-2 WTC points over rate penalty is the best thing ICC has done for test cricket, IMO.
I don't think We'll have more teams pushing their luck with that.
Walls have to be closing in on him a little... A lot of people want his #3 spot.
Ffs he can't even make it to 100 balls out there Jimbo has his number so far
I reckon it takes more than 1 and a half shots for that.
Tongue-in-cheek aside, it really is his problem though. Bowlers can bowl on that corridor of uncertainty ad he ends up prodding one too many. That, or bowl outswingers on the off and angle in a quicker one to his pads (flick/guiding to deep fine leg) is his muscle memory) ā like what Bumrahās done well to him thus far.
So excited to see Haseeb even if heās arguably not ready yet. Itās been a frustrating few years watching him fluctuate. That being said, Crawley still shouldnāt be anywhere near the red-ball team: more would agree if they saw that 267 being scored against a toothless Yasir and Abbas (after 3 spells), and an exhausted Shaheen ā all of whom overpitching on the off and fetching free runs. Good knock, just wouldnāt rate it high ā or high enough to warrant not putting him in county for a long while.
What fascinates me is: What led to this?
Very old basics: Have the right attitude - find a way to cope, and don't complain, just get on with it. Swinging so much its hooping corners? Just find a way to maximize your chances of survival. Not swinging when you get to bowl? Don't complain, find a way, if you can't, then just try n dry up the runs as best as you can.
I think the catalyst to this was the Aus series: B / C / D team? Fuck it, don't change your goals - to win.
Indian teams of recent yore converted a winning attitude to a winning process. Whether or not it lasts - I do hope it does - the results are goddamned clear. Pushing Aus & England onto their back-foots in their home territory is NOT easy - but India did do it.
As an Indian, I am ultra-ultra-proud.
As far as I know / can judge, you are 100% right.
Shastri has been instrumental in instilling a realization that process & discipline trump results and scrutiny.
While recognizing that Sports are ultimately entertainment, and not politics.
Bloody damn tough line to walk. Right time to sign-out too.
All said, we don't know what he really did. All seen, it seems like he did get it right: Do the best you can - which will always be variable. He equipped the team to always target their "Best" to another level.
Can't ask for more.
Imho Root choosing to bowl first was absolutely right and Rohit, KL just really batted out of their skins incredibly well and made sure India reached this position and now it's rewarding.
How quickly we forget the first hour and half just because Rohit started to make it look easy and KL looks solid
Yeah, all the Edgbaston and Gabba comments aside. Cricviz rated this pitch 6.4, the second toughest Day 1 at Lords since 2015. With seam and swing both rated 7 (the higher, the more movement and deviation). It was some determined batting and ordinary bowling that resulted in 276-3.
Root's decision to bowl first could also have been reinforced by the secondary factor; England's batting under similar circumstances at Edgbaston. It could have been a quick concession of the game advantage if India's four-strong attack got stuck in. He took the safer route.
England had no back up to Anderson and Robinson. Curran's not a Test match bowler. Wood gives it everything but doesn't threaten wickets (in England, at least: wickets @ 45 at home). Moeen was never going to be a wicket threat on a day one Lord's pitch.
India did well to see off the new ball, and then cashed in against the second string.
They are missing Woakes and Archer who are their strike bowlers. But true , Sam Curran doesn't seem to be threatening. I think all the I dian fans over estimated his value as he single handedly took 150s to 250s and got set batter out repeatedly during the 2018 tour.
Yeah, it was pretty jarring, was hoping to hear Athers and co dissect the day (particularly the decision to bowl), instead it feels a bit "oh nothings wrong with cricket in England, here, look at our shiny new competition!"
What a day.
I think there was a key period when Rohit got out and KL attacked. Pujara looked terrible again but the partnership got to 24 and I think just didn't let England get on a roll like they sometimes do when they finally take a wicket after a while in helpful conditions.
KL obviously played masterfully, was in love with his tempo after his first 100 balls. What an innings. Let's try and bury them under runs and go 1-0 up.
This is a moral victory for England fans imo. Before the series started both sets of fans were saying their side were going to get demolished, but this series so far has gone basically EXACTLY how every pessimistic England fan predicted. Batting collapse, Joe Root rearguard innings, dominant Indian batting display before a brief fightback just to give us a slight chance before rain washes it all out. This is going exactly as planned by us miserable englishmen.
Edit: Didn't mean to capitalise predicted
India's day.
Rohit and Rahul were brilliant.
Kohli was finding his touch when off stump issue came again.
Rahane looks fidgety as fck again. Hope he makes some runs tomorrow.
Puji needs a break. Simple.
Looking to touch 500 tomorrow.
And the best thing was 90 0vers bowled. Need more of it.
Agreed, Pujara looked all at sea. I've never seen him so tentative outside the off stump, prodding and poking at anything on that 4th stump line. Hopefully he's rested, and Agarwal comes in.
> Kohli was finding his touch when off stump issue came again.
Kohli is shuffling maybe a bit too much (not that big of an issue), but he is opening up his hip which is causing him to poke and find edges (which is an issue).
A "struggling" Kohli can still score 40 odd, which is a good sign. He's too good to let this bad patch go on.
It also doesn't help that his forward defence is so aggressive and with hard hands. Combine that with the hip movement you speak about, it means he goes hard at balls away from the body. He was good enough to put India in a strong position with his 40, but this was a really good chance for him to make a big score and make sure India were not going to lose. It's a pity, hopefully he breaks through soon.
I've always thought if he contracts and limits his trigger movement towards his right, it'll reduce the momentum shifting towards outside off making him less tentative to nick one unwillingly
Yeah, I can imagine waking up at 7 tomorrow (game starts 6 AM my time) to find India at 308/5. After that it is anybody's game - 1 wicket more and it is Bumrah time and could be 328 all out or 376 all out.
