Best Day 1 Ground To Bowl At In The Country - Stuart Broad Says Virat Kohli Made A 'Brave' Call To Bat After Winning The Toss

England pacer Stuart Broad believes that Virat Kohli made a ‘brave’ choice in electing to bat first in the third Test at Headingley after winning the toss – his first as a Test captain in England. However, Kohli’s move backfired as India were bowled out for 78 runs inside two sessions as England pacers routed through the batting line-up.

In the first hour, India lost three wickets – KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Kohli – inside 11 overs to James Anderson, all caught behind to Buttler.

Soon, Stuart Broad, who was ruled out of the series after the first Test due to an injury, was quick to tweet his opinions on the game till then. He stated that England made most of the helpful conditions after being asked to bowl first. The seamer asserted that Headingley has been the best venue in England to bowl first, and that India got their decision at the toss wrong.

Stuart Broad further opined that the pitch will only get better for batting as the game progresses, and there won’t be much help to the pacers in the second half of the match. Both the teams, though, are playing a single spinner in their eleven with four pacers.

“Huge hour for England! 3 big wickets. Brave call from India to bat first, it’s the best Day 1 ground to bowl at in the country IMO. Pitch will get better & better. Won’t be much in it for the seamers from Day 3 onwards- enough in it now!” Stuart Broad tweeted.

Huge hour for England! 3 big wickets. Brave call from India to bat first, it’s the best Day 1 ground to bowl at in the country IMO. Pitch will get better & better. Won’t be much in it for the seamers from Day 3 onwards- enough in it now!

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) August 25, 2021

Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed put on a century opening stand

After India were bowled out, England’s new opening pair of Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed put on England’s first century opening partnership in more than a year – the last one coming in July 2020 between Burns and Dom Sibley. With that England have gained a lead by the end of the day.

There were a few edges that fell short of slips or went through – Hameed was given a life by Rohit Sharma – and a few plays and misses, but luck was with the English batsmen. They dominated the loose balls while respected the good ones. Occasional boundaries kept coming from well times shorts, and Indian bowlers couldn’t create as much pressure as Virat Kohli would have hoped for.

Also Read: Virat Kohli Should Do What Sachin Tendulkar Did At Sydney: Sunil Gavaskar