ENG vs IND 2021, 4th Test, Day 1 Stats Review: Virat Kohli, Shardul Thakur achieve significant milestones despite India’s collapse

Day 1 of the fourth Test between England and India saw some exciting action between the bat and the ball. With the Kennington Oval pitch providing swing and carry, fast bowlers enjoyed a gala time. However, a couple of brilliant knocks also entertained the fans thoroughly. Meanwhile, England somewhat hold the upper hand at stumps on Day 1. After bundling India out for 191, they finished the day at 53/3, trailing by 138 runs.

Earlier in the day, Joe Root won the toss and asked India to bat first at the Kennington Oval in London. Indian opener Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul started positively, playing some glorious shots against the new ball. At the score of 28, however, India lost Rohit and all of a sudden, the momentum shifted in England’s favour. India suffered yet another batting collapse as Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson made the red ball talk.

Skipper Virat Kohli did show some resistance but kept losing partners at other end. Interestingly, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja came ahead of Ajinkya Rahane in the batting order. However, the tactical move didn’t work much as neither of the two could play an innings of substance. Although Kohli completed an impressive half-century, his dismissal tightened England’s grip over the game.

With India getting reduced at 127/7, many didn’t back them to even cross the 150-run mark. However, as they say, the only thing certain in cricket is uncertainty. Comeback man Shardul Thakur took England bowlers by storm with a fiery knock. Coming to bat at number eight, the pacer went after England bowlers from the outset and scored runs all over the park.

From Chris Woakes to James Anderson, no one escaped from his wrath. In the process, he also brought up a 31-ball fifty. However, his efforts could only take India to 191 which can be called below par on this track. For England, Chris Woakes took four wickets while Robinson dismissed three Indian batters.

In reply, the Three Lions couldn’t make a substantial start either with Jasprit Bumrah spitting venom with the new ball. He dismissed both openers in just one over as England were reduced to 5/2. However, Dawid Malan joined forces with skipper Joe Root and the duo steadied the ship. The England captain, however, fell prey to Umesh Yadav at the fag end of the day. As a result, England finished Day 1 at 53/3, trailing by 138 runs.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers from the England vs India 4th Test Day 1

9 – Virat Kohli has now lost nine tosses in 10 Tests in England as captain.

23,000 – Virat Kohli became the fastest batsman to complete 23,000 international runs, achieving the feat in 490 innings. He surpassed his former teammate Sachin Tendulkar (522).

7 – This was Virat Kohli’s seventh Test score of over 50 in England as captain, most for any Indian. He overtook MS Dhoni to get the feat.

2 – Shardul Thakur smashed the second-fastest fifty for India in Test matches (31 balls). Kapil Dev recorded a 30-ball half-century against Pakistan in 1982.

3 – Thakur also smashed the third-fastest fifty against India in Test matches. Only West Indies’ Foffie Williams (28 balls) and New Zealand’s Tim Southee (29) are ahead of him on this list.

2 –Shardul’s strike rate of 158.33 is the second-highest for any Indian batter scoring over 50 in a Test innings. Thakur is also behind Kapil Dev (161.81) on this list.

11 – James Anderson dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara for the 11th time in Test matches, most for any bowler.

7 – Jasprit Bumrah recorded his seventh duck in Test matches this year, most for any player.

3 – This was only the third instance of Ravindra Jadeja batting at number five or higher in Test matches. Notably, the all-rounder is standing in his 56th game in the format.