India vs England, 2nd-Test: England stage comeback in final session
Veterans Rohit Sharma (161) and Ajinkya Rahane (67) helped India dominate Day 1 of the second Test against England. The duo shared a century stand after India lost three wickets in quick succession. However, the visitors made a recovery after dismissing the two batsmen toward the day's end. India ended the day at 300/6. Here are the key takeaways of Day 1.
How did Day 1 pan out?
India had a patchy start after skipper Virat Kohli elected to bat. England got rid of opener Shubman Gill (0) initially, while Cheteshwar Pujara too departed after getting a decent start. Surprisingly, Kohli recorded a rare duck as he was cleaned up by off-spinner Moeen Ali. After Rohit (161) and Rahane (67) put India in the driving, England came back before stumps.
Rohit slams seventh Test ton
Rohit continued to play in a positive manner even though the likes of Pujara and Kohli couldn't accompany him. He slammed his seventh Test hundred and his first against England. Eventually, he went on to cross the 150-run mark for the fourth time in the format. His last four scores of 100+ as an opener: 161, 212, 127 and 176.
A look at the feats attained by Rohit
Rohit now has the joint-third-most scores of 150 or more as an opener in international cricket. He is also the first Indian player to score each of his first seven Test hundreds at home. The previous most was by Mohammad Azharuddin (6). Moreover, he is the only player in world cricket to have centuries across formats against four teams (SL, WI, SA and ENG).
Rahane brought stability in the Indian innings
While Rohit played the aggressor, Rahane brought stability in the Indian innings. The latter seemed to have corrected his technical snag, which resulted in his dismissal in the second innings of the opening Test. He rightly covered his off-stump to tackle the reverse swing this time. Rahane, who stitched a 162-run stand with Rohit, was outfoxed by Moeen Ali on 67.
A rare duck for Virat Kohli
In what turned out to be a strange event, Indian captain Kohli registered a rare duck in Test cricket. He faced only five deliveries before Ali holed him out. Moeen exploited the gap between his bat and pad as the ball turned in sharply from outside off-stump. Interestingly, Moeen has become the first spinner to dismiss Kohli on a duck in international cricket.
Moeen Ali, Jack Leach among wickets for England
The inclusion of Moeen in the XI has certainly bolstered the spin segment of England. He gave the visitors two crucial breakthroughs in the form of Kohli and Rahane. However, he has already conceded over 100 runs in the innings. Meanwhile, his compatriot Jack Leach broke the Rohit-Rahane stand by getting rid of the former.
A look at the key points
The English bowlers didn't give away a single extra throughout the first day. Their bowlers were able to do so especially after the Indians conceded as many as 27 no-balls in the first Test. Another notable highlight was the 'sweep shot' used by Rohit and Rahane during their mammoth stand. Even Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin were seen pulling out the sweep eventually.
