In the first Test, England beat India by 28 runs to grab a 1-0 lead in the five-match series here on Sunday. On the fourth day of the first-round series, India were all out for 202 in 69.2 overs, having been set a target of 231. Ollie Pope named as the Player of the Match.
Opening Session Day 4 India vs England 1st Test Match
In the opening session of the day, England dominated as Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley had an explosive 80-run stand that put immense pressure on the Indian pacers and spinners. But soon after Tom Hartley was removed, England’s innings collapsed, and the scoreboard barely changed when Mark Wood and Ollie Pope joined him. Nevertheless, the damage has already been done, and the Indian batsmen are really doubtful of their ability to meet the 231-run mark.
Taking four wickets for just forty-one runs in the second innings, Jasprit Bumrah displayed remarkable skill as an Indian bowler. Considering that the spinners were supposed to be the main players on this slow pitch, the performance is even more important. But India got back into the game multiple times because to deliveries from Bumrah that swung in reverse.
When it came to the English batsmen, the Indian spinners appeared to be at a inefficient as they were easily swept and reverse-swept. Both Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have, remarkably, given up more than 100 runs in the second innings of an Indian Test match for the first time.
Highlights of India’s Innings, Chasing a target of 231
India’s run chase was subsequently initiated by Rohit Sharma (39), followed by Yashasvi Jaiswal (15), but in the 12th over, Jaiswal was caught by Pope at short leg off a ball bowled by Tom Hartley. With the exception of a few limits, Jaiswal could not replicate the magic with the bat this time. Shubman Gill, who had come on at number three, was subsequently dismissed by Hartley after he struck once more in the same over. In Test cricket, Gill hasn’t had the best of times at number three. This time, the 24-year-old was dismissed after two balls and was eventually caught by Pope at silly point.
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For the Indian hitters, there was little break in the action. A lack of significant alliances severely hurts the hosts. In the eighteenth over, Hartley struck again, this time to remove captain Rohit Sharma, who was caught LBW. Hawkeye indicated that the ball was striking the upper part of the middle and the leg stump, so even though Rohit went for the review, it did not really aid him or his side.
After that, KL Rahul and Axar Patel attempted to steady the Indian innings, but they could only muster a 32-run partnership until Axar was caught and bowled by Tom Hartley, who claimed his fourth wicket, in the thirtyth over. and KL Rahul’s outing in the 33rd over when Joe Root hit him leg before wicket.
Soon after, Jack Leach bowled Shreyas Iyer as well, leaving India reeling at 119/7. However, it was the combination between KS Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin that offered India a glimmer of hope in this match. Bharat produced a couple of outstanding strikes, one a slog over mid-on, but Tom Hartley cleaned him up with a beauty of a delivery just as he appeared to be getting into the swing of things. That put a stop to Ashwin and Bharat’s 57-run stand, which had given India some hope in the chase.
After taking out Bharat, Hartley became the first player to take five wickets in an England Test match. And after Bharat was out, Ashwin began to run out of partners before the England wicketkeeper stumped him off Hartley’s ball as he attempted to move the ball down the track.