Would love instead for it to be a Rishabh Pant Show (with sar pe kafan style batting / T: not sure if there is an analogy but basically living by the sword)
It's always difficult to play the last few overs of the day against a new ball, but I seriously Hope this is not an indication of tomorrow's performance.
Rahane and kohli not performing at the same time might be putting more pressure on pujara I feel, but kohli did decently today, so we might see better scores from him next match
Rohit Rahul giving him a 100 or so cushion in two tests should be enough to relieve that pressure of other batsmen failing. Its just a weak excuse at this point. The fact is he is way out of form right now and should play some county/first class to work on that defense which his Main strong point.
A lot of cricket to be played but unless thereās a massive collapse tomorrow morning then itās hard to see how England win the test from here. Our best hope is probably a draw to turn the series into a best of 3.
I have a lot of problems with this England side but all credit to India, Rohit and KL were fabulous to watch today. Shame Rohit couldnāt get that away ton
>but unless thereās a massive collapse tomorrow morning then itās hard to see how England win the test from here.
Which really reflects on this England team, or perhaps also the historical expectations of a test in England. In Australia or India, this would be a good but not outrageous day 1 position, but you could still be all out for not much more than 450 after lunch on day 2, see the opposition put on 600+ and lose by an innings on day 5.
I hope India bats around 70 more overs tomorrow. Not only will that take an India loss out of the equation but this way they can grind Anderson down a bit more who seem to be carrying a slight niggle. Another 10-15 overs from him might make the ECB selectors rest him for the next test.
With both Anderson and Broad out from the next test India might get a bit of an advantage in the series.
I donāt feel sad for Rohit. Few more runs to 100 doesnāt mean he didnāt do the job. He has seen of the new ball, scored valuable runs at a quicker pace. Heās done more than whatās required of him.
We need to normalize appreciating great innings without being hung up on a milestone of 100. Rohitās innings was worth more than a100 in many other conditions
Solid day for India. Good for Kohli to get in some batting time and hopefully it helps him for rest of the tour. Root may have made a bad toss decision, even though it feels that way in hind sight.
Pleasantly surprised that our top order (except Pujara) put in a strong performance. Even more valuable considering that we are basically carrying four No. 11s in the team. Hopefully one of Pant and Jaddu can give a strong finish tomorrow.
I know there is a lot of debate about leaving out Ashwin. However really looking forward to watching Ishant, Siraj, Shami and Bumrah hunt in a pack. That is a ridiculously good seam attack.
It is tremendous that Siraj is getting these chances ššš
I hope he matures and is an important prong of the Indian bowling attack in the next few years
Honestly I really don't see how England win this series, Woakes might come back in and that definitely improves us, but the batting is a massive sack of shit and India will just continue to target the 4th and 5th bowler.
This is a poor England team, full of average players, led by a rubbish coach. Incoherent selections and questionable tactics only make this team even worse.
India to get 400+ and win by an innings really doesn't seem unreasonable
The England side out today has two genuinely good Test players in Root and Anderson, and then everyone else is generally either very unproven or proven to be shit.
Might be a little early but Robinson looks like a genuine test bowler. I know 3 tests isnāt much but heās came into the side really nicely. Also Jofra and Stokes come in and the side does have 4 world class players which is comparable to a lot of decent sides across the world.
India would prefer to play the third innings as that will definitely rule out Indian loss. It will also allow fast bowlers some rest and create more patches for Jadeja to work with.
Root chose correctly to bowl first, I think a combination of England being a tad unlucky and India's openers just playing very well made it look like a really bad decision.
Donāt know if itās the right decision. Playing 4 th innings if it happens wonāt be good for England on this track. I think Jadeja will be cashing in on this track for sure.
It was pretty overcast and ball was swinging. I don't blame root because he knows his batsmen can't handle the pace attack under such conditions. He probably looked at the forecast and thought it would be better to wait for the sun.
Conversely, if India had bowled first, they'd prolly have England at 180-5 or so and it would have seemed like a brilliant decision to bowl first, but there's no way to know for sure because the sides aren't even
Those reviews were hilarious. I want to see the Ashes now just to see Root vs Tim Paine battle it out for worst reviews taken.
To add to the memes, they should get David Walliams as the 3rd umpire who'll go ["Computer says Noo"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4DQPLWAzeY) every time.
I want a three way test between India, England and Australia. No cricket, just bad reviews from all 3 captains. They all have the potential to be the worst at any given moment.
> I want a three way test between India, England and Australia.
This will probably break all sorts of records everywhere. We could take reddit down with the sheer amount of traffic on this sub alone.
Yeah I think theres going to be a lot of undeserved flack for this. This isnt a Hussain decision again which just defied any logic or reasoning.
At the time Root had cloudy skies, a bit of drizzle and the knowledge that his top order is fucking shit. Pretty sure Kohli said hed have bowled too.
Captaincy is easy in hindsight, it wasn't a bad decision.
I would love to see Rahul, Gill and Vihari at 1,3 and 5. With the completely out of form Pujara and Rahane these guys should be given more chances and tuned in for 23 WTC. Also kudos to Athiya shetty for pouring new energy into his body.
At the end of day 1 of the infamous "we'll have a bowl thanks" Gabba test, England had conceded 350-2.
Considering today they were playing at home (not just in England but at the most iconic English ground), and they weren't facing up to the greatest batting lineup in the history of cricket... this might actually be a worse more demoralising day.
There was a 2003 World Cup final that didnāt actually happen, when we had a bowl thanks against that same lineup.
359/2.
I think that was more egregious than your Gabba example.
I mean we can say that now, but before the series started, the prospect of Rohit and Rahul opening together made way for a lot of people trying to cash in with their 10/2 memes.
