Twitter Reactions: Sam Curran propels England to 246 despite a top-order wobble

The fourth Test between England and India got underway in Southampton today as both the teams square off after a significant break. The sun was shining and a featherbed of a pitch welcomed the captains as Joe Root was delighted to bat first after winning the toss. But India’s new ball bowlers made it count and didn’t give an inch to any of the top-order batsmen.

Jasprit Bumrah was the bowler to draw first blood as he surprised Keaton Jennings with an incoming delivery and caught him plumb in front of the stumps. Root also was sent back straight away by Ishant Sharma. England’s skipper was lucky early on to be reprieved by Bumrah by bowling a no-ball but he failed to latch on to the chance. Jonny Bairstow, the pure batsman, failed as well to leave his team reeling at 28/3 as the visitors owned the first hour.

Meanwhile, Alastair Cook was looking confident and had seen Ishant’s first spell through successfully who has been his nemesis over the years. But the left-hander flirted at a harmless delivery off Hardik Pandya and edged it to Virat Kohli at the third slip who took a stunning catch. Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes batted cautiously but were dismissed in the post-lunch session as England were reduced to 86/6.

Curran and Moeen resurrect

The ball had stopped moving by now which helped Sam Curran and Moeen Ali, the two new inclusions for this game, to a great extent. They got their eyes in and stitched a decent partnership. The bad deliveries were put away nicely especially by Curran. Ali struggled early on but he too got going after some time. Both added 81 runs for the seventh wicket and the Indian camp looked worried.

However, Ravi Ashwin got his man, Ali, as the left-hander tried to sweep the bowler and edged it only for Bumrah to run in and take a good catch. Curran started to play his shots then even as Stuart Broad lent good support to him. They added 63 runs together which might turn out to be valuable in the context of the game. Meanwhile, Curran reached his second fifty with a stylish six off Ashwin and continued having a gala time in the middle.

Bumrah ended a frustrating stand by pinning Broad in front and Ashwin soon castled the dangerous-looking Curran who was eyeing his century. Nevertheless, it was a high-class effort from the youngster as England posted a competitive total of 246 runs on the board.

India openers see off a tricky period

The Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul had to see off a tricky 18-minute period before the stumps. James Anderson and Stuart Broad though failed to make the batsman play for the major part of the four overs as India ended the day on 19/0. They would be looking to bat big in their first innings now as the conditions look perfect in Southampton.

Here’s how Twitter reacted during the innings:

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