1st Test, Nottingham, Aug 4 - 8 2021, India tour of England

 

Cricket Highlights & Scorecard

Day 1

India took the last seven England wickets for 45 runs to bowl the hosts out for 183 after they won the toss and batted in tough batting conditions. India's openers knocked off 21 of those without being separated. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, the two senior bowlers in the absence of Ishant Sharma and R Ashwin, took seven wickets between them in 37.4 overs. Once again, Joe Root looked like a level above his batting team-mates, scoring 64 assured runs off 108 balls in an innings that went at 2.78 an over.

England will need to look at five or six wickets that they didn't make India work hard enough for. It started early as Rory Burns fell for Bumrah's two-card trick in the first over in a hectic start.

India the country did not even have time to properly debate the exclusion of Ashwin - who's in the form of his life - from the XI, to find a combination that fit the conditions and addressed India's long tail. Ishant had failed a fitness test in the morning.

Bumrah took five balls to change the talking point. Four of them moved gently away from the left-hand opener Rory Burns before the fourth one swung back in. In 2018, when Bumrah got Keaton Jennings in the same fashion, it might have been a surprise, but by now, experts argue, you have to be expecting that delivery as a left-hand batter and not get beaten as comprehensively as Burns did.

Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley saw off the new ball with a hard-fought 42-run stand in nearly 21 overs, but Rishabh Pant managed to convince his captain to take a second review in the same Mohammed Siraj over to get the wicket of the fluent Crawley. Three balls after an enthusiastic review for a catch off the inside edge and pad cost India, Pant implored Kohli to take another, similar review. This time the inside edge was taken.

This was minutes before lunch, but in the intervening overs, Root got away with three boundaries in an over - one of them streaky - and also looked to attack Bumrah in the final over before the break.

After lunch, India operated with Bumrah and Shami, but the line of attack shifted a bit, almost like they decided the ball wasn't doing much and they needed to get back to the leg trap they had set for Australia in Australia. Soon enough, Sibley got a leading edge to a ball sliding down leg from Shami, offering short midwicket a catch. A "nothing wicket" on the surface, but India did have a field for straight lines: a short-forward square leg to go with the short midwicket.

From 66 for 3, England found their most assured batting period with Root and Jonny Bairstow batting together for 22.5 overs. Root showed more attacking intent than any other specialist batter, scored faster than all of them and was more in control than any of them. Bairstow got comfortable as time wore on, but in one over split by the tea break, England were rocked back significantly.

Shami and Bumrah have had to work the hardest for their wickets in England among their contemporaries. As of lunch on day one, they had needed to induce 19 false responses apiece for a wicket in England, the highest among fast bowlers since 2014. James Anderson and Stuart Broad, by comparison, take about 10 false responses each.

It is part luck, part lengths, but their luck was about to change. It had already begun to turn for Shami with that leg-side delivery to get Sibley, but now even reviews were going to fall in place. In the last over before tea, Shami bowled that perfect seaming delivery to trap Bairstow in front, but two sounds probably influenced umpire Richard Kettleborough to rule it in the batter's favour. Kohli couldn't get affirmation from anyone in front of the wicket that the ball had missed the bat, but went with the review nonetheless.

It was the perfect length, seaming in enough to beat the inside edge but not the leg stump. India went to tea buoyant, England on 138 for 4. Four balls into the final session, the final delivery of that Shami over, Dan Lawrence tickled one fine down the leg side. Unlucky Shami? Not today. Shami and Bumrah proceeded to toy around with Jos Buttler for 17 balls before Bumrah took the outside edge through to Pant. It didn't cost India a run.

The pressure created by these two, the low economy rate, meant Shardul Thakur could bowl attacking lines and lengths. He is an incredibly optimistic bowler. His strength is swing, and he continues to bowl full lengths and continues to look to swing it from the stumps. Kohli gave him a man at cover and midwicket to allow that mode of attack. He started his new spell with a really full outswinger to Root, who played for the swing, but the ball pitched and seamed the other way. Any shorter, and it would have seamed down the leg side. This one trapped him plumb.

