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The first test comes to an end, and it was a seesaw ride that ends in England's favor. Ben Duckett was the game-changer in the second innings. He scored 62 off 94 in the first innings and followed it up with his sixth Test ton, scoring 149 off 170 balls. As a result, Duckett was named the Player of the Match.
Jamie Smith finished with a six to help England record their second-most successful run chase in Test cricket. England reached 373/5 to win the game and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The hosts now have the 10th-highest chase to their name in test history in addition to their eight-wicket against the same opponent while chasing 378 at Edgbaston in 2022.
England have added 157 runs in 28.3 overs in the second session with the loss of four wickets. The game is set in balance with all three results possible. England are 269/4 in 58.3 overs, needing 102 runs more to win. The rain stops the play once again, as 37.3 overs still remain to be bowled and India need six more wickets. Stay tuned for the latest update.
Rain break has come as a blessing to the Indian team. Prasidh Krishna, who was leaking runs at over 6 runs per over, has given India the first breakthrough. Zak Crawley gets out after scoring 65 off 126 balls. England are at 188/1. The centurion from the first innings, Ollie Pope, comes to the crease. After dismissing Zak Crawley after the rain break, Prasidh Krishna gets Ollie Pope (8 runs off 8 balls). England still need another 164 runs to win and India need 8 wickets.
Shardul Thakur dismissed Ben Duckett and Harry Brook off two successive deliveries. India need six more wickets and England need 115 runs to win. Ben Stokes and Joe Root are at the crease.
England has certainly come up with the intention of adding maximum runs in the second session. Both openers have added 64 runs in 10.5 overs. Especially Ben Duckett, who has taken charge and reached his sixth Test century.
He has scored 105 not out from just 126 balls, including 14 boundaries. Zak Crawley has added 59* off 121 balls and is playing a perfect supporting role. The pair has added an unbeaten 181 runs in 40.5 overs and is looking very good.
However, just as England were going hard, a light rain stopped the play. The covers are on, and the Indian team and fans will be hoping for a long delay here.
It has been a wicketless morning for the Indian team. Despite a heavy coverage of clouds, the Indian pacers could not get the ball to seam profoundly. On occasions where they managed to induce false shots, the deliveries proved to be too good for them to be edged by the batters.
The second hour of play was pretty attritional for the two opening English batters. However, the Indian bowlers on their part were pretty disciplined with their lines and lengths as well. It meant that the English batting pair was kept in check. It was the first time since the appointment of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes that it felt that England was batting for a draw rather than pushing for a win. Jasprit Bumrah bowled a couple of spells in the session, and once again, he looked much better than his compatriots.
With the match hanging in the balance, all three results are possible. However, the weather is expected to play its role as well. After four days of action with very little involvement from rain, there could be some interruptions on the final day of the clash. The good thing for the Indian fans is that, according to reports, there is expected to be a high percentage of cloud cover that could help the fast bowlers with their seam.
Rishabh Pant attains a feat that no other Indian player has ever achieved. The left-handed batter became the first Indian to score twin centuries in England. He also became only the second wicketkeeper to make two centuries in a match after Andy Flower did for Zimbabwe in 2001. Among the historic ton from Pant was an equally important calm century from KL Rahul.
The morning session on day 4 was the slowest among the other sessions in terms of scoring rate. India lost its skipper, Shubman Gill, early in the morning. Rahul was tested by the English bowlers with some disciplined bowling, while Pant, on the other hand, played his audacious shots. Only 63 runs were added to the overnight score in the session as the two Indian batters showed respect to the bowling.
The second session began with a few as Shoaib Bashir was crunched for a four in the second over by Rahul. Pant nicked an outside off delivery, but there was no slip, resulting in another boundary in the third over of the session. On the very next ball after edging one, Pant charged down the pitch to hit another four.
The hard work put in the first session started to show its rewards as Rahul and Pant found their mojo. The wicketkeeper soon reached his fifty and kicked on further. Bashir’s match went from bad to worse after the left-hander once again took the attack against him and launched him for a couple of sixes. Rahul, meanwhile, was playing his classical shots and reached his ninth test century.
Ben Stokes spread his field out as Pant entered the nineties. It has indeed been the nervous nineties for the left-handed batter as he has been dismissed seven times in that range. However, he was much more calculated with his shots and did not take a single risk. From 95 to 100, Pant uncharacteristically ran singles to reach the monumental figure. He struck a few boundaries against the part-time off-spin of Joe Root after completing his hundred. He was dismissed soon after completing his job. 145 runs were scored in the session as India stretched their lead beyond 300.
The Indian tail failed to wag once again after a dominating display of batting from Pant and Rahul had put them in a commanding position. The Indian opener was dismissed soon after the second new ball was taken by Brydon Carse. Only 61 runs added after Rahul’s dismissal, as no batter could show any support to Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja was left to bat with the tail for the second time in the clash. India was bowled out for 364 to set England a target of 371 in the fourth innings.
