England Vs India, 2018: 1st Test, Birmingham - Five Talking Points of Day One

After winning the toss at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England opts to bat first in the first Test match of pivotal five-match Test Series. England ended up day one with a figure of 285 for the loss of nine wickets. The English skipper, Joe Root was the top scorer for the hosts as he scored an excellent knock of 80 runs. The Indian skipper ran him out when Root tried to steal a double-run and eventually lost his wicket in that process. We will also discuss the five talking points of the day one.

Jonny Bairstow was the second best top scorer from England. He scored a blistering knock of 70 before Umesh Yadav deceived him completely.

India made a decent comeback in the final session of the day. Indian bowlers claim six scalps in this session courtesy Mohammad Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin.

The duo ensured that India lies on the driver’s seat from the beginning of the Test match.

Here are the five talking points from the day:

Playing XI of India:

Even before the start of play, controversies took place on the playing XI of India. Kohli dropped Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara which came as a big surprise.

Kohli decided to deploy his full pace attack in the first match with the likes of Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammad Shami. Ravichandran Ashwin is the lone spinner from India to feature in this.

Ashwin got a nod in the playing XI ahead of the new spin wizard of India, Kuldeep Yadav. Dinesh Karthik found his name in a while as Rishabh Pant failed to garner his place.

Slip woes of India:

The slip woes continue to haunt India from the first day of the Edgbaston Test. Ajinkya Rahane dropped an easy catch in the beginning overs of the match.

Keaton Jennings nicked a ball of Ishant Sharma towards second slip where Ajinkya Rahane dropped a catch.

This story is not new for Team India. On the previous tours, the slip cordon of India came under scanner as well for spilling many chances.

The low patch of Alastair Cook:

The opening batsman of England, Alastair Cook, added another worrisome figure in his kitty. Ravichandran Ashwin castled him on 13 with a peach of a delivery.

One thing is clear that if England needs to do well in the series, Cook needs to play a prominent role for the Three Lions.

Root-Bairstow set an early tone:

The English skipper, Joe Root was batting quite brilliantly and neared to achieve the three-digit mark.

However, he tried to scamper for a couple, before the athletic fielding of Virat Kohli ran him out. He played a well-compiled knock before returning to the pavilion in an unfortunate manner.

Jonny Bairstow gave an excellent company to his skipper Root as his inning helped England to came back on track. He made 70 as the duo put on 104 runs for the fourth wicket before falling in quick succession.

The repulsive duo of Ashwin-Shami:

Oddly, Mohammad Shami added Ashwin as his partner to perish batting line-up of England.

From the practice match, it appeared that Mohammad Shami might miss the first Test. However, it was not the case.

The Indian skipper once again came with another trick from his bag, and this time he backed this prominent pacer.

Ashwin shares a similar fate as of Shami. Superficially, it appeared that Kuldeep Yadav might get a chance to feature in the playing XI. The Indian skipper, however, had other Ideas. Kohli decided to go with experienced Ashwin instead of the new spin wizard of India.

Hope, you agree with the above mentioned five talking points of the game held between England and India in Birmingham