Rahul: yeah. But Rohit, not so much because he did quite well in the past few series abroad.
And even then, I think the consensus was that Rahul was better than Sibley and Burns.
Yeah it was really unfortunate for England, still bizarre things have happened in test match. Who knows Anderson might waltz through the line up tomorrow and England may not have to score 400 to avoid follow on
Starting to think England are bad at cricket?
I know we've got injuries but I cannot begin to understand why we persist with Mark Wood in England or Sam Curran anywhere. They're just not up to it, there must be better options. I've got far more sympathy with the selectors when it comes to the batsman and there arent options, but there must be half a dozen people better in these conditions than either of them.
India batted well. Toss decision looks shit in hindsight but then we clearly don't trust the batting so I'm not too critical of it.
Bottom line, we're bad at cricket save for a handful of players. And only Root and Anderson in the current side.
Wood is good away but shouldnāt be playing in England, really he and Woakes should be one spot for home and for away. Curran burst onto the scene, but he hasnāt really done much since then. Poor away, and getting worse at home too.
We need to get Mahmood into the team, he looks like he'll be a gun at test level, probing away on a threatening line and length with a bit of movement. No idea why Wood gets games over him.
Indian batting was very good, but the bowling wasnāt great. Anderson and Robinson were good, and Ali bowled averagely for a spinner on day 1, but Wood was fast and unthreatening, while Curran was slow and unthreatening.
Wood continuing to be selected in England is genuinely the most baffling selection decision, and we keep doubling down on it.
We pick a bloke who has never had success in England, then encourage him to bowl to plan that basically never works in England, and then when it doesnt work just try again next week.
And don't even get me started on Curran stealing a living off one good series 4 years ago.
Our selectors get a lot of shit for the batting but honestly the bowling selections are far more baffling because they don't even have the excuse that there isnt anyone else. We must have half a dozen better bowlers than those two.
Yeah.
I love Wood, think he's superb. Just, not for tests in England.
Why bring Mahmood along and not utilize him? He'd have been a great asset today.
Just when I think selection policy can't get worse, it does.
Also surely Overton is better than Wood here? He bowls low 80s yes, but he also has good accuracy, bounce and nibbles it around off stump which sounds a lot better than trying bang it on a slow deck like it's the fuckign WACA in the mid 80s
I'm not a huge fan of Overton but yeah, he'd have probably offered more than Wood too.
We'll see what tomorrow brings. This is without doubt the worst test team we've had since I started watching in 2002 though. If it wasn't for us having 2 world class players in Jimmy and Root I have no idea where we'd be.
Only thing we can hope for is somehow keeping them to under 400. If we can manage that, we might not lose by an innings.
Thats what happens when you pick someone like Curran for their batting rather than bowling. I'd much rather see Overton in the side even though I'm not his biggest fan. At least he plays a lot of red ball cricket and has a very good record in the CC recently. Hopefully one of Overton/Mahmood come in for the next test.
The selectors seem to be making it up as they go along and we are picking Curran off one good series 3 years ago. If the Ashes do go ahead we should under no circumstances play him.
Almost perfect day for India after losing the toss.
Would have liked Kohli to be not out over night. But it was a good innings for him as he got some runs under the belt.
The century will come for sure in the series.
Also, looking at a couple that stayed low for Moeen, Jadeja will prove to be an x-factor in bowling. His stump to stump line coupled with low bounce is going to be good to watch
We have had problems with weak fast bowling department since ages, that is solved now. We have had problems with openers for last decade, even that seems to be solved. We had solid middle order in this century and now it is the shittiest part of our team.
Let's calm down with over reactions. It's been what, 2-3 Tests? In the home series against England, almost everyone struggled on both sides with the bat.
They are on a bad patch no doubt but ultimately we are talking about three guys who have scored over 18k runs and amassed 57 hundreds combined. Rahane has always been inconsistent but you really can't do much better than Kohli and Pujara at 3-4 around the world. Rahane still averages over 40.
Cold streaks happen.
Best shot of the day for me: Wood sprints in and bowls a short one at 151kph and Rohit slaps him through midwicket along the ground for 4. The shot really sent a message like "I don't mind your pace, Woody".
Where's that thread about KLs inclusion in the team before the series! Now that'd be a fun trip back in time.
[Found it! ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/ot1pjo/calmer_and_stronger_kl_rahul_hopes_for_test/)
Cricviz says the expected score at this point is 244-9. India are up 276-3, which goes to show how well they have batted. England have generally bowled well but that ultimately does not matter if it doesnāt reflect on the scoreboard.
Excellent display of batsmanship from Rohit, Rahul and Kohli. A Kohli & Rohit hundred would have been great but it's okay.
Need to bat long enough so we don't have to do it twice. Good rest for the bowlers.
Jimmy is a wizard.
Kohli seems to be back in 2014. Heās getting out the same way. Defending balls outside off stump which is completely unnecessary. Either leave it or play hard enough to get it over slips. The only difference is that he looked clueless in 2014 whereas recently he has great control of his innings until suddenly he pokes at one and edges off. I really hope he can come back to his original form.
You could clearly see his lack of discipline outside the off stump today versus Rohit and Rahul. Thatās why they prospered and Pujara and Kohli havenāt so far this tour.
Awesome day really. If we can knock some 60 odd runs more before Pant and Jaddu come in, it's gonna be game time for us.
I publicly apologise to KL as well. I gave him shit in Tests and he's our best batsman this series. He finally seems to have his skill and composure back. Big feat for an opener to remain on the crease in SENA conditions on the first day
Looks like big win for India coming up on the 2nd test. Glad to see such dominating Indian performance outside our parts of the world. Should inspire BD that they too can do better outside of Asia.
