ENG v IND 2018: Watch: Ajinkya Rahane Drops Keaton Jennings in the Slip Cordon
Published - 01 Aug 2018, 06:18 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:47 AM
The opening Test between England and India got underway and it was English skipper Joe Root who won the toss and opted to bat. It was a dry pitch by the look of things. Quite strangely India went with a unique combination. You would hardly see India playing with 4 seamers. However, it was exactly what Kohli did. Cheteshwar Pujara couldn’t find a place in the XI. Shikhar Dhawan who scored twin ducks in the only practice match against Essex retained his place in the XI.
Kuldeep Yadav who was cited to be an X-factor for Team India in the Test series wasn’t picked in the XI. Ravichandran Ashwin was elected as the lone spinner in the team. The three main pacers were Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami. The pace bowling all-rounder is Hardik Pandya. It was a bold move given the fact that Pandya hasn’t done enough in overseas conditions either with the ball or bat to retain his place. Instead, an extra spinner might have been a sensible option.
The proceedings were started by Umesh Yadav. He has bowled quite brilliantly in the recent past. However, his performance in the initial few overs has been far from impressive. He was unable to bowl in the full areas on a consistent basis. Hence the English openers Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings played him with utmost comfort.
Ishant Sharma induces the edge
However, Ishant Sharma on the other end bowled in the good line and troubled both the openers. He made the ball move away from the batsmen was unable to get the edge. Finally, he induced an edge from the blade of Keaton Jennings. However, the catch was grasped by Ajinkya Rahane in the slip cordon. Rahane is a world-class slip fielder and it was unfortunate to see that happen.
He was stationed in the 4th slip region when he dropped the catch. Virat Kohli was in the 3rd slip and made a gesture towards Rahane that it was his catch. It remains to be seen whether Jennings makes good use of the reprieve.