Three balls later, Ollie Robinson gifted mid-on some catching practice. Soon Bumrah decided it was "toes day" for nose-or-toes Stuart Broad, trapping him lbw with a full one. At 160 for 9, Sam Curran found time to squeeze in his usual cameo, hitting 27 before a perfect yorker from Bumrah ended the innings with Anderson's wicket.

It wasn't an easy 55 minutes for India's new opening combination of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. England drew 17 false responses from them in the 13 overs possible before stumps, but no edge went towards a fielder and they never got trapped in front. India took their 10 wickets in 93 false responses.

Day 2

A man not supposed to be looked at as an opener anymore stepped in at the last moment to replace a concussed good friend of his, scored an unbeaten fifty in trying conditions, but wasn't even the story of the day on which only 33.4 overs were possible. Three full series since getting Virat Kohli out four times for 19 runs in 2014, James Anderson got India's captain out first ball to rouse England back into the contest after a 97-run opening stand between the returning KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma.

Oh, and the ball to get Kohli was a really good one, but it was not even the best ball to get a wicket on the day. In what is now becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy from Cheteshwar Pujara, a bowler will do well to top the delivery Anderson bowled just one ball before getting Kohli out. Perhaps it was fitting that there wasn't more cricket: you need to ration things so good.

India ended the day 58 behind England's first-innings score of 183, an outcome they would have settled for if offered at the start of the day, but not from the possible domination they were eyeing at the end of the first session.

In 2018-19, Rahul's good friend from Karnataka, Mayank Agarwal, replaced him at the top of the order. They then opened together for three Tests before Rahul was dropped and then later looked at as a back-up middle-order option only. Two days before this Test, though, Agarwal suffered a concussion in the nets and here Rahul was, trying to revive his career and give India some sort of launch pad. With him was the naturalised opener, Sharma, who has looked as good as any opener going around in the most challenging era for Test openers.

England resumed the day with Anderson and Ollie Robinson, possibly to spread their two experienced fast bowlers in a thin four-man attack whose fourth bowler was Sam Curran. Anderson and Robsinson gave it their best in a challenging first hour during which both the openers had to remain vigilant. A mistake occurred once every four balls, but the batters kept putting it behind them and resisted attempting a wishful stroke.

If, in between, there was a rare loose ball, Sharma especially took advantage, playing a lovely off-drive and a flick-pull for the only two boundaries in the first 11 overs, which brought just 12 runs. Anderson was imperious with his outswing, Robinson awkward with seam and bounce. However, when Anderson flipped the shiny side to bowl the inswinger, it didn't quite come out right. Robinson failed to get full enough to get an lbw verdict.

Sharma and Rahul left expertly, played late, defended under their eyes, and attacked only when the ball was absolutely there to be attacked. This was batting of great discipline and expertise.

As the attack was handed over to Stuart Broad and Curran, scoring opportunities began to present themselves. Broad is usually excellent at capitalising on such spells of play with an attacking length, but here he began to overpitch. Rahul broke free in that second hour; after an extremely watchful start of 12 runs from 79 balls, Rahul took 32 off the last 45 balls he faced in that session. Sharma didn't get as many loose balls, and was happy to play second fiddle.

Broad's spell of 5-0-27-0 was done. Anderson and Robinson had been thwarted. Curran needed more pressure from the other end to be effective. India were three short of only the second century opening stand in all test cricket in England since 2016. Lunch was approaching. Robinson went wide on the crease and bowled a bouncer just high enough and straight enough. Any higher, Sharma might have left it alone. Any lower, he might have been able to pull it down. Any wider, he would have been able to control it. He ended up sending this one straight down fine leg's throat.

Post lunch, Anderson and Robinson found more menace from the conditions. There seemed a shift in the attack: towards the stumps. Pujara survived an lbw decision when padding up by winning a review on height, but Anderson soon caught up with him.

In this spell, Anderson tried the inswinger more often by switching the shiny side to the outside. The one that got Pujara looked like just that: a testing inswinger, pitching full and within the stumps, making him defend, but upon pitching it assumed fangs, seaming the other way, squaring Pujara up, and taking a faint outside edge. Everything about this delivery was so good it would possibly have got him lbw had he missed the edge.