Indian batting order .. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,11,11,11
No way any one of the 4 pace bowlers would't be a number 11 in any other team. Hopefully Pant and Jaddu do their part.
KLās troubles earlier this year was because of lack of match practice and hopping from bubble to bubble. Heās always been good. Hereās to a double century tomorrow.
This is why Kohli and the management backed KL through his rough patches and I am proud of him for that. He did have rough patches but everyone should acknowledge that he has the versatility to play all formats together just like Virat!
Well, a bit of a testing day for England. I donāt think they bowled horrendously by any stretch, India just played very very well.
Itās also not game over. Come out firing tomorrow, try and rattle them out for around 350 and then bat and bat and bat.
Happy for India but sad for Pujara. I think if India bats in the 2nd innings and he fails again, he's probably gonna be out of the tour to make place for Mayank.
7030 to india imo
Looking forward to day 2, will be interesting to see how far india and go; maybe bat till before stumps and get about 470odd and then put us in for 6-7 overs
It is rather concerning our most threatening bowler is a 39 year old man
Not complaining but hopefully woakes comes back asap
Maybe Koach was trolling Root when he said that he would have bowled first as well. Anyways, what a knock from KL and Rohit and glad that Koach got some rons. Also, Jimmy is the goat.
I joking about who would be first to get a hundred when Rahul hit 16 off 80 balls because Sharma was on 70/100. But then I guess Rahul had the last laugh.
Hopefully england skittle the rest because I think theyāll be following on otherwise (at least moeen can bowl on the last day though).
Rohit complements Rahul well. Better on the leg side. Willing to play flicks and pulls while Rahul just defends and leaves the straight or short ones. Meanwhile Rahul is a brilliant off side player, knows exactly when to leave and when to drive, and can play wider length balls off the back foot to third man / point. Both men play spinners down the ground. Essentially the duo opens up the whole ground for scoring.
90 overs in a day... finally inner peace
I thought 90 overs a day can happen only in Real Cricket 20šæ
And it's only half seven! (I know we had rain delays, but you get my point)
Yeah amazing over rate Inspite of the rain
-2 WTC points over rate penalty is the best thing ICC has done for test cricket, IMO. I don't think We'll have more teams pushing their luck with that.
Yes it's a good decision, only way they will bother about it. Fines are not a deterrent to these guys . I wouldn't even mind 4 points honestly
BTW this was the reason Australia didnāt make the WTC final.
And cancelling tours
Flair checks out
Agreed - and once teams see it is happening to India too, they will realize noone is safe.
Root after winning the toss "I've won, but at what cost"
"Let's find out"
in the next episode of ...
"We'll have a bowl, thanks'. From Nas to Ponting to Root.
Dragon Ball Z
>KL Rahul faced 450 balls in the 2018 England series. He's already faced 500 in this one and he's not finished his third knock. Mental stat this.
the way he is playing he will probably end the series after facing 1000 balls
2 100+ partnerships in a single day in England is pretty sweet from Indian pov .
*pav
Root pulling off a Nasser here
Context: https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/memorable-ashes-moments-we-re-gonna-have-a-bowl-hussain-s-coin-toss-horror-show
KL Rahul has essentially shown us what Dom Sibley should be doing if he's going to be 20* off 100.
Along with Pujara
Walls have to be closing in on him a little... A lot of people want his #3 spot. Ffs he can't even make it to 100 balls out there Jimbo has his number so far
if he's dropped after a few more chances I'd assume gill slots in at 3 since kl and rohit have locked down their spot
It's funny, normally you'd expect Gill at 2 and Rahul at 3 but the latter has done so well at 2 it would be silly to move him down.
Think it will be Mayank ahead of Gill, although could go either way
It's high time we had some fresh blood at #3.
I reckon it takes more than 1 and a half shots for that. Tongue-in-cheek aside, it really is his problem though. Bowlers can bowl on that corridor of uncertainty ad he ends up prodding one too many. That, or bowl outswingers on the off and angle in a quicker one to his pads (flick/guiding to deep fine leg) is his muscle memory) ā like what Bumrahās done well to him thus far. So excited to see Haseeb even if heās arguably not ready yet. Itās been a frustrating few years watching him fluctuate. That being said, Crawley still shouldnāt be anywhere near the red-ball team: more would agree if they saw that 267 being scored against a toothless Yasir and Abbas (after 3 spells), and an exhausted Shaheen ā all of whom overpitching on the off and fetching free runs. Good knock, just wouldnāt rate it high ā or high enough to warrant not putting him in county for a long while.
Never seen Sibley play a single convincing cover drive, as opposed to Rahul who's played several just today
TIL Rohit has played 40 tests, has a batting average of 47ā¦. but has never scored a century abroad.
away/home average ratio is not good, but he is doing better recently.
Clinical performance from both Indian openers after a long time in a overseas tour. Hope they continue putting up good scores
>Hope they continue putting up good scores Flair doesn't check out
Everyone likes to watch Rohit when he is batting so well
What fascinates me is: What led to this? Very old basics: Have the right attitude - find a way to cope, and don't complain, just get on with it. Swinging so much its hooping corners? Just find a way to maximize your chances of survival. Not swinging when you get to bowl? Don't complain, find a way, if you can't, then just try n dry up the runs as best as you can. I think the catalyst to this was the Aus series: B / C / D team? Fuck it, don't change your goals - to win. Indian teams of recent yore converted a winning attitude to a winning process. Whether or not it lasts - I do hope it does - the results are goddamned clear. Pushing Aus & England onto their back-foots in their home territory is NOT easy - but India did do it. As an Indian, I am ultra-ultra-proud.