The English opening duo of Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope had the tricky task of facing six overs at the end of the day. However, the two batters played for survival and scored 21 runs without losing a wicket.
The equation is pretty simple: India needs 10 wickets to win the match, while England needs to score 350 runs on day five. The pitch is showing signs of wearing down, and with some weather around on the fifth day, this clash could be heading to a blockbuster finish.
Shubman Gill fell out cheaply as the Indian number four failed to build on his century from the previous innings. The right-handed batter fell cheaply as Brydon Carse got one delivery to jag back in. Gill played a wide delivery that swung into the right-handed back to the stumps via an inside edge.
Rishabh Pant, like he did in the first innings, charged down the pitch on the second ball he faced. While he once again got a four for his audacious strokeplay, it went in the opposite direction. In the first innings, he struck Ben Stokes down the ground, while the third innings saw him getting an outside edge over the slip cordon. After a few dot deliveries, Pant once again made his way down the pitch and struck Chris Woakes down the ground for his second boundary. The rate of scoring for the first hour remained before the left-hander played some outrageous shots. The rate of scoring was the lowest in the session, as only 63 runs were added to the overnight score. Thankfully for India, they only lost their skipper in the session, while KL Rahul has made his way to a half-century.
Good news for the Indian fans as the fourth day at Headingley is expected to be sunny. The Indian batters could have the best playing conditions and Shubman Gill alongside KL Rahul would want to make the most of the helpful conditions. The chance of raining is pretty low for the morning session. However, there could be some rain as the day progresses, especially in the third session.
It was a couple of days of missed opportunities for the visitors as multiple catches were dropped, allowing the Bazballers to climb their way back into the clash. Yashasvi Jaiswal in the slip cordon was guilty of catching the most catches. Harry Brook was dropped after being dismissed on a no-ball on a duck in the last over of day 2.
Harry Brook was dropped twice, and he went on to score 99 runs. He missed out on a century but played some great shots. While the English batter missed out on getting to a triple-digit mark, Brook entertained the crowd. On his way to 99, the right-hander struck 13 boundaries, including a couple of sixes. Like Rishabh Pant, Brook attempted to reach his hundred with a six. He was caught at deep backward square leg by Shardul Thakur off a short ball from Prasidh Krishna.
There was a huge difference between Jasprit Bumrah and the rest of the Indian bowlers. The right-arm pacer led the bowling attack in a manner where it seemed that he was bowling on a different attack altogether. In spite of four catches being dropped off his bowling three by Jaiswal, Bumrah was unarguably the best bowler across the two teams. Given his fitness concerns and workload management, Shubman Gill used the pacer in short bursts. His economy of 3.36 was the best among the pacers. If not for all the catches dropped off his bowling, Bumrah’s figures could have been much better than 5/83, and India could have ended with a lead of around 70 or even more instead of six runs, which they eventually ended up with.
India has scored 90 runs for the loss of two wickets at the end of day three. KL Rahul, who is three runs adrift from his fifty, is joined by skipper Shubman Gill on the crease. The primary target for these two batters would be to play out the first hour without losing any other wickets.
Given that the pitch at Headingley is still playing true and there are no demons on the pitch, England would fancy their chances of chasing anywhere around 250. India needed 100 overs to bowl out England in the first innings. The visitors would know that they could see the back of the hosts’ batters in much less time if they fielded better.
Gill and Gautam Gambhir would advise their batters to make sure that they play out at least two and a half sessions of play on day 4. If everything goes to plan, then the ideal situation for the visitors would be to ask the English openers to bat the last 10 overs of day 4.
The second day of the opening test at Headingley between England and India is expected to start with similar weather to that of yesterday. In the morning session, the weather could be sunny and warm, with chances of rain being only 25%. However, the weather conditions could change as the day progresses. The chances of rain could increase substantially in the afternoon and evening sessions.
For India, this could be a blessing in disguise. Given that the visitors have put themselves in a strong position with the bat in hand, they will face easier conditions in the morning session. Both Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant would attempt to tire out the English bowlers so that they have bowled enough overs before the helpful conditions arrive.
Shumban Gill’s captaincy debut is off to a great start as the Indian batters, after being put in to bat, made the full use of the friendly conditions at Headingley. It was Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul who shared a great opening stand to calm things down against the moving new ball.
England bowlers were made to toil hard in the first session by the two Indian opening batters. Both Jaiswal and Rahul struck their first boundaries through streaky outside edges. However, after that, it was all class from the two batters. The duo raced to a 91-run stand before Rahul chased a delivery from Brydon Carse way outside off and edged it to first slip, where Joe Root was stationed. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors as they lost their second wicket, with Sai Sudharsan getting dismissed for a duck on his test debut on what was the last ball before lunch.
The next generation of Indian batters is here, and they are making their mark.
Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his love affair with England as he scored his third century against the opponent. Playing his first match in the country, the young left-handed batter reached the triple-figure mark while battling cramps in his forearms. It was almost poetic that Jaiswal cramped in his forearms after hitting some attractive straight and off-drives. The only chance he provided to England was when he was batting on 45 and Carse had seemingly been trapped in front of the stumps. However, the English pacer had overstepped, resulting in a no-ball.