Now resumed the contest of all contests. In 2014, Anderson got Kohli out four times in just nine mistakes. In 2018 he induced 58 mistakes and two catchable edges from the bat of Kohli, but couldn't dismiss him. Earlier this year, he drew the edge again, but they dropped Kohli off Anderson even in India. Four hundred and fifty-four balls since he last got Kohli out, 69 false responses and three dropped catches later, the 39-year-old Anderson ran in to resume one final contest with Kohli.

Kohli has not scored an international hundred since November 2019, but only recently has a slightly serious issue cropped up in his batting. He is possibly playing too much for the inswinger, just like he did in 2014 when he played away from body too often, fearing that inswinger. Already this summer, Kyle Jamieson has got him out that way, but that is also the result of the lbws bowlers have been able to take off him by dragging him across.

That in mind, Anderson chose the perfect ball to start off with. Once again he bowled with the shiny side outside, hoping this one goes in and tests how much Kohli is watching out for that inswinger. It swung in all right, and Kohli pressed forward to try to defend. It was wide enough to leave it alone, but it was also an inswinger first up, so it is not easy to judge what to leave.

Kohli had it covered it in the air, but once again the ball pitched and seamed the other way to take a healthy edge and leave a packed Trent Bridge in frenzy. Anderson had got Kohli out for the first time in seven years, India had been reduced to 104 for 3 from 97 for 0, and England, who will have to fight every inch to save this home series after having lost to New Zealand already, were breathing again.

It seemed this oxygen was in short supply for Ajinkya Rahane, who is a nervous starter at the best of times and was hell bent on running every time ball touched bat. He eventually ran himself out for five, leaving India at 112 for 4 and bringing out Rishabh Pant, who is not quite known for buckling down and absorbing the pressure. It was going to be this way or that pretty soon, but rain arrived to leave us to contemplate what we witnessed.

Not before Dom Sibley dropped Rahul at second slip off Anderson, though. Just a reminder that India were still ahead in the contest, but with these batting line-ups in these conditions against these attacks, who can ever say for sure?

Day 3

Ravindra Jadeja pulled out his sword celebration, Jasprit Bumrah hit a six and also his top score in Tests, Mohammed Shami displayed text-book defensive pushes, and Mohammed Siraj had some fun too as India's much-maligned lower order took them into a position of strength, a first-innings lead of 95 runs, in the Trent Bridge Test. Not before KL Rahul added 27 to his already fine overnight 57.

Rain, though, frustrated them as only 49.2 overs of cricket was possible on the third day, England playing out the 11.1 bowled to them without the loss of a wicket. India now have a maximum of 196 overs to force a result in.

Not long ago, in the World Test Championship final in the same country but against a different opponent, India lost their seventh wicket on 205, the same score as here, but lost the remaining three for 12 runs. Then the last four added 28 in the second innings. The difference in two lower orders - home ones generally tend to outscore their opponents - was believed to be the difference between the two sides leading into the series.

Then Ben Stokes pulled out. Suddenly England didn't have the depth either in their batting or bowling. India ran through their lower order, and batted against an attack whose fourth and final bowler was Sam Curran. And Stuart Broad was having a second consecutive off day. A combination of better resolve from the batters, less incisive change-up bowlers, and some luck - three dropped catches and five missed run-outs in all - meant India enjoyed being at the other end of three frustrating lower-order stands, worth 73 in all.

That in mind, James Anderson and Ollie Robinson did well - splitting nine wickets between them, including a maiden five-for for Robinson - to keep the lead down to two figures.

The day began precariously amid rain breaks. India were 58 behind with Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the middle. Pant was going to play his shots. And so he did. A few came off before he chipped one to short cover to de dismissed for 25 off 20. Along the way he became India's highest run-getter in Tests this year.

Rahul nearly ran Jadeja out when he was four, but Dan Lawrence felt he had less time than he actually did. Instead of lobbing the ball to the wicketkeeper, he went for the direct hit and missed. Jadeja then went on to show why he has been among the best Test allrounders in the world since 2018 and why he provides India the flexibility to play five bowlers.

