggles
Contrasting start by the Indian fast bowlers as Ishant Sharma troubled Alastair Cook in the first ball but Umesh Yadav was unable to find the perfect length. Sharma kept bowling just outside the off-stump and there were a couple of occasions when Cook almost edged the delivery to the wicket-keeper. On the other hand, Umesh Yadav was wayward in his line and Keaton Jennings scored the first boundary of the match. ENG 9/0 after 2 overs.
Cook’s favourite ground
Arnab Sen, Sports Editor, HT Digital: Alastair Cook has a great record at Edgbaston, averaging above 65. He has some big scores to his name on this venue and India will have to plan his dismissal early. The good thing for India is that there is one bowler in their attack who knows it all about how to get Cook out. Ishant Sharma has dismissed Cook eight times in his career and will look to continue his good run against the ex-England captain.
Virat Kohli’s personal battle
Virat Kohli will be determined to wipe out a blemish in his career, after managing only 134 runs in 10 innings during India’s series defeat four years ago. Kohli, the No 2 ranked Test batsman, enters the series looking to underline his class and form, and win the battle against ageing England pace bowler James Anderson.
Anderson has removed Kohli five times, including four times during the five-Test series in 2014. However, the India skipper arrives after a brilliant 2017 when he scored 1059 runs at an average of 75.64. He also scored 286 runs at 47.66 in the three-Test series in South Africa in January, providing the resistance during a 1-2 series loss.
India’s three-man pace attack
India, as expected, picked a three-man pace attack in a positive move, having dismissed South Africa twice in all three Tests in January. Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami will be supported by all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Pujara’s spot had been under pressure following the batsman’s poor run. He had scores of 26, 4, 0, 19, 50 and 1 in South Africa and made 35 against Afghanistan. He struggled in the early summer playing for Yorkshire and fell cheaply in both innings of the warm-up game against Essex.
India’s poor record
India are looking to turn things around in England, having lost the last two tours 0-4 and 1-3. India have won three Test series in England – 1971, 1986 and 2007.
Virat Kohli will be determined to wipe out a blemish in his career, after managing only 134 runs in 10 innings during India’s series defeat four years ago. Kohli, the No 2 ranked Test batsman, enters the series looking to underline his class and form, and win the battle against ageing England pace bowler James Anderson.
Dhawan over Pujara
Arnab Sen, Sports Editor, HT Digital: Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped from the playing XI in favour of KL Rahul while Shikhar Dhawan has been retained at the top of the order. Given the fact that both Pujara and Dhawan don’t have a great record outside the sub-continent, Kohli has gone for the impact player at the top of the order rather than opting for the defensive Pujara. Only time will tell whether it is another one of Kohli’s decisions that come back to haunt him.
India XI
Now, a look at the India XI: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik(wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma.
No Kuldeep Yadav and Cheteshwar Pujara in the playing XI for the visitors.
England XI
A look at the England playing XI: A Cook, K Jennings, J Root, D Malan, J Bairstow, B Stokes, J Buttler, S Curran, A Rashid, S Broad, J Anderson
England win toss
England have won the toss and they have decided to bat first. Cheteshwar Pujara will not be a part of playing XI as they have opted for KL Rahul instead. India are also playing three pacers and Ravichandran Ashwin as the lone spinner.
Pitch Report
According to Sanjay Manjrekar, the conditions are overcast, the pitch looks dark in colour and there should be some moisture on this surface. There’s no fresh grass on the surface and Manjrekar believes that Virat Kohli should bat first if he wins the toss.
Five questions facing Virat Kohli
Arnab Sen, Sports Editor, HT Digital: Indian captain Virat Kohli will have several things to focus on but the top three in his agenda just hours before the match starts could be: 1) Dhawan or Rahul – Shikhar Dhawan’s form outside the sub-continent has been abysmal and Kohli has to decide whether he will punt on the southpaw again or will go in with the in form KL Rahul 2) Play Pujara or not – Cheteshwar Pujara’s form too has been suspect outside the sub-coontinent and he had a dismal tour of South Africa earlier this year.
His long county stint also turned out to be a mixed bag and he failed in the first innings of the warm-up game. Kohli will have to decide on whether he wants India’s number 3 in his playing XI or not 3) Two spinners or one – The pitch looks dry and Kohli will be tempted to play Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav in his XI. But the lack of a third genuine pacer in the attack could become a worry if the pitch doesn’t take turn
Woeful attendence numbers
According to early trends, it seems that there could be up to 10,000 tickets unsold on both days one and two of the encounter with Edgbaston reporting low ticket sales and according to reports in The Guardian and The Telegraph, the ground will not likely be filled up until Friday and Saturday.
No Cheteshwar Pujara?
Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul were practicing slip catching followed by Ajinkya Rahane and skipper Virat Kohli. However, no sign of Cheteshwar Pujara. Will he be dropped for the first Test?
Adil Rashid gets the nod from ECB
Ahead of the Test match, The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that off-spinner Moeen Ali was left out from a 13-man squad. That leaves Yorkshire leg-spinner Rashid as England’s sole designated slow bowler, although his county colleague Joe Root, the England captain, can supplement his top-order batting with occasional off-spin.
India and the Edgbaston curse
There are not many grounds around the world where the Indian cricket team has never won a game, but Edgbaston is certainly an exception. Out of the six Test matches against England, India have lost five and the only drawn Test took place way back in 1986. In 2011, England registered their biggest Test win — in terms of runs — at this venue when they trounced the MS Dhoni-led team by an innings and 242 runs.
Welcome to the first Test in Birmingham
Hello and welcome to the first Test match between India and England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The limited overs series between the two teams were an even contest with the T20 series going to India and the hosts winning the ODI series thanks to two brilliant centuries by star batsman Joe Root.
Source: HindustanTimes