India Predicted XI vs England for 1st Test

August 02, 2021

IND vs ENG

Kohli and head-coach Shastri will have a deep look at the opening combination in a balanced line-up that could break the jinx of losing the first match of a Test series on English soil. Here’s our India predicted XI for the first Test against England

After three long years, Virat Kohli’s Team India is back in England to take on Joe Root’s England in a 5-match Test series. The opener begins on Wednesday in Nottingham but the visitors keep facing injury scares. Three players have already returned while another got ruled out from the opening Test after suffering a concussion in the nets. In this scenario, the duo of Kohli and head-coach Shastri will have a deep look at the opening combination in a balanced line-up that could break the jinx of losing the first match of a Test series on English soil.

Here’s our India predicted XI for the first Test against England:

1. KL Rahul: The unavailability of Gill and Mayank ensures Rahul to play a Test after almost two years and of course, open the innings with Rohit Sharma. Last time when Rahul played a Test in England, he scored a hundred. The same thing he did in the practice game and now it’s time to show his calibre in a full house Trent Bridge.

2. Rohit Sharma: This will be Rohit’s first Test in England as an opener. He didn’t do well in the practice game against a County Select XI but as he gears up for the ultimate showdown, fans will expect to do what he is best at.

3. Cheteshwar Pujara: The new wall of Team India will be back in action. He would have a chance to start afresh after the WTC final failure. The right-hand batsman has gone through some intense training sessions under the watchful eyes of coach Shastri. It’s time to repeat the heroics of Brisbane in England as well.

4. Virat Kohli: The Indian captain, who was in top form in the previous England tour, will definitely go for the victory. He would look to have a better end result this time. Meanwhile, if he gets a hundred in this series, that will be the icing on the cake.

5. Ajinkya Rahane: The vice-captain of the team is fit and ready to go. He has given a confirmation on his fitness already and the fans are really excited to see him batting fearlessly, given his records in overseas Tests.

6. Rishabh Pant: The India wicketkeeper-batsman would be back to the ground where he began his Test career from. He has been in a great touch lately and even the hosts are aware of how dangerous this youngster could be. He has defeated Covid and now it’s time to challenge England on their home turf.

7. Ravichandran Ashwin: While others went for a break, Ashwin took out time to play a County game for Surrey and picked up 7 wickets in the match. His bowling figures in the game shows itself that India would need him when they take on England on Wednesday.

8. Ravindra Jadeja: The all-rounder did well in the practice game and scored fifties in both innings. Jadeja is currently in a red-hot form and has three-dimensional qualities – to bowl, bat and field superbly – to go in the opening Test against England.

9. Ishant Sharma: Since it’s likely to be a green top at Trent Bridge, the team would need their best paceman at work. Sharma has got everything that is required for a bowler to bowl in Nottingham. He would be eager to get in action, given a mouth-watering track for the fast bowlers.

10. Mohammed Shami: The Indian pace attack is incomplete without Shami, especially in a Test in England. He was terrific with the ball in the WTC final but losing the game would surely be pushing him to go for the kill against Root & Co.

11. Jasprit Bumrah: After a forgettable WTC final, in which he remained wicketless, Bumrah performed well in the practice game. He looked in rhythm and managed to create pressure on the batters. If he manages to continue the momentum in the first game, he only gets better in the series later while his association with Shami and Ishant could wreak havoc at Trent Bridge.

India Predicted XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

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Ind vs Eng 2nd ODI Scorecard

March 26, 2021

IND vs ENG

 India Innings

336-6 (50 Ov)

Batsman

R

B

4s

6s

SR

Rohit

c Adil Rashid b Sam Curran

25

25

5

0

100.00

Dhawan

c Stokes b R Topley

4

17

0

0

23.53

Kohli (c)

c Jos Buttler b Adil Rashid

66

79

3

1

83.54

Rahul

c R Topley b Tom Curran

108

114

7

2

94.74

Pant (wk)

c Roy b Tom Curran

77

40

3

7

192.50

Hardik Pandya

c Roy b R Topley

35

16

1

4

218.75

Krunal Pandya

not out

12

9

1

0

133.33

Thakur

not out

0

0

0

0

0.00

Extras

9

 (b 0, lb 2, w 7, nb 0, p 0)