Rahul and Jadeja came together with India still 38 behind, and given the tail behind them they needed a big stand to retain the advantage in the Test. They added 60 runs and also saw off the most testing spell of the day when Anderson and Robinson bowled together. Joe Root dropped Rahul off Anderson during this period, but two boundaries later, Anderson produced a thinner edge to have him caught by the keeper. By then, India were in the lead, and Rahul had once again adapted to a new role - remember he was now being looked at as a middle-order batter - to make himself a place in the side.

Shardul Thakur fell for a duck, and India were just 22 ahead with three proverbial Nos 11 to follow. Things were different here, though. The bowling didn't have that sting for starters. Shami chose to play sensibly, and it came off too. In a 25-ball partnership, Jadeja manipulated the strike to face 22 and scored 24 off them.

Jadeja fell trying to hit Robinson over the field that had come up for the last ball of the over, but England still couldn't get the swift end they were after. Anderson himself proceeded to drop Shami. Bumrah batted with steely resolve. Shanks cleared the infield, and the better ones came right off the middle. He even hit Curran for a stunningly flat pulled six.

By the time Robinson took his fifth, and India's last, wicket, England had been kept in the field for 84.5 overs. Curran bowled only 15 of those, and Broad went at 3.5 an over. India were going to operate with a more evenly spread-out attack.

However, in the few overs that were possible before rain ended the day's play prematurely, the pitch looked a little settled. It was also evident from how India operated with just two slips and a gully. India still drew 11 mistakes in that period, which means it was not a flatbed. Eyes were also on the overheads: clouds were expected to bring assistance for India, but rain could deny them the time needed to inflict damage.

Day 4

Joe Root and Jasprit Bumrah combined on the fourth day to set up a grandstand finish for the Trent Bridge Test, the series opener. Having fallen behind by 95 in the first innings, England roared back on the back of a colossal 21st century from Root, but just when they were slipping out of India's grasp, Bumrah put in an immense five-for to rise above a tiring bowling unit to keep the target down to 209. India knocked 52 of those off in the awkward 65 minutes they got at the end of the day for the loss of just one wicket.

England began the day 70 behind with all their wickets in hand, but it was believed they needed rain or Root to rescue their fledgling batting unit. The promised rain never arrived, but in the best batting conditions of the Test, Root batted with assured positivity to make sure England never went into a shell and put the pressure of runs on India. However, Dom Sibley, Dan Lawrence and Jos Buttler gifted their wickets away to keep India in the contest by the time the new ball arrived. Bumrah blew them away with it.

In the morning, though, it was special bowling that brought Root to the crease. Mohammed Siraj continued his threat to left-hand batters, pitching in the blind spot on middle and leg and then getting away movement to take the edge from Rory Burns. Bumrah then produced a beauty to Zak Crawley, pitching on a length, close to off, holding its line, taking the edge. India had taken two wickets in the first half hour, and England were still 49 behind.

Root came out intent on getting into the lead as early as possible. The third ball he faced was full enough for him to drive through the covers. In the first 18 balls Root had hit four fours, one of them off the edge. By that time Bumrah was done with his first spell of the day. Mohammed Shami was not quite at his best, providing overpitched balls every now and then. Shardul Thakur looked short of a gallop, and Root decided to cash in.

There was a period of play when Root tried two late-cuts, one slog-sweep, one hook and one ramp for not a single run. Once he was out of this period, Root looked like he was batting on a flat deck and not in a Test where no one had scored a century. Conditions had eased out no doubt - England's control percentage was up to 80 from 75 in the last two innings of the match - but Root was playing at a level above his team-mates.

Post lunch, the clouds rolled in, and Dom Sibley - 28 off 132 till then - decided to have a drive at a short-of-a-length ball from Bumrah, which nipped back in to take the inside edge for Rishabh Pant to catch. The two still added 89, but effectively at 40 for 3, England had opened the window again.

