India to face England in Junior Hockey World Cup today in Lucknow

After defeating Canada in their opening match, India now faces tough challenge in the form of England.

England won their first match against South Africa, scoring four goals and conceding two.

Indian coach, Harendra Singh said after the first game that the team played in first gear mode but against England they have to shift to second gear as they are a strong opponents.

The strategy of Team India in this tournament is to take one game at a time, and step by step progress further.

©TheIndianExpress

India has not won this tournament since last 15 years and they will be hoping to end this drought this time.

India defeated Canada 4-0 in the inaugural match of the tournament and are full of confidence. But they must not get buoyed with the performance as there is still a long way to go.

England has also not won this tournament in their history, so they will give their all to beat India in their own backyard.

India, unlike England, will have full home support and the English coach is aware of this fact. But he still hopes his team will perform with full confidence against India.

Key players from the Indian side are forward Mandeep Singh, defender Harmanpreet Singh, captain Harjeet Singh, penalty corner specialist Varun Kumar and goalkeeper Vikas Dahiya.

A look at the various results so far in the Tournament-

 NEW ZEALAND vs GERMANY (1-2)

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In their quest for the 3rd consecutive world cup, Germany had to sweat it out for a win against New Zealand.
The Kiwis gave a tough fight but in the end the experience of the champion team took them to victory.
Germany went down by a goal inside opening 5 minutes but Germany didn't panic and made a flurry of attacks on the Kiwis goalpost. They equalised in the 24th minute and got their reward of winning goal in the 51st minute.

Germany are currently top in their pool.

NETHERLANDS vs MALAYSIA (7-2)

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The Dutch side thrashed Malaysia with their fast paced game. Malaysia got their entry in the tournament at the expense of Pakistan.

Malaysia scored their first goal in the 59th minute when they were 6-0 down.
It was a completely dominating performance by the Dutch.

Their next match is against Belgium, which may well be pool topper decider.

ARGENTINA vs AUSTRIA (1-1)

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Argentina were held for a draw by Austria, who qualified for the first team for this tournament.

Led by an Indian coach, Austria stunned Argentina as the match ended on a draw.

First half remained goalless but in the second half Argentina took the lead, but Austrian team equalised after 16 minutes through penalty corner.

The performance of Austria certainly grabbed a lot of eyeballs and it will be interesting to watch how they fare against other teams.

BELGIUM vs EGYPT (4-0)

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Belgium faced a weak challenge in the face of Egypt and cruised to a comfortable victory with two goals in each half.

All four goals were scored by four different players.

SPAIN vs JAPAN (4-1)

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After losing their first match against defending champions Germany, the Spanish side came hard at Japan.

They hit 3 goals in the first half. In the second they played defensively according to their strategy.

Lucas Garcia scored two goals for Spain.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

India keeps hold on England despite debutante Keaton Jennings heroics

It was England's day until a 30 minute period which balanced the game at the end of the day.

England won the toss and made a solid start with skipper Alastair Cook partnering with debutante Keaton Jennings. They both paced the innings beautifully, played shots all around the ground and survived any early scare. Jennings with the help of six fours reached 50 on his debut. The partnership fell just short of a century stand as captain Cook(46) was first to depart. Once again Jadeja picked up Cook's wicket in the series as he continues his hunt of the English skipper. Cook was stumped by Parthiv Patel.

Jennings was dropped on 0 by Karun Nair off Umesh Yadav's delivery

England lost only one wicket in the first session and ended it on 117/1. Jennings and Root continued the innings in 2nd session, but Root(21) gave away his wicket as skipper Kohli and the no. 1 bowler in test cricket, R. Ashwin combined to dismiss him. Keaton Jennings took full advantage of the early lifeline as he scored a century in his first ever test with 12 fours. It was a memorable moment for the debutante. After Root's wicket, England added 60 more runs in the session without losing any more wicket and went for tea at 196/2.

Umpire PR Reiffel was replaced by M Erasmus as the on-field umpire. Reiffel got hit on the head by the ball, as the throw came in from the deep.