Total

336

 (6 wkts, 50 Ov)

Did not Bat

Bhuvneshwar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh

Fall of Wickets

9-1 (Dhawan, 3.5), 37-2 (Rohit, 8.4), 158-3 (Kohli, 31.6), 271-4 (Rahul, 44.5), 308-5 (Pant, 46.5), 334-6 (Hardik Pandya, 49.5)

Bowler

O

M

R

W

NB

WD

ECO

Sam Curran

7

0

47

1

0

2

6.70

R Topley

8

0

50

2

0

1

6.20

Tom Curran

10

0

83

2

0

2

8.30

Stokes

5

0

42

0

0

2

8.40

Moeen

10

0

47

0

0

0

4.70

Adil Rashid

10

0

65

1

0

0

6.50

Powerplays

Overs

Runs

Mandatory

0.1-10

41

England Innings

Batsman

R

B

4s

6s

SR

Jason Roy

run out (Rohit/Pant)

55

52

7

1

105.77

Jonny Bairstow

c Kohli b Prasidh

124

112

11

7

110.71

Ben Stokes

c Pant b Bhuvneshwar

99

52

4

10

190.38

Dawid Malan

not out

16

23

1

0

69.57

Jos Buttler (c) (wk)

b Prasidh

0

3

0

0

0.00

Liam Livingstone

not out

27

21

1

2

128.57

Extras

16

 (b 4, lb 2, w 8, nb 2, p 0)

Total

337

 (4 wkts, 43.3 Ov)

Did not Bat

Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley

Fall of Wickets

110-1 (Jason Roy, 16.3), 285-2 (Ben Stokes, 35.2), 287-3 (Jonny Bairstow, 36.1), 287-4 (Jos Buttler, 36.4)

Bowler

O

M

R

W

NB

WD

ECO

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

10

0

63

1

0

1

6.30

Prasidh Krishna

10

0

58

2

1

1

5.80

Shardul Thakur

7.3

0

54

0

1

1

7.20

Kuldeep Yadav

10

0

84

0

0

1

8.40

Krunal Pandya

6

0

72

0

0

4

12.00

Powerplays

Overs

Runs

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England won by 6 wickets and clinch the series by 1-1

March 26, 2021

IND vs ENG

 

Top start

Bairstow joins the party too and England is making a similar start to the one they made three days ago. In terms of runs, there is a big difference though but they have still made 59 in the powerplay for no loss and are looking assured at the crease. They will continue to bat in the same vein and Kohli has brought on Kuldeep to try and break this partnership.

Roy gets going

Bhuvneshwar and Prasidh kept things quiet at the start but Jason Roy has seen enough and he is fetching boundaries at ease against both these new ball bowlers. England is 40/0 after 7 overs and Roy has made 34 of them.

Roy departs

India gets a lucky breakthrough as Bairstow and Roy get into a mix-up. Bairstow nudges Kuldeep and Rohit at midwicket does well to dive and stop the ball. Both the batsmen are hesitant to take the single and that results in Roy's downfall. He is disappointed!! India has their wicket now as Stokes comes in at number 3 again.

Century partnership

These two have an impeccable record and they have now registered their second consecutive century partnership of the series. Bairstow picked up pace in the 16th over with successive sixes off Shardul and now India badly needs to break this partnership to see if England collapse like they did on Tuesday.

50 for Roy

He has a smile on his face. After registering a few 40s, Roy finally gets to his fifty and he gets there in streaky fashion. He mistimes a full delivery from Kuldeep and is almost caught at the long-on boundary. The ball just about manages to sail over the fence much to his relief. The openers are about to add 100 once again.

Stokes survives

Wow, I definitely wouldn't want to be the third umpire in such situations. Stokes survives a run-out the appeal and that looked extremely close. The third umpire went frame by frame and just couldn't rule him out convincingly. So the benefit of the doubt went to the batsman.

