Englaned vs India 1st Test Review

Stalemate at Rajkot

1st Test at Rajkot drawn as Kohli and Ashwin deny England victory

Having scored a mammoth total of 507 in the 1st Innings, England were unable to push for victory in the 1st Test at Rajkot. England's top order batted really well in the first innings, especially Joe Root, Ben Stokes and the debutant Hasab Hameed. You could also say that they were helped a little bit by some sloppy fielding by India. I felt sorry for both of India's seam bowlers Shami and Yadav. I thought that they bowled really well but the fielders let them down, especial the fielders in the slips, who dropped a total of 6 catches in the first innings, including the wicketkeeper. Out of India's three spinners, I thought that Ashwin and Jadeja bowled really well, but Mishra was disappointing as hs e bowled far too many bad balls in the 1st innings, especially a handful of full tosses. I also thought that Moeen Ali and Zafar Ansari's contribution down the order was really good as they put more pressure on the Indian team, especially the spinners.

 

During India's first innings, I thought that Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin played a good innings. I thought that they were solid in defence and were not afraid to use their feet against the spinners. As for the spinners, I thought that Adil Rashid was magnificent in both innings, especially with the pace he bowled at. Rashid looked like getting a wicket on every ball that he bowled and caused problems for the Indian batsman who are supposed to be masters of batting against spin bowling.  I thought that the Indian skipper Virat Kohli was very unlucky in the first innings as he got a short ball from Rashid and unfortunately treaded onto his stumps as he was trying to play pull shot of the short ball which Rashid bowled.

 

I also think that Ashwin's innings of 70 in the first innings was really crucial as he took his time and ensured that India got a good first innings total on the board.

As for England second innings, once again I thought that both Hasab Hameed  and skipper Alistair Cook batted really well, especially against the spinners. I thought that their footwork against the spinners was really good and they did not allow the Indian spinners to settle into a good rhythm in terms of line and length.

 

India's second innings did not start well as Guatam Gambhir yet again failed miserably with the bat as he poked at a short ball outside his of stump and gave an easy catch to Root  at gully off the bowling of Chris Woakes. Pujara was the next man to come to the crease and was soon given out LBW to Adil Rashid but Pujara surprisingly did not review the decision where the replay showed that the ball was clearly going to miss leg stump according to hawk-eye. when skipper Viart Kholi came in, I thought he looked really positive in terms of the way he batted, he was not afraid to play his shots on a day 5 pitch in which was turning and bouncing. After Rahane was dismissed, Kohli along with Ashwin, Saha and Jadeja ensured that India were able to hang on for a draw.

 

In terms of the test match as a whole, I thought that both teams were a bit naïve in terms of trying to win the match, but there are still 4 test matches left to play. The 2nd test match starts on Saturday in Vishakapatnm, it will be interesting to see what type of pitch we get down there. I would assume that India will want a dry pitch in which will assist their spinners as the game moves on.

 

What will happen in Vishakapatnam? Tune in next Saturday to find out.

 

written by

 

Amar