The first of the 4-match Test series has gone England’s way as they crushed India by a thumping margin of 227 runs in Chennai. England committed very few mistakes after winning the toss in this first Test and eventually went on to win the Test match to take a 1-0 lead upfront in this crucial series. To top it all, this was the 100th Test match for Joe Root which he finished with a huge victory against India in India!!
Having opted to bat first, England batted for over six sessions and piled up a huge total in the first innings – 578 all out. England captain Joe Root, playing his 100th Test, scored a double century – 218 runs including 19 fours and 2 sixes. During this knock, Root became the first player in the history of Test cricket to score a double century in a 100th Test match in career. Half-centuries each from Dom Sibley (87) and Ben Stokes (82) helped England pile up this total!
Among Indian bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin bagged 3 wickets each while Shabaz Nadeem and Ishant Sharma accounted for 2 wickets each. With 2 days already done and dusted in the Test, Indian batsmen were forced to play fast to get a first innings lead. Half-centuries each from Cheteshwar Pujara (73), Rishabh Pant (91) and Washington Sundar (85) helped India to get to 337 before getting bowl out conceding a 241-run lead for England in the first innings.
England scored 178 in their second innings before getting all-out in their second innings, setting a target of 420 for India to win. Even though they had enough on the board to win, England did not declare their 2nd innings as they were looking to rule out the possibility of “India’s victory” in this Test match. This was confirmed by the England captain himself at the post-match presentation after the victory.
Chasing a massive total in the fourth innings, India had to bat 13 overs before stumps on Day 4. They lost Rohit courtesy a brilliant away-spinning delivery from Jack Leach. India went to stumps on Day 4 with 39 runs on the board losing a wicket. On Day 5, India needed 381 runs to win while England needed 9 wickets to win.
Gill kicked off Day 5 with a quick half-century (50 off 83 deliveries) but a brilliant spell from James Anderson in the first session broke the back of India’s chase! Anderson cleaned up Gill and Rahane in the same over before dismissing Pant later on! All of a sudden, India lost five wickets in the first session with only proper batsman – Virat Kohli – at the crease. He managed to score his half-century but couldn’t take India to at least a Draw in this match.
In the end, India were bowled out for 192 in their second innings conceding England a 227-run victory. England captain Joe Root had been adjudged as the ‘Player of the Match’ for his superb contribution with the bat. With this victory, England now take a lead of 1-0 in the 4-match series. The second Test match of the series will be played at the same venue beginning from Saturday (Feb 13).
Brief Scores: England – 578 all out (Joe Root – 218, Jasprit Bumrah – 3/84) & 178 all out (Joe Root – 40, Ravichandran Ashwin – 6/61) defeated India – 337 all out (Rishabh Pant – 91, Dominic Bess – 4/76) & 192 all out (Virat Kohli – 72, Jack Leach – 4/76) by a margin of 227 runs
0 Comments