Jennings and Moeen Ali continued the innings with full control and not gave away too much to the Indian bowlers. Ali reached his 9th test fifty. It looked like England will own the day, but in came R. Ashwin to pull the game into balance. 

The master of spin rolled his fingers to pick up two wickets in a single over. First to go was Moeen Ali(50), whose attempted sweep shot saw the top edge of the bat to land in hands of Karun Nair. Then after 1 ball, Jennings(112) get caught brilliantly by Pujara in the slips. 

With Moeen Ali's wicket, Ashwin crossed Javagal Srinath's 236 wickets to become 7th highest wicket taker for India.

With both set batsmen gone, India sensed the opportunity to pull themselves back into the game. Ben Stokes had to face the peril of Ashwin's spin but he somehow survived and got away. But this didn't stop India from getting one more. Ashwin got his 4th of the day after he dismissed Jonny Bairstow. 

Jos Butler and Ben Stokes survived the day with England putting 288 runs on board at the end of the day's play.


©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Gareth Southgate appointed new England manager on a 4 year contract

Interim manager Gareth Southgate is now appointed as the manager of the Three lions on a 4-year contract by the FA today. 

He was appointed as the Interim coach after controversial dismissal of Sam Allardyce in September after the Telegraph released footage of the 62-year-old discussing how to 'get around' FA rules with undercover journalists. 

England have played 4 games under the leadership of the former Middlesbrough manager. 

Their first game was a 2-0 win against Malta, then they played a 0-0 draw against Slovenia.

A comfortable 3-0 win over Scotland earlier this month made things more likely for Southgate but a late fightback by Spain in the friendly few days later prevented England from back to back wins.

Gareth Southgate has the confidence of his squad and the board. With World Cup 2018 in sight, this move should prove effective for the England football team who are still in search of an international glory since 1966.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

India two to the good

A commanding display by a young Indian Team, helped them to win the third test match at Mohali by 8 wickets.
Led by their aggressive captain Virat Kohli, India outclassed England quiet remarkably and extend their unbeaten streak to 16 after the win today. 

After losing the toss, everything just went right for Virat Kohli and India in this test right from day 1. Everybody stood up to the task, eager to take part in the game. The hunger was visible in the Indian team as they were playing against a side who won the last 3 test series, both home and away. England ran out of weapons as they had no answer for the brilliant spin bowling by India.


One thing which India enjoyed in this test was the resistance shown by the lower order during the first innings. Both Jadeja and Ashwin are in top 10 all-rounders in the world. The way they bowled in the 1st innings and then batted to take India past England's score and then take the lead was commendable.

Jayant Yadav has grown leaps and bounds as he enjoyed his 2nd test with maiden test fifty and some crucial breakthroughs. His experience in 1st class cricket helped him a lot.

Alastair Cook will be having some big concerns as their batting department hasn't fared very well in this test as well as the last test. Joe Root did show some signs of being the top run getter in tests in this calendar year but failed to bundle up big score. Moeen Ali was another failure with the bat.
New entrant Gareth Batty could not open his account today.and Jos Butler too crumbled under the pressure. Youngster Haseeb Hameed put up a brave performance despite a broken finger and coming out to bat at no. 8.

Parthiv Patel hit a half century in the 2nd innings, chasing a small total of 103. He looked aggressive right from the start, played great shots in both the innings. Virat Kohli is impeccable with his bat and he has shown it time and again. Other Indian batsmen should aspire to reach Kohli's level.

India has come a long way with Virat Kohli at the helm and there is still a long way to go but the kind of performance this team has put up just assert that why they are the no 1 ranked team in the world.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

England reeling at the end of day 3

Team India in complete control of the Mohali Test. Indian spinners are on a roll. England still trail by 56 runs in 2nd innings with almost half of their side back into the pavilion.

It was a good day at the office for Team India. First with the bat and then with the bowl. Ravindra Jadeja resumed from where he left on day 2 along with Ashwin. They both added some valuable runs with their partnership. After Ashwin got out, Jadeja found a new partner in Jayant Yadav, who only in his 2nd test match scored his first test fifty. A fifty of real quality. England were helpless in the first session of the day. Striking just one blow on India.