Bairstow, Stokes put pressure

The new batsman has already hit a couple of sixes and Bairstow has hit 4 in total. He has raced to 70 after the slow start and England already has 154 on the board after just 23 overs. They are well ahead of India at the same stage

Ton for Jonny

What a way to get to a century!! He was dismissed in the nineties in the last game but Bairstow was not going to miss out again. He takes on Kuldeep and deposits one in the stands to move from 95 to 101. He has cleared the rope six times tonight and has firmly put England on top tonight.

England in command

After 30 overs, the visitors are 194/1. They need another 143 from the last 20 overs with nine wickets in hand. Surely, they cannot bottle this chase from this position? India need a couple of quick wickets to storm back

Kuldeep battered

My goodness, Stokes has absolutely destroyed Kuldeep here. He goes down on his knee on three successive occasions and smashes a six every time. He is having fun out there as Kuldeep leaks 20 in an over. He has conceded 77 in 9 overs so far so I don't think he is getting that 10th over now. Stokes appears to be in the mood as he smashes Krunal for his eighth six. He has moved to 75 already.

50 for big Ben

Didn't make an impact in the opening ODI but makes the most of the chance tonight. He has been promoted to 3 in the absence of Root and Stokes has shown exactly why he is a reliable batter. England is coasting here. 124 needed from 110 balls

Timber!!

Well, well you never say never in this sport. Prasidh Krishna has come up with a perfect yorker to get rid of Buttler for a two-ball duck. What a delivery that was. England is suddenly stunned here. Surely, they cannot collapse again? They now have two new batsmen in the crease, both of them are not regulars in this ODI XI. In fact, Livingstone is on his debut. Pressure is firmly on the visitors.

2 in 2

Is there a twist in the tale? I still don't think so because England needs only 50 more runs but India will be delighted to see the back of Bairstow now. The two set batsmen have departed in successive overs. Bairstow hits Prasidh straight to Kohli at the cover. Buttler and Malan are the two new batters at the crease.

OUT for 99!!

Oh, that was quite unlucky!! He deserved a hundred the way he was going. He was absolutely smashing everything tonight but Bhuvneshwar bowls a bouncer on leg stump and Stokes tried to pull it only to get a glove through to the keeper. He departs for 99 off just 52 deliveries. What a stunning knock that was!!

It is 1-1 now

At one stage, there was a bit of panic but Malan and Livingstone weather the storm and level the series comfortably in the end. They win by six wickets with 39 balls to spare. That's something special indeed to chase down 336 with so many deliveries left. Bairstow and Stokes did the damage as England went on to clear the ropes 20 times. They have once again shown why they are indeed the world champions in this format.

Pressure released

Bizarre tactics by India. Bhuvneshwar and Prasidh got them the wickets but they bring back the spinners against Malan and Livingstone. The duo bat confidently and put England on course once again. No hiccups now.

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India finshes off with 337-6

March 26, 2021

IND vs ENG

 

Target 337

India finishes strong. They have fetched 126 runs in the final ten overs and it could have easily been 140 if not for Topley bowling two fine overs at the death mixing his pace. He went on to dismiss Hardik also in the process. But India will be happy overall because their run rate was not even 5 at the halfway mark. KL was terrific but Pant really turned on the heat at the death. Hardik hit 35 off 16 as well to help India get to this strong total. England will still fancy chasing this down though and India will be aware of what they can come up with. But in case Bairstow and Roy fall early, the chances of India clinching the series today will be quite high.

Pant's cameo ends

He absolutely decimated England today with this belligerent hitting. He helped himself to his highest ODI score but Pant will not get that hundred today. He miscues a shot and Roy takes the catch near the third man boundary. He almost messes it up and is relieved to have taken it. With 19 balls still remaining, Pant could have caused more damage.

KL falls

A superb inning comes to an end as KL Rahul mistimes a pull to get caught near the deep. He didn't get enough meat on that shot and he has to walk back but he will be very pleased with this effort. He is gone for 108 after ensuring India is in a top position. Hardik Pandya has now come in and smashed his first ball for a six. What a start!

