2nd Test, England vs India: Visitors dominate Day 1 proceedings
The Indian cricket team is in a comfortable position against England on Day 1 of the second Test at Lord's on Thursday. England won the toss and put India to bat after rain delayed the start. The visitors batted well as the openers laid the foundation once again. India are 276/3 at stumps. Here's the report of Day 1.
Indian openers weather early storm, before settling down
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul batted sensibly and there was a plan in place. They negotiated the new ball well and took their time. England bowled in good channels but couldn't get success. The batters didn't take any chances and were patient. Once they settled down, the runs came. England tried different things and were frustrated as the openers shared a 126-run stand.
Rohit hits a brilliant 84, Rahul smashes a ton
Rohit watched the ball carefully and once his eyes were set, he gave a sound display of quality batting. Rohit hit 83 from 145 balls, hitting 11 fours and a six. He also hit 16 runs in an over against Sam Curran. Rahul took his time and put a price on his wicket. This helped him as he smashed a century (127*).
Cheteshwar Pujara needs to work on his batting
Team India may lose patience as the struggles of Cheteshwar Pujara continued. Since getting a 72-run knock against England in Chennai earlier this year, Pujara has failed to break the shackles. He has got scores of 15, 21, 7, 0, 17, 8, 15, 4, 12*, and 9. Pujara was lazy with his shot-making and nicked at a ball that should have been left alone.
James Anderson the main man for England once again
Veteran England pacer James Anderson was among the wickets once again. He got the prized scalp of Rohit after bowling a beauty. Anderson used his experience and his seam positioning resulted in a wicket. The late inward movement did Rohit in. And then, Anderson removed Pujara, who poked at a ball outside off. Anderson has raced to 623 wickets, including 124 against India.
Kohli scores 42 as England claim late wicket
Indian skipper Virat Kohli looked good at the crease and rotated the strike well. He shared a century-plus stand alongside Rahul for the third wicket. However, Kohli was dismissed (42) by Robinson, chasing a wide delivery. Meanwhile, besides Anderson and Ollie Robinson, the English attack looked toothless. Mark Wood, Sam Curran, and Moeen Ali were ineffective as the Indians negotiated in a positive manner.
