CRICKET
4th Test: England dismiss India cheaply
India’s top order collapsed once again against England to leave the rest of the batters vulnerable.
A low total in the first innings has put the visitors in a tough spot in the 4th Test.
After a toiling effort on Day 1, Virat Kohli’s men have managed to score only 191 runs.
While most fans expected India to fight back strongly after the hosts levelled the series 1-1 in the third game, a below-par display has disappointed the Indian supporters.
Thakur, Kohli step up
None of the Indian batters, apart from Kohli and Shardul Thakur, made an impact.
India may not have hit the 150-run mark if it was not for a blistering half-century of Thakur.
At the top, it was the Indian captain who kept the ship sailing smoothly with wickets tumbling on the other hand.
Despite losing Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, Kohli reached yet another fifty in this series.
At a time, it seemed like the skipper would wave his MRF bat to the gallery to end his century drought, but Ollie Robinson had other plans.
The relative newcomer in the red-ball arena got Kohli to snick a ball pitched on the off- stump yet again.
With a familiar dismissal, Kohli departed without adding any run after scoring his fifty.
England lose early wickets
If one thing that India could be happy about at the end of the first day, is the dismissal of England captain Joe Root.
The visitors are 53/3, trailing by 138 runs.
If the Indian pace cartel continues to go ballistic early in the second day, things could fall apart for the visitors as well.
Joe Root has saved the Englishmen time and again in this series.
With him out for 21 off 25, all eyes are on Dawid Malan.
The T20 specialist, who is poised to prove himself in red-ball cricket, is unbeaten on 26 alongside the night watchman, Craig Overton (1*).
Umesh Yadav dismissed Root, while Jasprit Bumrah got both openers – Rory Burns (5) and Haseeb Hameed (0).
How Pope can cash in
Ollie Pope is dubbed as the next big thing for England in Tests.
However, the young gun hasn’t got a lot of chances yet to prove his worth.
The right-handed star is next in if England lose another wicket.
Playing in his first game of this series, Pope will have an uphill task against a fiery Bumrah and Thakur.
But if he can extend his stay on the wicket and get a chunk of runs in the meanwhile, he might as well make a case for a permanent spot in the side.
What’s with Pant?
India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has gone missing.
He has failed to turn up with the bat in any game. He could have made amends for his poor performances against England today, but Chris Woakes got the better of him at 9.
It’s time for him to replicate his feats on the English soil which he did a few months ago in Australia.
His form slump is hurting India as the visitors have been lacking a handful of runs to mount pressure on Root’s unit.
This might be a warning for Ajinkya Rahane as well.
He looked in fine touch while batting with the Indian skipper today, but failed to stay on the pitch for long once again.
England 53 for 3 (Malan 26*, Bumrah 2-15) trail India 191 (Thakur 57, Kohli 50, Woakes 4-55, Robinson 3-38) by 138 runs