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India recovered well after another batting failure against England on Day 1 of the ongoing fourth Test at Kennington Oval in London.
Put to bat first, the visitors were bundled out for 191 in 61.3 overs. Top-three batters Rohit Sharma (11), KL Rahul (17), and Cheteshwar Pujara (4) went out cheaply. However, captain Virat Kohli took charge and helped his side come out of hot waters.
Kohli went on to hit another half-century in the series, signalling that he is slowly and gradually roaring back into form. Although, right after reaching 50 runs, Ollie Robinson dismissed the Indian skipper.
Kohli’s dismissal followed a batting collapse with the likes of Ajinkya Rahane (14), Rishabh Pant (9), again disappointing with their individual performances. However, Shardul Thakur, who was included in the playing XI as a replacement of Mohammed Shami in the 4th Test, came for the rescue of his team.
Thakur smashed a scintillating fifty to assist India to reach 191 runs. The right-handed batter hit his second half-century in the longest format, scoring a crucial 57 runs from 36 deliveries with the help of seven fours and three sixes.
In reply, England had a disastrous start with both the openers Rory Burns (5) and Haseeb Hameed (0) went back to the pavilion inside the first four overs. Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowler who dismissed both Burns and Hameed in the same over.
Then, Dawid Malan and English skipper Joe Root steadied the innings by adding 46 runs for the third wicket. But right before the end of the day’s play, the tourists got the big fish as speedster Umesh Yadav cleaned up Root to demoralise the hosts further. At stumps, England reached 53/3, trailing India by 138 runs.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Umesh Yadav’s skiddiness off the pitch has troubled Joe Root right through and it’s accounted for him in the end #ENGvIND
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) September 2, 2021
This match is as well poised as the series !
Good game 🏏#IndvsEng— Ridhima Pathak (@PathakRidhima) September 2, 2021
First @imShard and then @Jaspritbumrah93 and @y_umesh have set up this game. Even at the end of day 1. #IndvsEng
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) September 2, 2021
🏟️🏏 STUMPS, DAY 1 ~ Our boys have finished the day well, as our bowlers led by Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav have struck to their task to run through the English top order 😎
📷 Getty • #INDvENG #ENGvIND #TeamIndia #umeshyadav #jaspritbumrah #BharatArmy pic.twitter.com/tvj8NEOJfX
— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) September 2, 2021
STUMPS, DAY 1: England finish the day 138 runs behind India's first innings total.
India end the day on a high with that wicket of Root. 🔥
🏴: 53/3#ENGvIND #OrangeArmy #OrangeOrNothing
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) September 2, 2021
Thank God for the Bowlers – both the runs and wickets ! #IndvsEng #Oval
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) September 2, 2021
STUMPS, DAY 1⃣
Jasprit Bumrah's double-wicket over and Umesh Yadav's jaffa to get rid of Joe Root means that #TeamIndia end the day on a high 🤩
More of this tomorrow morning, please 💙🤞
🏴 – 53/3 (17)#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/sKLciUTrYz
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) September 2, 2021
India finish the first day on a high after a solid bowling performance.#WTC23 | #ENGvIND | https://t.co/zRhnFiKhzZ pic.twitter.com/4YuwlSZJLU
— ICC (@ICC) September 2, 2021
Umesh bowling fast off spin as an homage to R Ashwin.
— Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber) September 2, 2021
One man turned the whole mood of the game.
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) September 2, 2021