England vs India: 1st Test, Day 4, Review- Virat Kohli's knocks go in vain as hosts carve triumph at Edgbaston

At the close of play on the third day, the opening Test between England and India was poised for a thrilling finish. While the home team needed five wickets to win, Virat Kohli and Co were in requisite of 84 runs to win their maiden Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Eventually, it was England who humbled India by 31 runs and took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Kohli and Pandya shoulder India

India commenced the day with Kohli and Dinesh Karthik as the overnight batsmen. James Anderson commenced proceedings with the leather and the batsmen picked up a single each to get the scoreboard moving. However, the English speedster dished out a peach of a delivery that a bounced a tad more than Karthik would’ve expected. He poked at the delivery and got an outside edge.

Dawid Malan, who had dropped three catches in the slip cordon in the match, didn’t make any mistake and the wicketkeeper-batsman perished after scoring 20 runs from 50 deliveries. Hardik Pandya joined Virat and buckled down to play a patient knock. The right-handed batsman from Gujarat found rhythm and smacked Broad for three boundaries in a space of seven deliveries.

Stokes turns around the complexion of the match

The stand between Kohli and Pandya undoubtedly threatened to take the match away from the Brits. Unfortunately, thunder stroke at the wrong time and Ben Stokes pinned Virat Kohli, who accomplished his half-century earlier. Aleem Dar had no hesitation in raising his finger. India had all their reviews intact and they elected to take one. However, replays confirmed Kohli’s wicket and he went for 51 runs.

Mohammed Shami couldn’t put up any fight and became Stokes’ second victim in the over. The ball shaped in and the batter could do nothing but get an outside edge. Johnny Bairstow completed the catch and the English players and the audience erupted in ecstasy. Within a space of a couple of deliveries, Stokes dented India’s hopes and turned the match on its head.

Stokes drills the final nail in India’s coffin

Ishant Sharma played a couple of useful knocks for Sussex in this year’s County Championship and he was required to replicate the same in the dying stages of the encounter. He hardly came on to the front foot and played with ease. He churned out a couple of boundaries to score 11 runs from 15 balls. Seeing Ishant’s ease of playing the pacers, Root introduced Adil Rashid into the attack.

The decision turned out to be a masterstroke as he picked up Ishant in the final delivery. The decision went upstairs for a review and Chris Gaffaney, the on-field umpire had to alter his decision. The visiting team then needed 40 runs with one wicket left. Pandya, who had strained to find his form in the last few Tests, was in with the onus of guiding his team to a victory, which seemed improbable.

Umesh Yadav was the last man in and had to provide support to Pandya. He played out eight deliveries, but to India’s agony, Pandya couldn’t survive the heat and was the last wicket to fall. In the second ball of the 55th over, Stokes bowled a length delivery outside the off-stump and Pandya could only edge the ball to Alastair Cook. Meanwhile, England continued with their impressive form at the venue in Test cricket.

Vaughan’s take on the Edgbaston Test

Brief Scores

England: 287 all out in 89.4 overs; (Joe Root 80, Jonny Bairstow 70; Ravichandran Ashwin 4/62, Mohammed Shami 3/64)

India: 274 all out in 76 overs; (Virat Kohli 149, Shikhar Dhawan 26; Sam Curran 4/74, Adil Rashid 2/31)

England: 180 all out in 53 overs; (Sam Curran 63, Jonny Bairstow 28; Ishant Sharma 5/51, Ravichandran Ashwin 3/59)

India: 162 all out in 54.2 overs; (Virat Kohli 51, Hardik Pandya 31; Ben Stokes 4/40, Stuart Broad 2/43)

England beat India by 31 runs

Player of the Match:  Sam Curran

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