Jonny Bairstow took over the scoring duties from Root. He was helped out by boundary balls provided early. In fact every new batter received gifts from India on the day. Root now just went into cruise mode with singles available everywhere with Bairstow presenting India with a big threat. Bumrah's first spell in the afternoon was done. The new ball was far away. India were not going to Shami or Thakur. The stage was set for England to dominate.

Bairstow had hit four boundaries in 32 balls, but when he went for the fifth, he did nail the flat pull but found the man in the deep. It was Ravindra Jadeja, and he had been there for a while. While this - a bouncer that didn't get high - was not the exact plan, there was a rough plan for Bairstow.

Lawrence and Buttler would have left Root frustrated. Runs were still coming easy. Both got gentle sighters early. Between them they hit seven boundaries in 54 balls. India have not been that generous in years. Lawrence, though, planted his big front foot across with the ball clearly reversing to give the struggling Thakur a second wind. Buttler then proceeded to leave alone without even covering his stumps, getting out for the sixth time in Test cricket when not offering a stroke. And that was minutes after he had survived a close lbw call doing the same to the reversing ball.

England were still only 142 ahead with six wickets gone. India were still struggling for an intense spell. The new ball was 10 overs away. Root and Sam Curran bedded in in those 10 overs. Root brought up his hundred, England reached 177 ahead. India took the new ball immediately. This was a huge moment. India still desperately needed to make the new ball count or England could run away with the Test.

Arrive Bumrah. In the first over with the new ball, he produced the beauty he often does. On a length, holding its line just outside off, bouncing extra, taking Root's edge. In the fifth over with the new ball, he went round the wicket to draw awkward bounce and inward movement to handcuff Curran and have him caught at mid-on. He bowled Stuart Broad with the next ball.

The pesky tail was not going to bother India today. Shami had the fly slip perfectly placed for the edge off the Ollie Robinson slog to be pouched. India have, in recent times, been a well-spread bowling unit, but on this day one man - a little like Root - and some luck carried them. They have had desperately unlucky days, too, so this was not out of order.

Against a charged-up bowling unit, with the loud capacity crowd in their ears, India had a torturous little period leading up to the stumps. With rain approaching, the openers didn't even know how long they were in for. What they knew was the whereabouts of their off stumps.

KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma were excellent again, making the bowlers desperate with their leaves and defence. Rahul got most of the error balls earned, and cashed in. He made Broad produce the best ball he could bowl, a bit like Bumrah's two peaches earlier to get Crawley and Root, to get out, with 15 minutes to go. England went on an all-out attack in the last 15 minutes, but couldn't get the wicket. In the process, they opened up scoring opportunities, which a struggling Pujara accepted.

In the last over of the day, Rohit repeated the pull shot against Robinson after having been caught in the last over before lunch in the first innings, but executed it perfectly to keep it down.

Day 5

The promised grandstand finish to the Trent Bridge Test never materialised as it rained all morning and all afternoon in Nottingham to force a draw.

India came into the day slight favourites, needing a further 157 runs with nine wickets in hand on a quick-scoring ground whose pitch seemed to have settled down from the treacherous pit it had been in the first innings.

However, England would be quick to point out that in 2018 they had stopped India in two sub-250 chases in the fourth innings. India might argue this Test was different because the conditions kept getting better throughout the match. The scoring rates kept improving as the match progressed, which is usually an indicator of a pitch getting better to bat on.

We will never know which team really lost out because of the rain, but they will both take four World Test Championship points each from the match.

The next Test starts at Lord's on Thursday.

England go to London with questions around their main batters after player-of-the-match Joe Root almost single-handedly saved them this Test. In scoring a fifty and a hundred, Root looked a level above his team-mates, and not for the first time either.

India would be slightly more concerned about Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane than they were a week ago, but they would be overjoyed with the bonus of KL Rahul's latest coming as an opener. It appeared they were not looking at Rahul as an opener anymore, but as India lost Mayank Agarwal to concussion two days before the Test - Shubman Gill had been ruled out already - Rahul had to step in.

Rahul more than stepped in by looking India's best batter in both the innings, which means his good friend Agarwal will have to either just wait or replace someone lower in the order.