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5th ODI ton for KL RAHUL

March 26, 2021

IND vs ENG

 

Century for Rahul

He brings that trademark celebration out once again after reaching his hundred. This has been a top-class effort from KL and he has put India in a commanding position. This is his fifth hundred in the format and boy he has really adapted to this new middle-order role in ODI cricket. Truly, an exceptional batsman.

Pant goes berserk

He has absolutely hammered Stokes and Tom Curran here and India has already fetched 37 runs in two overs. Pant has scored the majority of them and has registered a 28-ball fifty as a result. Ominous signs for England as India can now aim for 330 easily at this rate.

Pant survives

He is given out once again and Pant takes little time to review the decision. He attempts a pull and it appeared to have taken the glove on the way to Buttler but replays confirm that it came off his arm. The decision is overturned. India has been on fire since the start of the 41st over with KL nearing a century.

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The curse continues for Virat Kohli

March 26, 2021

IND vs ENG

 The curse continues

Kohli is not really going to make England pay heavily for that drop. Rashid and Buttler combine again for redemption as the wicketkeeper holds on to the edge this time. Kohli wanted to run it down to the third man and get an edge. He falls for 66 and the 121-run partnership comes to an end. It will be interesting to see how Rahul approaches this innings now as Pant joins him.

50 for KL

Successive half-centuries for KL Rahul after the disastrous T20I series. This is going to give him a lot of confidence and considering he generally delivers in the IPL, one can expect him to be at his absolute best again shortly. For now, India has a platform and KL will have to make use of it.

Century stand

No-fuss whatsoever. Except for that one drop catch, these two have largely looked at ease especially against the spinners. The century partnership comes up in 119 deliveries but both Kohli and KL know that they have a lot to do now. England can absolutely go berserk with the bat so India will have to aim for 300.

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Kohli's 62nd half- century in ODI's

March 26, 2021

IND vs ENG

50 for VK

Another day, another half-century for the Indian skipper. He reaches the landmark off 62 balls. India needed his presence out there with Rohit and Shikhar falling in the powerplay and he has stepped up once again. Fans will be hoping he ends his long century drought today. India are 126/2 after 27 overs

Milestone for Virat

He has become just the second player ever to score more than 10000 runs in ODI cricket at the number 3 slot. He has made that position his own over the years so it was only a matter of time. Only Ricky Ponting has more runs than Kohli at number 3 in ODI cricket.

DROPPED!!

That is a massive let-off for India and Kohli. That was a regulation chance behind the stumps for Buttler and he missed it. Kohli nicked the ball while attempting a drive and Buttler shuts his hand way too early as the ball hit the back of his palm. That was quite weird, not sure why he closed his hands way too soon. Can Kohli punish them now?

Kohli, KL rebuild

These two are very reliable in the middle overs when they have a rebuilding job ahead of them. Both Rahul and Kohli are just biding their time and milking the singles now. The run rate has just gone past 4.5 after the 20th over with the partnership going past 50 as well. They would prefer to keep this going for a few more overs before opening-up

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An Early breakthrough for India

March 26, 2021

IND vs ENG

 

Unlucky!!

Rohit has every right to be livid with himself. Sam Curran bowls one full-on leg stump and he could have hit it anywhere but the ball lands straight in the hands of the fielder stationed at fine leg. That is a lucky breakthrough for the visitors and no wonder they are pumped. India has promoted KL Rahul to number 4 today in the absence of Shreyas Iyer.

Pressure released

That was quite a weird over from Topley. He was troubling Rohit for a while by bowling at a good length but suddenly reverts to bowling full on the pads or bowling short and Rohit duly punishes him for three boundaries in an over. England would love to break this partnership early.

An early wicket for England

Dhawan made 98 last games but has been dismissed cheaply today. Topley is getting the ball to move and he is also getting some extra bounce. Dhawan wants to drive a delivery that leaves him a touch, he can only manage to get an outside edge as Stokes completes the catch at slip. England is buoyed as Kohli walks in.

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