SOUTHAMPTON: Indian seamers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, produced a disciplined bowling effort to dismiss England for 246 on the opening day of the fourth cricket Test, here on Thursday.
Bumrah (3/46) scalped three wickets, while Ishant Sharma (2/26), Mohammed Shami (2/51) and spinner R Ashwin (2/40) took two wickets each and Hardik Pandya (1/51) accounted for one as India dominated the proceedings on the opening day.
All-rounder Sam Curran anchored the England innings with a determined 78 as he shared 81 runs with Moeen Ali (40) and 63 runs with Stuart Broad (17) for the seventh and ninth wickets respectively. The hosts lost six wickets for 86 runs to find themselves in a precarious position after opting to bat. However, the 20-year-old Curran resurrected the England innings with a 136-ball innings which was studded with eight hits to the fence and a six. It was his second Test half-century. The left-hander was the last batsman to be dismissed when he was cleaned up by Ashwin in the 77th over. At stumps, Shikhar Dhawan (3 not out) and KL Rahul (11 not out) were at the crease with the hosts leading by 227 runs.
Earlier, Bumrah struck twice in the first session as England were reduced to 57-4 at lunch. Bumrah posed problems from the very beginning. Keaton Jennings (0) made a mess of leaving the ball and shouldered arms to an incoming delivery across the stumps, and was out plumb lbw in an ugly fashion in the third over. England should have been two-down in the fifth over, when Bumrah also trapped Joe Root (4), on 2, plumb lbw. When the on-field umpire didn’t agree, DRS review showed that the bowler had over-stepped. Root didn’t survive for long, adding only 14 runs for the second wicket. He was out lbw, this time to Sharma who didn’t over step. England went for a referral and lost a DRS review at that instance. Even as Alastair Cook (17) stayed his longest duration at the crease in this series, the top-order had no answer to the sustained pressure built up by the Indian attack. Runs came in a trickle, and even after the drinks’ break, the pacers didn’t relent. (PTI)
