ENG vs IND 2018, First Test: Twitter Reacts As Bowlers Put India On Top

Riding on Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma’s brilliant bowling, India headed into the lunch well on top of the ongoing first Test at Edgbaston. England were reeling at 86 for 6 when lunch was taken.

Joe Root and Keaton Jennings started the proceedings on day three with the scoreboard reading 9 for 1. On the last ball of the previous day, Ashwin had dismissed Alastair Cook to put India on top. And the off-spinner did not take much time in leaving his mark again.

What a session for India!

After Ashwin struck twice in the first hour, Ishant Sharma has gone one better, with Malan, Jonny Bairstow, and Ben Stokes all caught in the slips.

Can England fight back after Lunch?

ENG: 86/6 (30.4 overs)#ENGvIND LIVE ?https://t.co/jre8L0pd2t pic.twitter.com/9CkC6iv7Wv

— ICC (@ICC) August 3, 2018

Root and Jennings could add only 9 to the overnight score before Ashwin struck again. The off-spinner bowled a classic off-spin to force Jennings edge one to the slip where KL Rahul took a sharp catch. Root and Dawid Malan then calmed down the nerves for a while before Ashwin dealt a huge blow to the hosts by dismissing their skipper for just 14. The right-handed batsman had played a short delivery behind the wicket where Rahul pulled off a sensational reflex catch to leave England reeling at 39 for 3.

Malan was then joined in by first-innings half-centurion Jonny Bairstow. The duo took the hosts past the 50-run mark. However, just when it looked they would bat England to a good position, Ishant Sharma sent back Malan for 20. Malan rarely looked confident during the knock before edging one to Ajinkya Rahane at gully.

And even before England could recover from those setbacks, they lost Bairstow with just 85 runs on the board. The keeper-batsman edged an Ishant delivery to the slip where Shikhar Dhawan managed to hold on to a sharp catch. A couple of balls later, Ishant dismissed Ben Stokes to put India firmly in command of the proceedings.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the session:

Fantastic bowling & catching by India-best I've seen in years – has Eng on the mat. Would take something exceptional to escape from here

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) August 3, 2018

Ishant!! Ishant!!! Ishant!!!
He has bowled a 'Match changing spell' alongside 'Jadugar Ashwin'!
Indian Team will be overjoyed,On Top ?!@DeepDasgupta7 #ENGvIND #INDvENG

— Keshav (@keshavtweets) August 3, 2018

Ashwin's figures in this Test currently are his best in a match outside Asia, in 16 matches. #EngvInd

— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) August 3, 2018

Like his captain, Ashwin had something to prove in England, and he’s proved it rather emphatically. Kohli was already in my all time India XI, replacing GRV; out now goes that other boyhood hero of mine, Erapalli Prasanna.

— Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) August 3, 2018

A catch taken at slips, I repeat a catch taken at slips.#ENGvIND

— Akki (@CrickPotato) August 3, 2018

Malan should definitely have edged it to himself then gone on to make 149. #ENGvIND

— Dan Liebke (@LiebCricket) August 3, 2018

Utter mess from England this morning. India's bowling and catching have been excellent. England's batting very indifferent. Home side now in huge trouble. #ENGvIND

— Sean Wilson (@WilsonFC2012) August 3, 2018

I admire how Dinesh Karthik fought his way to the team and displayed amazing resolve during his struggle but his wicket-keeping skills are not up to the scratch. Fumbles many a time while collecting. Remember him fluffing a lot of chances during Test series in SL in 2008 #ENGvIND

— Navneet Mundhra (@navneet_mundhra) August 3, 2018

Ashwin tying batsmen up in knots. Root falls trying to untangle himself. Body blow for England

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) August 3, 2018

Ashwin's dismissal of Root required a magnificent catch, but it was the culmination of a plan. The off-spinner had bowled extremely tight lines to Root, luring him into the trap behind square on the leg-side. Bit of luck, but smart cricket from India. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/HRT7WGUZMK

— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) August 3, 2018

Bend it like Beckham, turn it like Ashwin. What a ball!

— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) August 2, 2018