Unfortunately, the final day of an Enthralling first Test match between England and India was put to an end due to a wet and miserable-looking Trent Bridge.
The match was evenly poised with India on 52-1 chasing a target of 205 thanks to Captain Root’s century. But sadly the rain proved to be the winner today.
England’s Captain starts of series in style.
For any team going into any Test series, It is vitally important that the captain leads the way, which is what the England skipper did in both innings, 64 in the first and a magnificent century in the second could boost his chances of having a successful end to the English summer.
Anderson Draws First Blood Against Kohli
The battle between the two greats only lasted one ball as the Indian captain knicked off the King of swing in India’s first innings. This is now the sixth time Anderson has taken the wicket of Kohli and the first time after two series against him. What will happen in the next chapter at Lord’s?
Solid Start for India’s Openers
Opening the batting in Test Cricket is never easy, particularly in England against the swinging duke ball. K.L Rahul was originally the third choice candidate behind Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal to open the batting alongside Rohit Sharma for India. Unfortunately, Gill had to pull out a week before the series due to a shin injury which he sustained during the World Test Championship Final.
Rohit and Rahul are superstars at opening the batting in limited-overs cricket, but the discipline they showed against Broad and Anderson, the master of swing and seam bowling, particularly in English conditions was exceptional. A 37-run partnership off 37.3 overs is a solid start to the series.
Robinson Showing No Signs Of Nerves
Two matches into his Test career and the Sussex paceman is showing no signs of nervousness in the red ball game. Ollie Robinson was the pick of the bowlers during India’s first innings. He picked up figures of 5 for 85 and formed a good partnership with Anderson who took 4-54.
When you are just a few Tests into your career you can sometimes let the nerves get the better of you, but not Robinson. He was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings, where his line and length were immaculate. We all know the quality of Broad and Anderson as fast bowlers, but sometimes the backup bowlers can get overshadowed by the seniors, but the way he handled that was exceptional. It will be interesting to see how he goes for the remainder of the series particularly when you also have the likes of Mark Wood and Craig Overton on the sidelines.
Bumrah a threat in England once Again
The spearhead of India’s attack is proving to be lethal in English conditions once again. With figures of 4-46 in the first innings and 5-64 in the second, he has already made his statement clear in terms of his and India’s hopes for this Series. How will he go in the next four games? Can England find a way to score more runs of him and reduce the number of wickets he takes?
On the last tour of England in 2018, Bumrah took a total of 14 wickets in the last three Tests of the five-match series. since then, he has become the most potent bowler for India in Tests, particularly away from home. Can he deliver the goods for Kohli in the four remaining Tests?
Lord’s
The next match takes place at ‘The Home of Cricket‘ on Thursday and it will be fascinating to see what both teams do in terms of any changes they make to their side. Will Root play a spinner or will he go with the five-seamer attack once again. What will Kohli do? will he stick to the same side that did so well in the first four days at Trent Bridge? If Ashwin comes in, who misses out? Thakur or Jadeja? All will be revealed on the morning of the second Test.