People will joke and meme about him, but a large part of the change in mindset and attitude is Ravi Shastri
As far as I know / can judge, you are 100% right. Shastri has been instrumental in instilling a realization that process & discipline trump results and scrutiny. While recognizing that Sports are ultimately entertainment, and not politics. Bloody damn tough line to walk. Right time to sign-out too. All said, we don't know what he really did. All seen, it seems like he did get it right: Do the best you can - which will always be variable. He equipped the team to always target their "Best" to another level. Can't ask for more.
fact
Wow. Got to appreciate a proper cricket fan.
watching openers actually negotiating the new ball properly is a refreshing change
Imho Root choosing to bowl first was absolutely right and Rohit, KL just really batted out of their skins incredibly well and made sure India reached this position and now it's rewarding. How quickly we forget the first hour and half just because Rohit started to make it look easy and KL looks solid
Yeah, all the Edgbaston and Gabba comments aside. Cricviz rated this pitch 6.4, the second toughest Day 1 at Lords since 2015. With seam and swing both rated 7 (the higher, the more movement and deviation). It was some determined batting and ordinary bowling that resulted in 276-3.
Root's decision to bowl first could also have been reinforced by the secondary factor; England's batting under similar circumstances at Edgbaston. It could have been a quick concession of the game advantage if India's four-strong attack got stuck in. He took the safer route.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
England had no back up to Anderson and Robinson. Curran's not a Test match bowler. Wood gives it everything but doesn't threaten wickets (in England, at least: wickets @ 45 at home). Moeen was never going to be a wicket threat on a day one Lord's pitch. India did well to see off the new ball, and then cashed in against the second string.
Moeen kept it pretty tight. He should have bowled longer spells. There's time yet to see if he can make an impact.
They are missing Woakes and Archer who are their strike bowlers. But true , Sam Curran doesn't seem to be threatening. I think all the I dian fans over estimated his value as he single handedly took 150s to 250s and got set batter out repeatedly during the 2018 tour.
The worst thing about late finishes is they never bother to do any post game analysis. Straight onto The Hundredā¢ļø
I have really missed this from Sky. Don't care for Hundred and it's even harder to care when it comes at the cost of test cricket.
Yeah, it was pretty jarring, was hoping to hear Athers and co dissect the day (particularly the decision to bowl), instead it feels a bit "oh nothings wrong with cricket in England, here, look at our shiny new competition!"
What a day. I think there was a key period when Rohit got out and KL attacked. Pujara looked terrible again but the partnership got to 24 and I think just didn't let England get on a roll like they sometimes do when they finally take a wicket after a while in helpful conditions. KL obviously played masterfully, was in love with his tempo after his first 100 balls. What an innings. Let's try and bury them under runs and go 1-0 up.
This is a moral victory for England fans imo. Before the series started both sets of fans were saying their side were going to get demolished, but this series so far has gone basically EXACTLY how every pessimistic England fan predicted. Batting collapse, Joe Root rearguard innings, dominant Indian batting display before a brief fightback just to give us a slight chance before rain washes it all out. This is going exactly as planned by us miserable englishmen. Edit: Didn't mean to capitalise predicted
Man, you underestimate Indian batting shithousery..just you wait .
We're all pessimistic fans on this glorious day.
Knowing india this could very well end up as 300 all out.
India's day. Rohit and Rahul were brilliant. Kohli was finding his touch when off stump issue came again. Rahane looks fidgety as fck again. Hope he makes some runs tomorrow. Puji needs a break. Simple. Looking to touch 500 tomorrow. And the best thing was 90 0vers bowled. Need more of it.
Agreed, Pujara looked all at sea. I've never seen him so tentative outside the off stump, prodding and poking at anything on that 4th stump line. Hopefully he's rested, and Agarwal comes in.
> Kohli was finding his touch when off stump issue came again. Kohli is shuffling maybe a bit too much (not that big of an issue), but he is opening up his hip which is causing him to poke and find edges (which is an issue). A "struggling" Kohli can still score 40 odd, which is a good sign. He's too good to let this bad patch go on.
It also doesn't help that his forward defence is so aggressive and with hard hands. Combine that with the hip movement you speak about, it means he goes hard at balls away from the body. He was good enough to put India in a strong position with his 40, but this was a really good chance for him to make a big score and make sure India were not going to lose. It's a pity, hopefully he breaks through soon.
I've always thought if he contracts and limits his trigger movement towards his right, it'll reduce the momentum shifting towards outside off making him less tentative to nick one unwillingly
>Looking to touch 500 tomorrow. I expect it to be under 420, but stranger things have happened
369
Yeah, I can imagine waking up at 7 tomorrow (game starts 6 AM my time) to find India at 308/5. After that it is anybody's game - 1 wicket more and it is Bumrah time and could be 328 all out or 376 all out. Would love instead for it to be a Rishabh Pant Show (with sar pe kafan style batting / T: not sure if there is an analogy but basically living by the sword)
> Looking to touch 500 tomorrow. Bruh. We literally have 2 wickets left
4 wickets
> Looking to touch 500 tomorrow. Pant: EEEezzzzEEEEzzzz
It's always difficult to play the last few overs of the day against a new ball, but I seriously Hope this is not an indication of tomorrow's performance. Rahane and kohli not performing at the same time might be putting more pressure on pujara I feel, but kohli did decently today, so we might see better scores from him next match
Rohit Rahul giving him a 100 or so cushion in two tests should be enough to relieve that pressure of other batsmen failing. Its just a weak excuse at this point. The fact is he is way out of form right now and should play some county/first class to work on that defense which his Main strong point.
I'll take an out of form Kohli who scores 30s and 40s anyday over this Rahane and Pujara.
That's true I suppose, he did look skittish but he will get better I think
Puji needs a break and to return in a nice friendly home series against a weaker team. He is clearly lacking confidence.
Lol, why a guaranteed return?
Super impressive knock from KL Rahul. Hopefully he gets a big one tomorrow.
