India got the taste of a perfect English morning at Old Trafford in Manchester as they got all out for a meager 152 on the first day of the fourth and the penultimate test match. Indian innings included six scores of ducks as England took the advantage of an overcast English morning. At stumps England are on 113/3 with Ian bell and night-watchman Chris Jordan on the crease.
India won the toss and decided to bat first on a pitch which had a lot for the seam bowling and pace bowling. Gautam Gambhir (4), who came in place of misfiring Shikhar Dhawan, was the first man to fall when India’s score was 8. And it was just a matter that the Indian middle order was exposed as Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara following Gambhir to the dressing room without troubling the score. From nowhere India was down to 8-4 and were looking at something which they couldn’t have dreamt in their wildest of dreams.
However Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane came to the rescue before Rahane got out when India’s score was 62. Ravichandran Ashwin played a handy innings of 40 to make sure that India managed to cross the 150-run mark. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s gritty 71 was the only thing that the Indians could speak about on a disastrous English morning.
As India came on to bowl India did get a couple of wickets in the form of Alistair Cook (17) and Sam Robson (5), but Ian Bell and Gary Balance played responsible innings to ensure that England did not face a landslide.
With 4 days still remaining in the test match, it seems that England has done enough on the first day to take a 2-1 advantage in the 5-match test series. For India has got really minimum opportunity of making a comeback into this match and even if they do so they might just be able to prevent an embarrassing defeat but in the end India’s defeat can be foreseen.
Tags: Cricket India tour of England India vs England Test