Partnering, Jaiswal was his skipper in the second session. Shubman Gill had the highest amount of pressure on his shoulders coming into the clash. After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, things became worse for the Indian skipper. But he shrugged all of that when he came into bat. Barring a few deliveries early on in his innings, Gill never looked troubled by the inexperienced English pace attack. The right-handed batter was at one stage striking at around 90 and reached his half-century in only 56 balls. It was his fastest fifty in test cricket. 123 runs were scored in the session while the England struggled to bowl with any consistency.
Ben Stokes, who had been England’s best bowler on the day by a country mile, produced the partnership-breaking stand soon after tea. The English skipper managed to get one past Yashasvi Jaiswal’s booming drive and crashed the stumps. Newly appointed vice-captain, Rishabh Pant, got off the mark in a true Pant fashion as he stepped down the pitch on his second ball and thumped one above Stokes’ head.
After Pant’s audacious shot to get off the mark, the left-handed batter uncharacteristically got into his shell. The left-handed batter noticed that the ball was reversing a bit around the 60-over mark, and Stokes was bowling at probing lines and lengths. It was Gill who took the aggressive route as he struck three fours in the space of four overs.
With Stokes out of the attack, things got a bit easier for Gill and Pant, and they made the English bowlers pay for their inaccuracy. The Indian wicketkeeper, after seemingly going into his shell, broke the shackles as he struck Shoaib Bashir for a four and a six off consecutive deliveries to put some pressure back on the spinner. Gill smashed a lavish cover-drive to become only the fourth Indian captain to hit a hundred on their captaincy debut.
England took the new ball, but that only resulted in an increase in the rate of scoring for India as Pant too reached his fifty. In the five overs with the new ball, India scored 28 runs and ended the day with utmost dominance.
It was a wicketless first hour for the English bowlers on a sunny morning in Leeds. The Indian opening duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul put on a dominating display of batting after being put in by Ben Stokes. Interestingly, Shubman Gill, after losing the toss, said he would have liked to bowl first as well.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul batted with extreme control. Even the first runs on the board came via an outside edge from Jaiswal’s bat, it was all control after that. The left-hander’s second boundary came in much more dominating fashion. He played an off-drive to Chris Woakes. It was a highly impactful shot, given that it came against the most experienced English bowler.
Rahul, too, like his opening partner, got going with a boundary off a thick outside edge. On the first ball of the 12th over, Rahul struck a classy cover drive synonymous with him. He did not look back after that and made the English bowlers pay for every poor ball they bowled in the first session.
Frustrated with the lack of success with the ball in hand, England burned a review. It was a dreadful decision to go upstairs to challenge the on-field call against Jaiswal, and the hosts paid the price by losing their review.
Playing his first match in England, Brydon Carse picked up the first wicket late into the session. The right-arm pacer bowled an overpitched delivery way outside off. It was a delivery that Rahul would have crunched to the boundary nine out of ten times. However, the right-handed batter could only edge one behind to the first slip, where Joe Root picked up a simple catch.
Thanks to some great batting by the two opening batters, Ben Stokes was forced to get himself into the attack. The English skipper bowled 5.4 overs in the session and looked pretty harmless. He took his first wicket dismissing the debutant, Sai Sudharsan, right at the stroke of the lunch with a delivery down the leg side.
England won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Headingley Stadium in the first test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. India made a key addition to the playing XI as they handed Sai Sudharsan his maiden cap. The left-handed batter received his test cap from the modern-day wall of the Indian batting unit, Cheteshwar Pujara. He will be batting at three, the same position where Pujara played multiple memorable innings.
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
As is the case for any test match in England, the weather can play a huge role in influencing the decision of the toss-winning captain. The overall tactics and team selection could also be affected by the weather. Apart from the pitch at Headingley will play its fair share of tricks.
The visuals coming out of Headingley suggest that the clash would be played on a green cover. If the surface is anything to go by, then the bowlers could have a field day early on in the test match. The captain winning the toss might look to bowl first, with recent results favoring the sides that bowl first here. The pitch is expected to flatten out as the game progresses.
However, it has been an unusually dry summer in England this year. To have a sporting pitch, water was injected into the ground to make sure that the match goes on to the final day.
The first day is expected to be warm and dry in Leeds. It is expected that the fans will get a full day of play. The full day will have minimal cloud cover, and the chances of rain are as low as 5%.
England named their playing 11 for the first test two days prior to the start of the clash. The hosts announced that it was pretty much expected of them. The batting unit is the same as what they played against Zimbabwe a month ago. There are a few changes in the bowling department, with Shoaib Bashir being the only similarity between the two teams.
For India, there are a few spots up for contention. A toss-up between Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan is expected to take place in the batting department. While Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur will be battling to partner Ravindra Jadeja in the all-rounder department.
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan/Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
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