India's lower order showed great resistance and helped mount a good lead of 134 runs. India batted for almost two sessions of day 3. It was a remarkable performance from Ashwin, Jadeja and Jayant.
India ended their 1st innings on 417 runs. Ben Stokes was the pick of the bowlers with a five-wicket haul. His figures were 5/73.

England started their 2nd innings under real pressure with such a big lead to overcome, they knew they could not afford to lose early wickets. But looking at the form India bowlers were in, wickets were inevitable.

And as it was written in the script for India, Ashwin drew the first blood in the form of Alastair Cook's wicket. It was just 27 runs on board. Ashwin's blistering performance continued as he scalped Moeen Ali's wicket to get his 2nd of the innings.England were 39/2 at the moment. Bairstow and Root tried to make amends for the early losses but could not go the distance as England lost two more wickets by the end of day's play.

The killer blow was Ben Stokes' wicket in the last over of the day when he was given not-out by umpire Chris Gaffaney and Team India challenged the decision and got it right as the three reds which brought smile on India's face made Ben Stokes' face red.

England ended day on 78/4 and have their lives on the sword as team India are completely on top. 

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Cricket Updates

Skipper du Plessis hits century on Day 1, South Africa declared at 259/9 

Faf du Plessis left the ball tampering controversy behind him and produced a solid batting display against Australia in the 3rd test at Adelaide Oval.

It is a day-night test and du Plessis hits century on the first day. He remained not-out at 118 runs. 

With the help of his century South Africa declared their innings at 259/9.

Australia, in their 1st innings, scored 14 runs in 12 overs till the end of day's play.
Openers Matt Renshaw (8*) and Usman Khawaja (3*) were at the crease.

At a time Steve Smith reduced South Africa to 95/4, but du Plessis stood firm and played a brilliant innings to overcome early fall of wickets.

du Plessis was heavily booed when he came out to bat. He was found guilty of ball tampering and was fined for the same but he made it to the test.

After early fall of wickets du Plessis had a partner in Steve Cook (40) to some extent. However Mitchell Starc caught his leg before wicket in the 3rd over but replay showed Starc foot went over the line and was termed as a no ball so Cook was called back.

Cook was then dismissed by Starc in the 2nd session.
The star man of South Africa in the series Quinton de Kock failed to emulate his performance from the previous test and got out for just 24 runs.

Faf du Plessis completed his century in the 3rd session, after taking two runs off a Josh Hazlewood delivery.
It was his 6th Test century.

In reply, David Warner could not come out to bat as he was termed unfit to bat and was receiving treatment. And there was also not much time left after Proteas declared their innings.

Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers for Australia with figures of 4/68. Mitchell Starc got 2 for 78 runs.

'The accusations of ball tampering on Virat Kohli are false' - Anil Kumble

It was earlier reported by a British tabloid that Virat Kohli has tampered with the ball in the Rajkot test.

A pic of Virat Kohli surfaced where he was seen applying spit on the ball. 

But Coach Anil Kumble has denied all this accusation and said he does not believe in giving wind to such kind of stories.

It's been in rules of ICC that if a player does tamper with the ball, the opposition team or the ICC match referee had to report such incident to ICC within 5 days but as the pic came out after the Vizag test it had no point.

ICC also made it clear that according to rules there is no such case.

Yuvraj Singh reaches Parliament

Yuvraj Singh, who is set to marry his fiancé Hazel Keech, this December, reached the Parliament to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his wedding.

Yuvraj was seen outside the Parliament in a cool look with the invitation cards in his hand.

Mohali Test begins tomorrow

India are 1-0 up in the series and with the third test match starting tomorrow India will be hoping to win it to put pressure on England and take the series away from their reach.

England will also be hoping for a comeback just like they did in 2012.

Last test in Mohali just ended in 3 days when India played South Africa.
It will be interesting to see how the pitch performs this time.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

India put England under real pressure

It was a good day for India, as they need 8 wickets to win on the last day of the Test.