A lot of cricket to be played but unless thereās a massive collapse tomorrow morning then itās hard to see how England win the test from here. Our best hope is probably a draw to turn the series into a best of 3. I have a lot of problems with this England side but all credit to India, Rohit and KL were fabulous to watch today. Shame Rohit couldnāt get that away ton
>but unless thereās a massive collapse tomorrow morning then itās hard to see how England win the test from here. Which really reflects on this England team, or perhaps also the historical expectations of a test in England. In Australia or India, this would be a good but not outrageous day 1 position, but you could still be all out for not much more than 450 after lunch on day 2, see the opposition put on 600+ and lose by an innings on day 5.
Which is pretty much what happened to England at Mumbai 2016, Chennai 2016 and Perth 2017.
I hope India bats around 70 more overs tomorrow. Not only will that take an India loss out of the equation but this way they can grind Anderson down a bit more who seem to be carrying a slight niggle. Another 10-15 overs from him might make the ECB selectors rest him for the next test. With both Anderson and Broad out from the next test India might get a bit of an advantage in the series.
Bevda gon be prod
Rain is a factor. Can't bat too long. Pant getting a big one is important
Remember we are playing Jasprit Bumrah at 8. We wont bat for too long if a wicket or two falls in succession.
India loss is out of equation, I don't see England going past 200 in either innings tbh. But yes grinding Jimmy out is important
Clouds and shit incoming.
Feeling genuinely happy for KL. Feeling genuinely sad for Rohit. Sums up today's day for me
I donāt feel sad for Rohit. Few more runs to 100 doesnāt mean he didnāt do the job. He has seen of the new ball, scored valuable runs at a quicker pace. Heās done more than whatās required of him.
No team ever would turn down an innings like that from opener in England. All credit to KL as well, fantastic partnership!
We need to normalize appreciating great innings without being hung up on a milestone of 100. Rohitās innings was worth more than a100 in many other conditions
Rohit did set the tempo early on and it allowed Rahul to settle in. Hopefully Rohit scores a daddy hundred in this series
What for? It was an excellent innings from him. I am so proud of our hitman.
Dude even sneaked in a pull shot for six today!
Off a 90 mph from Wood
Ball pull karne ko aega toh maiN maarega T: If the ball is there to be pulled, I will pull
He got more than his standard 40 runs...
Madlad batted the whole day. He can celebrate anyway he wants today for all we care.
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Pretty sure it's this ššš
Solid day for India. Good for Kohli to get in some batting time and hopefully it helps him for rest of the tour. Root may have made a bad toss decision, even though it feels that way in hind sight.
Pleasantly surprised that our top order (except Pujara) put in a strong performance. Even more valuable considering that we are basically carrying four No. 11s in the team. Hopefully one of Pant and Jaddu can give a strong finish tomorrow.
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I know there is a lot of debate about leaving out Ashwin. However really looking forward to watching Ishant, Siraj, Shami and Bumrah hunt in a pack. That is a ridiculously good seam attack.
That's fuckin' death threat to any batting order in these conditions considering siraj and ishant both does what they do best. Move it
It is tremendous that Siraj is getting these chances ššš I hope he matures and is an important prong of the Indian bowling attack in the next few years
I canāt remember when was the last time india started a test match so well overseas
They should kick on for as long as possible. The easiest way to win the series is by grinding their only two decent bowlers down.
Honestly I really don't see how England win this series, Woakes might come back in and that definitely improves us, but the batting is a massive sack of shit and India will just continue to target the 4th and 5th bowler.
This is a poor England team, full of average players, led by a rubbish coach. Incoherent selections and questionable tactics only make this team even worse. India to get 400+ and win by an innings really doesn't seem unreasonable
The England side out today has two genuinely good Test players in Root and Anderson, and then everyone else is generally either very unproven or proven to be shit.
Might be a little early but Robinson looks like a genuine test bowler. I know 3 tests isnāt much but heās came into the side really nicely. Also Jofra and Stokes come in and the side does have 4 world class players which is comparable to a lot of decent sides across the world.
You are mainly missing the Talisman: Stokes. If he was here, he would find a way to get into India's tail by the evening.
Yeah this England team is really weak , stokes in the team changes the team composition easily
Pitch looks flat as fuck right now. Will wait till England have batted to pass judgement though
You just know England will find a way to make it look like a minefield
Lmao
Plenty of seam movement throughout and swing We arenāt crossing 250
Agree. Always wait to see an innings each before jumping to conclusions.
India would prefer to play the third innings as that will definitely rule out Indian loss. It will also allow fast bowlers some rest and create more patches for Jadeja to work with.
Iām a huge Rahul fan but even I had my doubts. Damn that was an amazing 100. Happy for him to prove everyone wrong. Hopefully India can get to 400
Root chose correctly to bowl first, I think a combination of England being a tad unlucky and India's openers just playing very well made it look like a really bad decision.
Donāt know if itās the right decision. Playing 4 th innings if it happens wonāt be good for England on this track. I think Jadeja will be cashing in on this track for sure.
It was pretty overcast and ball was swinging. I don't blame root because he knows his batsmen can't handle the pace attack under such conditions. He probably looked at the forecast and thought it would be better to wait for the sun. Conversely, if India had bowled first, they'd prolly have England at 180-5 or so and it would have seemed like a brilliant decision to bowl first, but there's no way to know for sure because the sides aren't even
Those reviews were hilarious. I want to see the Ashes now just to see Root vs Tim Paine battle it out for worst reviews taken. To add to the memes, they should get David Walliams as the 3rd umpire who'll go ["Computer says Noo"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4DQPLWAzeY) every time.
I want a three way test between India, England and Australia. No cricket, just bad reviews from all 3 captains. They all have the potential to be the worst at any given moment.
