England won a remarkable first test against India by five wickets after being largely second-best in their series opener at Headingley. The Three Lions bowled first on a pitch that appeared to be a batsmen’s paradise.
With first innings scores of 471 all out and 465 all out, respectively, it’s hard to argue with such logic. Even in the second innings, India were all out for 364. The second time around, the tourists were heavily reliant on Rishabh Pant (118) and KL Rahul (137).
Bar these two, no other batsmen passed 50, despite the starts of several of India’s top order. Arguably, due to this shortcoming, Ben Stokes’ England side were able to get back into the game.
Well, 373 is not the easiest chase. If England were to pull off the near impossible and indeed chase these runs down, then a special innings was going to be needed by someone.
On the day, that someone was Ben Duckett, who helped himself to his sixth century in just 34 tests. This, alongside side Zak Crawley’s 17th half-century (65), helped England put on 188 for the first wicket.
When Ollie Pope soon fell after, a collapse was possibly on the cards, but Duckett and former skipper Root (53 not out) put on a crucial 47, which arguably took the wind out of the Indian sails.
Ben Stokes made a battling 33, but Harry Brook, who made a sparkling 99 in the first innings, was out without troubling the scorers. Despite losing those two men, Surrey’s Jamie Smith was undeterred and helped his side over the line with a counter-attacking 55ball-44.
To give the match a fitting end, Smith launched spinner Ravi Jadeja into the stands for two monster sixes to end the game and give England a five-wicket win. A good win for Stokes’ men in a test they were second best in.
As for India’s new skipper, Shubman Gill, this will be hard to take. His side were on top for the late parts of the game. Gill did allay potential injury fears about star bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who had minimal impact in the second innings.
The next test starts on 2nd July at Edgbaston.
England won a remarkable first test against India by five wickets , after largely second best in there series opener at Headingley. The Three Lions bowled first on a pitch that appeared to be a batsmen’s paradise.
With first innings scores for 471 all out and 465 all out respectively, it’s hard to argue with such logic. Even in the second innings India were all out for 364. Second time round the tourists were very reliant on (Rishabh Pant 118) and KL Rahul (137).
Bar these two, no other batsmen passed 50, despite the starts of several of India’s top order. Arguably, due to this short coming if you will, this allowed Ben Stokes’ England side to get back into the game.
Well, 373 is not the easiest chase. If England were to pull off the near impossible and indeed chase these runs down, then a special innings was going to be needed by someone.
On the day, that someone was Ben Duckett, who helped himself to his sixth century in just 34 tests. This alongside side Zak Crawley’s 17th half-century (65), helped England put on 188 for the first wicket.
When Ollie Pope soon fell after, a collapse was possibly on the cards, but Duckett and former skipper Root (53 not out) put on a crucial 47, which arguably took the wind out of the Indian sails.
Ben Stokes made a battling 33, but Harry Brook who made a sparkling 99 in the first innings was out without troubling the scorers. Despite losing those two men, Surrey’s Jamie Smith was undeterred and helped his side over the line with a counter-attacking 55ball-44.
To give the match a fitting end, Smith launched spinner Ravi Jadeja into the stands for two monster-sixes to end the game and give England a five-wicket win. A good win for Stokes’ men in a test they were second best in.
As for India’s new skipper Shubman Gill, this will be hard to take. His side were on top for late parts of the game. Gill did allay potential injury fears about star-bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who had minimal impact in the second innings.
The next test starts on 2nd July at Edgbaston.
Fancy smelling nice for the summer? Why not try amour scents and get 10% off your order;
https://amourscents.com/?ref=8jvems1i
Support The Sports Buff
Hello, good morning beloved Beards. I hope you’re well. We hear at ayyazmalik.com love telling stories and sharing them too. Alhamdulillah we have been operating for over six years and we’re looking to solidify our website and help it grow too, but we need your support please.
Whatever large or little amount you think you can spare, it’s still even bigger to us. With your kind donation/support we want to give a contribution to the local community sports hall, to help young kids do what they do best, have fun! Thank you for your support.
The Sports Buff ⚽️ ⚾️ 🏈 
Leave a comment