When India resumed their innings today from 98/3, they lost wickets at regular intervals, Broad and Adil Rashid gave a tough time to the Indian batsmen. 

Rahane, Ashwin were dismissed by Stuart Broad and then Saha and Kohli by Adil Rashid. Kohli was caught by Ben Stokes, who pulled off a brilliant catch in the slips. India were 151/7. They needed to bat for some more time to get to a more comfortable position.

Jadeja, Jayant Yadav and Mohammad Shami scored some valuable runs to get India past 200.
Mohammad Shami was the last batsman to got out. He was stumped trying to hit Rashid's delivery out of the park.

India scored 204 runs and gave England a huge target of 405 runs with 5 sessions to play.

England knew the wicket won't be favorable to bat as abrupt bounce would make it tough.

Both the England openers were resilient from the start. They didn't throw away any wicket in the second session. And scored just 40 runs in 28 overs.

After tea England openers stood firm.
There was also two appeals made by the Indians, which umpires turned down and although India reviewed,  England got away with both the decisions because of the umpire's call.

India didn't give up though as Ashwin got the much needed breakthrough dismissing Haseeb Hameed. It took 51 overs to get the first wicket and Ashwin thoroughly deserved it.

In the last over of the day, Jadeja struck a body blow for England when Alastair Cook was given Lbw. He reviewed the decision but the three reds means India ended day on a high.

With England in real pressure to save the test match on the last day. Joe Root remained not out at 5 runs.

England finished day at 87/2 and need another 318 runs to win.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Wayne Rooney gets in trouble over inappropriate photo

FA to investigate Wayne Rooney's matter

Reports have emerged that The Football Association will be conducting a "proper investigation" to find out about what did Wayne Rooney and any of its staff were involved in last Saturday night.

Rooney has "unreservedly" apologised to interim England Manager Gareth Southgate, The Football Association and football supporters in general after some inappropriate pics went viral on the social media and everywhere else.

The Sun printed a photo of Wayne Rooney in which he was seen partying with two women, probably in an inebriated state.

The FA has made it clear that the overnight free time, which has been in place for a number of years, will now be under the scanner.

The allegations also suggests some England's backroom staff members were also there with him at the party.

Source: ESPN

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Test 2 Day 2 Review- India all over England

India making a statement on the 2nd day of the Test

Never doubt the Indian spinners, India in a commanding position at the end of Day 2. Ashwin & co. got on the England batsmen nerves.

Have a detailed look at how the day unfolded :  

Virat departed early

Virat Kohli was gone in the first hour of the morning session, by Moeen Ali. Just a ball earlier Ashwin was dropped by Ben Stokes, a simple catch in the slips and he dropped letting Indian batsmen complete a single. On the very next ball he took Virat Kohli's catch, a rather tough catch. 

Virat scored 167. India were on 351/5.

Use of DRS still needs to be sorted out 

16 runs were added then India lost a couple of wickets in a single over of Moeen Ali, in the form of Wriddhiman Saha and Ravindra Jadeja, both LBW. Saha reviewed the decision which looked out clearly and Jadeja didn't, but the replay showed that Jadeja should have reviewed it as the ball went onto to missed the stumps. 

Crucial Partnership 

R. Ashwin and debutant Jayant Yadav took India out of the chaos, as they added 52 runs together to take India across 400 mark, reaching 415 runs at lunch. 

Jayant Yadav proved his worth by scoring some important runs and building a partnership with Ashwin for the 8th wicket. 

Post Lunch session

England needed to wrap up things quickly but stubborn Ashwin and Jayant were not taking any chances. Ashwin completed his 8th Test fifty, and was looking to score big. But at the score of 58 he edged the ball into the hands wicketkeeper Bairstow. Ben Stokes took his wicket. India were 427/8.

After Ashwin's wicket it seemed, it was just a matter of time before India got bowled out but still they managed to add some runs and managed to cross 450 run mark. 

Umesh Yadav was the last one to got out and India finished their 1st innings at 455. 