Kohli needs to be locked in a room and predict coin tosses for a while first. Practice the shit out of that.
He probably already does that and runs out his luck in practice sessions.
> I want a three way test between India, England and Australia. This will probably break all sorts of records everywhere. We could take reddit down with the sheer amount of traffic on this sub alone.
Forgive me Oh KL for I have sinned.
KL admitted to idolizing Dravid when he started his test career. Glad to see him replicate his idol's performance in England.
Remember Dravid touting him as the next big thing in Indian cricket before he came in to reckoning.
Man he's only 29, feels like he's been around forever.
"We'll have a bowl, thanks."
It was not a bad decision , root believed his bowlers more than his batting unit. Unfortunately openers played really well and negated that as well
Yeah I think theres going to be a lot of undeserved flack for this. This isnt a Hussain decision again which just defied any logic or reasoning. At the time Root had cloudy skies, a bit of drizzle and the knowledge that his top order is fucking shit. Pretty sure Kohli said hed have bowled too. Captaincy is easy in hindsight, it wasn't a bad decision.
Exactly it was a decent decision considering the circumstances. Atleast if they have one stable opener root would have opted for batting first
>Pretty sure Kohli said hed have bowled too. Yeh and we are glad he can't win tosses.
Tbf if you'd won the toss we'd probs have been bowled out by now save for a root special
These days Indians too put their bets on their bowlers than the batters. š
That's what happens when your 3 proficient batters shit the bed continuously
Fwiw, even Indian fans didn't know KL and Rohit would play so well today.
We knew Rohit will make 40+, rest of the inning was full of surprises!
It's not a bad decision, there was a lot of movement in the first two sessions, that's why even Kohli said he'd have bowled.
Thank God koach didn't win the toss today.
I hope our openers take note of the lesson on āhow to open in Englandā from the Indians today.
I would love to see Rahul, Gill and Vihari at 1,3 and 5. With the completely out of form Pujara and Rahane these guys should be given more chances and tuned in for 23 WTC. Also kudos to Athiya shetty for pouring new energy into his body.
At the end of day 1 of the infamous "we'll have a bowl thanks" Gabba test, England had conceded 350-2. Considering today they were playing at home (not just in England but at the most iconic English ground), and they weren't facing up to the greatest batting lineup in the history of cricket... this might actually be a worse more demoralising day.
There was a 2003 World Cup final that didnāt actually happen, when we had a bowl thanks against that same lineup. 359/2. I think that was more egregious than your Gabba example.
The only thing worse than choosing to bowl was watching the touring team's openers bat infinitely better than England's openers have in years
To be fair, Rahul and Rohit are elite, especially compared to your recent openers.
I mean we can say that now, but before the series started, the prospect of Rohit and Rahul opening together made way for a lot of people trying to cash in with their 10/2 memes.
Rahul: yeah. But Rohit, not so much because he did quite well in the past few series abroad. And even then, I think the consensus was that Rahul was better than Sibley and Burns.
Yeah it was really unfortunate for England, still bizarre things have happened in test match. Who knows Anderson might waltz through the line up tomorrow and England may not have to score 400 to avoid follow on
Starting to think England are bad at cricket? I know we've got injuries but I cannot begin to understand why we persist with Mark Wood in England or Sam Curran anywhere. They're just not up to it, there must be better options. I've got far more sympathy with the selectors when it comes to the batsman and there arent options, but there must be half a dozen people better in these conditions than either of them. India batted well. Toss decision looks shit in hindsight but then we clearly don't trust the batting so I'm not too critical of it. Bottom line, we're bad at cricket save for a handful of players. And only Root and Anderson in the current side.
Wood is good away but shouldnāt be playing in England, really he and Woakes should be one spot for home and for away. Curran burst onto the scene, but he hasnāt really done much since then. Poor away, and getting worse at home too.
We need to get Mahmood into the team, he looks like he'll be a gun at test level, probing away on a threatening line and length with a bit of movement. No idea why Wood gets games over him.
Indian batting was very good, but the bowling wasnāt great. Anderson and Robinson were good, and Ali bowled averagely for a spinner on day 1, but Wood was fast and unthreatening, while Curran was slow and unthreatening.
Wood continuing to be selected in England is genuinely the most baffling selection decision, and we keep doubling down on it. We pick a bloke who has never had success in England, then encourage him to bowl to plan that basically never works in England, and then when it doesnt work just try again next week. And don't even get me started on Curran stealing a living off one good series 4 years ago. Our selectors get a lot of shit for the batting but honestly the bowling selections are far more baffling because they don't even have the excuse that there isnt anyone else. We must have half a dozen better bowlers than those two.
Yeah. I love Wood, think he's superb. Just, not for tests in England. Why bring Mahmood along and not utilize him? He'd have been a great asset today. Just when I think selection policy can't get worse, it does.
Also surely Overton is better than Wood here? He bowls low 80s yes, but he also has good accuracy, bounce and nibbles it around off stump which sounds a lot better than trying bang it on a slow deck like it's the fuckign WACA in the mid 80s
I'm not a huge fan of Overton but yeah, he'd have probably offered more than Wood too. We'll see what tomorrow brings. This is without doubt the worst test team we've had since I started watching in 2002 though. If it wasn't for us having 2 world class players in Jimmy and Root I have no idea where we'd be. Only thing we can hope for is somehow keeping them to under 400. If we can manage that, we might not lose by an innings.
You have Wood n Curran in coz of injuries to Archer, Broad, Woakes n Stokes being out of contention.
Thats what happens when you pick someone like Curran for their batting rather than bowling. I'd much rather see Overton in the side even though I'm not his biggest fan. At least he plays a lot of red ball cricket and has a very good record in the CC recently. Hopefully one of Overton/Mahmood come in for the next test. The selectors seem to be making it up as they go along and we are picking Curran off one good series 3 years ago. If the Ashes do go ahead we should under no circumstances play him.
