Openers Put England On Top After India Collapse
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| SOURCE - TWITTER |
After India were bowled out for 78 runs in the first innings of the third Test at Headingley in Leeds, openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed led the way on Day 1. With all ten wickets intact, both English batsmen took the score past India's 78-run mark. England were 120/0 after 42 overs at Stumps, thanks to individual fifties from Hameed and Burns. Earlier in the day, England's pacers had a successful day, taking all ten wickets. Craig Overton and Sam Curran both took two wickets in two deliveries to jolt India after lunch. When Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah all fell in quick succession, England found themselves in command.It all started when pacer Ollie Robinson took the crucial wicket of Rishabh Pant shortly after lunch, which opened the floodgates. After opting to bat against, India suffered a disastrous start, losing key wickets of KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, skipper Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane in the first session. Early on, James Anderson took three wickets at the top to jolt the visitors.
The hosts had a fantastic day, as they checked all the boxes and closed the day with not only their noses, but also their faces in front of them. For India, nothing seemed to go right, so they'll return home, get a nice night's rest, and return on Day 2 with newfound vigour and excitement.
England got off to a flying start and has maintained that pace throughout the day. It all started when James Anderson dismissed KL Rahul in the first over of the day, and they never looked back. Anderson took two more wickets, and after a good stand between Rohit and Rahane, the trio of Curran, Robinson, and Overton took quick wickets and bowled India out for 78. With the bat, England has had their share of problems, but their new opening pair, Hameed and Burns, took some time to get used to each other, but once they did, they began scoring runs freely and both reached fifties, as England finished the day with a 42-run lead.
It's just not India's day. Neither with the bat nor the ball. With the exception of Rohit Sharma and, to a lesser extent, Ajinkya Rahane, none of their batters had any impact. They were easily defeated and did not put up any resistance. Because their batsmen were unable to deliver, the onus was placed on the bowlers to perform, but sadly, it was not to be. The Indian pacers were unable to extract anything from this pitch, failing to take a single wicket. It wasn't that they bowled badly; they just couldn't seem to find a way to win. From the perspective of the Indians, it was a bad day.
So there you have it. The first is unquestionably England's day. They have a good lead and all of the wickets in hand, so they'll want to extend it to a high total. Meanwhile, India would hope to bowl well on Day 2 and capture a couple of fast wickets to put the hosts on the back foot given that they have a work on their hands. On Day 2, the action will start at 11 a.m. local time (10 a.m. GMT), although the build-up will begin earlier. Please join us at that time. Cheers!
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