India strike early

After putting up a big score of 455, India needed to control the tune of the match. They needed an early wicket to do so and Mohammad Shami did it for India. The ball just drifted slightly inside and managed to sneak under the bat of Alastair Cook and his off stump was out of the ground. The ball hit so hard that the stump was broken in two pieces. 

Joe Root tried getting England out of the trauma

Indian spinners were in full swing. Jadeja and Ashwin bowled some good deliveries and troubled both Hameed and Root. Root managed to hit few boundaries to take some pressure off and he made sure England didn't lose another wicket before tea. England ended the session at 34/1.

India strangled England batting 

After tea, Indian bowlers were all over English players. Hameed was run-out trying to take the second run but Root denied, and a quick throw from debutant Jayant and a neat finish from Saha made sure Hameed didn't make it. He was given out directly by the leg umpire Rod Tucker. 

Ashwin didn't let England batsmen settle down, meanwhile Root completed his yet another Test fifty, he is already the highest run getter in tests this calendar year. 

Ashwin clean bowled a struggling Ben Duckett and soon after he sent Joe Root also in the pavilion, who, tried to hit the ball on the on-side but the ball didn't turn as expected and a leading edge took the ball in the air with Umesh Yadav completing the catch. 

England were reduced to 80/4. 

Soon after drinks, debutant Jayant Yadav got his first International Test wicket, in some style, Moeen Ali stepped down the pitch, but the ball hit the pads, an appeal was made but Kumar Dharmasena turned it down, Jayant was confident so he asked skipper Kohli to go for DRS. His confidence proved correct and he managed to pick his first intl' wicket with the help of DRS. Virat Kohli looked exuberant after the dismissal. 

It looked like India will pick a wicket in every over from then. But England managed to get through with the help of Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow.

Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow both remain not-out at 12. 

England finished the day at 103/5. 

So India will probably be raring to go on the pitch and finish England off tomorrow. The Indian team had been brilliant today and showed why they are the No.1 Test playing nation in the world. 

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Debutant Jayant Yadav creates a unique record even before coming onto the pitch

Haryana's Jayant Yadav has been selected in the playing 11 for the second test match against England which  starts at Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy stadium in Vizag from 17th November.

He was presented the test cap by the former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri before the match. He will be the 286th player to play test cricket for India. 

By earning the cap Jayant Yadav has created a unique record. He joins the list of players who made their debut in ODI and Test Cricket on the same ground. 

It's notable that Jayant made his ODI debut in the final match of ODI Series against New Zealand in Vizag last month. He even picked up a wicket in that match. 

Jayant is brought in the team in the place of Amit Mishra. One reason for his inclusion in the side is that he is a handy with the bat and also England has few left handed batsmen so he will be beneficial. 

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Joe Root has his say on Virat Kohli

After Virat Kohli's 'Virat' innings today at Vishakhapatnam in the second test against England, everybody heaped praise on him.
The charismatic Indian batsmen and skipper of the test format, hit his seventh century today as a captain and 15th overall.


He put up a 226 run stand with another centurion Cheteshwar Pujara and took India to a commanding position.

Virat who is often been compared English batsmen Joe Root proves why he is one of the best time and again.
The quartet of Joe Root, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith are termed as Fab Four of Modern Day Cricket.

In an interview with bcci.tv today, Root said, " I think he is always looking to improve his game. You see his form in white ball Cricket. His record has been phenomenal over the last 12 months. In test cricket he has already done some special things while captaining the side. He is a great leader on the field and he is a good person to learn from, from an opponent's point of view as well."

"I think he is obviously a fine player. The way he can construct the innings in white and red ball cricket and make contributions across the three formats, is really impressive. That's the way I try to do and hopefully I can emulate that and take it forward for rest of the years," he added.

Virat Kohli struck his first century against England in this test. He remains unbeaten at 151* at the end of day's play.

Also read: Test 2 Day 1 review

©sportakafun.blogspot.com

TEST 2 DAY 1 REVIEW- Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara helped India reach strong position

India won the toss and chose to bat but the decision took a dent in the first half-hour of the play

Early wickets for England in the morning session

People who woke up late today could not have witnessed the two openers on the crease, KL Rahul and Murali Vijay. 