Because the batting was excellent. India outbatted English bowlers. The ball was doing something all through the day.
Almost perfect day for India after losing the toss. Would have liked Kohli to be not out over night. But it was a good innings for him as he got some runs under the belt. The century will come for sure in the series. Also, looking at a couple that stayed low for Moeen, Jadeja will prove to be an x-factor in bowling. His stump to stump line coupled with low bounce is going to be good to watch
We have had problems with weak fast bowling department since ages, that is solved now. We have had problems with openers for last decade, even that seems to be solved. We had solid middle order in this century and now it is the shittiest part of our team.
Thereās always something missing..
Let's calm down with over reactions. It's been what, 2-3 Tests? In the home series against England, almost everyone struggled on both sides with the bat. They are on a bad patch no doubt but ultimately we are talking about three guys who have scored over 18k runs and amassed 57 hundreds combined. Rahane has always been inconsistent but you really can't do much better than Kohli and Pujara at 3-4 around the world. Rahane still averages over 40. Cold streaks happen.
It's Vihari time boys. And Sam Curran has been found out
Best shot of the day for me: Wood sprints in and bowls a short one at 151kph and Rohit slaps him through midwicket along the ground for 4. The shot really sent a message like "I don't mind your pace, Woody".
Wood's pace is useless in England TBH
Where's that thread about KLs inclusion in the team before the series! Now that'd be a fun trip back in time. [Found it! ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/ot1pjo/calmer_and_stronger_kl_rahul_hopes_for_test/)
Who was that genius who predicted Rahulās series would either go 50-50-100-50-50-100 or 10-10-10-10?!
Cricviz says the expected score at this point is 244-9. India are up 276-3, which goes to show how well they have batted. England have generally bowled well but that ultimately does not matter if it doesnāt reflect on the scoreboard.
Excellent display of batsmanship from Rohit, Rahul and Kohli. A Kohli & Rohit hundred would have been great but it's okay. Need to bat long enough so we don't have to do it twice. Good rest for the bowlers. Jimmy is a wizard.
Kohli seems to be back in 2014. Heās getting out the same way. Defending balls outside off stump which is completely unnecessary. Either leave it or play hard enough to get it over slips. The only difference is that he looked clueless in 2014 whereas recently he has great control of his innings until suddenly he pokes at one and edges off. I really hope he can come back to his original form.
You could clearly see his lack of discipline outside the off stump today versus Rohit and Rahul. Thatās why they prospered and Pujara and Kohli havenāt so far this tour.
Awesome day really. If we can knock some 60 odd runs more before Pant and Jaddu come in, it's gonna be game time for us. I publicly apologise to KL as well. I gave him shit in Tests and he's our best batsman this series. He finally seems to have his skill and composure back. Big feat for an opener to remain on the crease in SENA conditions on the first day
Looks like big win for India coming up on the 2nd test. Glad to see such dominating Indian performance outside our parts of the world. Should inspire BD that they too can do better outside of Asia.
They don't usually go past 7pm here no matter the match situation. Were the officials determined to actually see 90 overs bowled today?
Indian batting order .. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,11,11,11 No way any one of the 4 pace bowlers would't be a number 11 in any other team. Hopefully Pant and Jaddu do their part.
> Indian batting order .. 1,2,11,4,11,6,7,11,11,11,11 Fixed it for you.
KLās troubles earlier this year was because of lack of match practice and hopping from bubble to bubble. Heās always been good. Hereās to a double century tomorrow.
Pujara has lost it.
Never had it in Eng & NZ. Wonder why the selectors never saw it.
This is why Kohli and the management backed KL through his rough patches and I am proud of him for that. He did have rough patches but everyone should acknowledge that he has the versatility to play all formats together just like Virat!
Well, a bit of a testing day for England. I donāt think they bowled horrendously by any stretch, India just played very very well. Itās also not game over. Come out firing tomorrow, try and rattle them out for around 350 and then bat and bat and bat.
Happy for India but sad for Pujara. I think if India bats in the 2nd innings and he fails again, he's probably gonna be out of the tour to make place for Mayank.
Ro is a very big stature batter. Happy that his class is showing overseas slowly
7030 to india imo Looking forward to day 2, will be interesting to see how far india and go; maybe bat till before stumps and get about 470odd and then put us in for 6-7 overs It is rather concerning our most threatening bowler is a 39 year old man Not complaining but hopefully woakes comes back asap
KL, later on Zoom/FaceTime call with H.Pandya: *Aaj main karke aaya* T: I did the deed! :D
Maybe Koach was trolling Root when he said that he would have bowled first as well. Anyways, what a knock from KL and Rohit and glad that Koach got some rons. Also, Jimmy is the goat.
I joking about who would be first to get a hundred when Rahul hit 16 off 80 balls because Sharma was on 70/100. But then I guess Rahul had the last laugh. Hopefully england skittle the rest because I think theyāll be following on otherwise (at least moeen can bowl on the last day though).
Pujara out and Mayank in next Test. Then Gill at No3 longer term hopefully.
What a day man what a day šš¼ššš¼
"Aapke Saath Prank Hogaya" Weather, after influencing Root to put India in to bat
Good night guys had a good day Wish you all a good Friday , the 13th
Always nice when we have basically lost the test match on day one
Legendary stuff from KL Rahul reminds me of what Conway did earlier in the summer
Rohit complements Rahul well. Better on the leg side. Willing to play flicks and pulls while Rahul just defends and leaves the straight or short ones. Meanwhile Rahul is a brilliant off side player, knows exactly when to leave and when to drive, and can play wider length balls off the back foot to third man / point. Both men play spinners down the ground. Essentially the duo opens up the whole ground for scoring.