After all the waiting, the fifth reordered test between England and India finally started yesterday in Edgbaston and what a first day it was.
Ben Stokes’ England continued their form of their New Zealand series victory to reduce the tourists to 98-5, with James Anderson and Matthew Potts especially excellent on both sides of a two-hour break for rain during the lunch period.
But then it became the show Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja as the duo did 222 races together, an Indian record for the sixth round in the tests against England, to get their team back on track.
Wicketkeeper Pant crashed 19 fours and four sixs, catching 89 balls to reach his hundred before falling by 146 after cutting Joe Root’s off-spin to slip. But Jadeja remains unbeaten at 83, as India closed out 338-7 with a chance to make more runs this morning.
England assistant coach Paul Collingwood insisted, however, that his team would not be intimidated by chasing races if required by another total of four innings.
England chased the fourth-inning total of more than 250 on three occasions in their 3-0 win over New Zealand.
“We’re not afraid of what we have to chase in the fourth inning,” Collingwood said. “The way we played all three games against New Zealand showed that we are not surprised by what the opposition will get in the first innings.
“We’re not playing conventional test cricket. We’re trying to be as attacking as possible. We want to be on the more aggressive side of the line. If we think we can catch the first wickets with a little bit of moisture on the pitch, we could move forward. to the party. “
India is chasing its first victory in a series of tests in England since 2007 after the final test last September was postponed due to Covid-19 cases among tourists ’back room staff. India currently leads 2-1.