Rahul brought in place of Gautam Gambhir was the first one to depart without troubling the scoreboard. He was out on a duck after edging a good delivery from Stuart Broad. Ben Stokes took the catch.

Murali Vijay hit a few fours showing his intent but James Anderson who was playing his first test since August, surprised Vijay with a well directed short ball which proved too much for him and he gave a catch to Ben Stokes. 

India were reduced to 22/2.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli needed to build a partnership to take India to a comfortable position. 

Both the batsmen were tested by some short balls at the start, but they handled it well, stabilising the innings,  taking their time, setting themselves in, taking singles and hitting boundaries. 

Gradually they managed to pull India back in the game. 

The two batsmen had a great understanding, but they were caught in conundrum in the 18th over of while completing a single. It was a chaotic situation. But, otherwise they had no issues whatsoever. 

India finished first session at 92/2. 

After lunch, Kohli and Pujara decided to have a go at the English bowlers. Both players dealt in boundaries, scored runs with a run rate of over 4. 

They completed their 50 respectively. 

Big Moment in the match

Virat Kohli was batting on 56. On Ben Stokes' delivery Kohli played a shot which went in the air to fine leg and Adil Rashid couldn't hold on to complete the catch. 

It was surely a big moment in the game as Virat Kohli didn't look back after this. 

Both batsmen scored runs at a similar pace and reached their 90s. 

India scored 118 runs in the 2nd session. 

Funny Moment in the match 

Pujara was batting on 97, he would have loved to finish his century before tea but a dog had other ideas. The dog came into the pitch running on the lush green outfield and ground staff was not able to take the hound off the ground. 

Even players from the both the teams enjoyed this light moment. 

And due to this incident tea was taken a bit earlier, even before the over was completed. 

Kohli and Pujara reached their Centuries

After tea, Pujara was first to reach his century, in Sehwag's style, by hitting a six off Adil Rashid. Pujara's 3rd test century in his third consecutive match.

Virat soon joined him completing his 15th Test century and his 7th as a skipper. 

Pujara and Kohli completed 200 run partnership, it was their second 200 run stand. 

Pujara was dismissed on 119 by James Anderson in a similar fashion like he was in the last test. He failed to make a big hundred again. Kohli and Pujara had a 226 run stand. 

Then came Ajinkya Rahane, who looked a bit under pressure. He tried hard though to gain confidence after putting away some bad deliveries. 

Their was also an lbw appeal against Kohli in the 80th over, umpire turned it down but England decided to review it. Umpire decision stood out and Virat Kohli stayed.

Virat Kohli meanwhile completed his 150 runs. It's his 3rd score of 150+ in this calendar year as a captain. 

New ball did the trick for England

England were in search of the 4th wicket, to take something away from today's play and new ball did it for them. 

It was the 89th over when England took the new ball, all Rahane had to do was to not lose his concentration but a slight lapse and he played a nothing shot, edged the ball to the slips and gifted his wicket to Anderson. 

Ashwin held on in the last over to complete India day's play on a high.

India finished the day at 317/4.

Kohli on 151* and Ashwin on 1*.

James Anderson was the pick of the bowlers with his 3 wickets. 

It will be interesting to see how England will respond in Day 2. 

India vs England Second Test Preview

England's performance in the last test match in Rajkot was more than alarming bell for India.
An envious home record was put to some threat in the last test, that certainly made Indian team put on their thinking hats, to better their strategy and tactics.

England have clearly shown their intent that they are up for a challenge. And as England skipper Alastair Cook said,  "We are here to give India a run for their money." It's time for Indian team to tighten up their belts.

Five test series is a long journey so each team has to be vigil in every department not leaving any loophole.

Spinners friendly pitches will be there but the stats from the last test tells a different story. Indian spinners only managed 9 wickets giving out 521 runs in total.
Also the fact that Indian batsmen are good players of spin bowling, Indian team only had two centuries while England got four.

But a new day means a new start and Indian team knows the importance of this test. With KL Rahul coming into the side, Gambhir may have to surrender his place.
Virat Kohli will have to lead this young Indian side with all his diligence as they will be up against the only team whom they have not managed to beat in the last few years.


Second Test starts at 9:00am IST in the beautiful city of Vishakhapatnam.



©sportskafun.blogspot.com

INDIA vs ENGLAND 1st TEST REVIEW

England came India after losing to Bangladesh and India began the series after sweeping aside New Zealand. Moreover, we are the No. 1 ranked team in the world. Though we knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park, but you expect more from your team when they are the best ranked side in the world. Credit goes to England, the way they played Ashwin & co. it looks pretty clear that in next match India needs to be more sharp in their strategies and tactics.
Test ended in a draw, but England will be oozing with confidence after the performance they gave in  this Test.

ENGLAND OWNED THE DAY

It was English domination over India. They began the day with a lead of 163 runs, without any fear of losing the match both the openers played confidently. Hameed reached his fifty yesterday and Alastair Cook began the day on 46*. As the play started, Cook completed his fifty. They showed real character against the Indian spinners not giving them any chance. There were some half hearted appeals but nothing happened. Indian team desperately wanted a wicket, their desperation was visible when they reviewed some clear not-out instances. Both the batsmen were scoring runs at almost similar pace. It was Amit Mishra's delivery which Hameed hit hard and straight into his hands thus giving India the first breakthrough. He got dismissed at well played 82. The motto was clear, England wanted to score quick runs and give India a target with significant number of overs remaining. After Hameed, Joe Root gave away his wicket trying to sweep the ball. Mishra took two in quick succession.

                                                                                                                                                                 
                                 

But it was Alastair Cook's show on the fifth day of the Test match as he completed his 30th century in Tests, going past Alan Border, also most by an England batsmen. He has scored five tons against India, he completed 1000 runs against India in India and 2000 runs overall. Cook's temperament and self confidence was remarkable.

England finished first session on 211/2. 

England came out firing after lunch. Both Stokes and Cook scored quick runs. Cook hit 3 boundaries in Mishra's over. He got out trying to hit Ashwin out of the park. Jadeja took his catch and with his wicket England declared the innings at 260/3 and gave India a target of 310 runs.

INDIA WOBBLED BUT SOMEHOW GOT THROUGH

Indian team knew the pressure was on them and they have to bat sensibly. As feared, India lost their first wicket without opening the scoring as Gambir edged the ball to slips off a Chris Woakes' delivery. England thought if they could pick another wicket quickly they could give themselves a chance of an unlikely win. Pujara and Vijay continued the innings at a slow pace. Just before tea, Pujara was given lbw off a Rashid ball. He missed the leg spinner and was caught right in front. He had the chance to review it but he didn't.
 On came Virat Kohli. India were 49/2 at tea.

After tea India had to play another 30 overs. Virat Kohli knew the importance of his wicket and so he was not taking any risks. Just 19 runs were added to the total, Murali Vijay misjudged the line from Adil Rashid and edged the ball with Hameed taking the catch. Boy, Hameed having some debut.
Just 8 balls later Ajinkya Rahane played an awful shot to give away as his wicket to Moeen Ali. He got bowled, again.

India were in real danger after losing two quick wickets.
R. Ashwin came out to accompany skipper Kohli in the middle with 25 overs still left to play.
Cook set up an attacking field not giving India any space to breathe. Ashwin and Kohli remained calm and kept their cool not giving England bowlers any chance.
There was an appeal when Ashwin was caught in front of his wicket, as the original decision was not-out they reviewed but it was turned down as it was umpire's call.
Cook tried different tactics to get Indian batsmen out.
In 39th over of the match, Ashwin hits 3 fours to Zafar Ansari, all he had to do was defend but played an awful shot and was caught by Joe Root, thus opening the door for England again.
But as long as Virat Kohli was there, England chances faded away. Even after losing Saha as 6th wicket. Jadeja and Kohli kept hanging themselves in the middle to play out a draw.
India finished 172/6 in 52.3 overs and both captains shook hands.

The first test ended in a draw but it has set up the series nicely. Beware India, this England team will not be your cup of tea.


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