Ravichandran Ashwin Castled The Opening Batsman Of England Alastair Cook
Published - 01 Aug 2018, 07:22 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:47 AM
After winning the toss, England opts to bat first against India in the first match of five-matches series. The first Test is ongoing in Birmingham. India will be eyeing to get the first win in this very venue.
From the weather and pitch perspective, it is a bit overcast, and there is dryness in the pitch.
Surprise picks by Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli once again made some surprise decisions. The most surprising conclusion of the match so far was the absence of Chetheshwar Pujara from the team.
KL Rahul got a nod instead of Pujara. The opening batsman of India, Shikhar Dhawan too could not grab his place in playing XI.
India preferred the experienced Ravichandran Ashwin over the new spin wizard in the form of Kuldeep Yadav. From a bowling point of view, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma made into Playing XI.
Apart from the perennial problems which India is facing as pace department has a habit of leaking runs. They entirely undo all the excellent work of Ishant. However, the story was different in the initial overs.
Ajinkya Rahane dropped a catch of Keaton Jennings when Ishant Sharma was continuously irritating him with his beautiful seam movement.
Virat Kohli handed over the ball to Ravichandran Ashwin
Virat Kohli handed over the ball to Ashwin as he feels there is something in the pitch for him. It was not frustration from Virat Kohli this time but was faith and belief on his leading spinner. Ravi Ashwin got 7th over to display his magic band.
Ashwin just came to bowl his second over, and he castled the off stump of English opening batsman, Alastair Cook. This detail was full of memoir as Ashwin bowled him out in a similar fashion when England was on the tour of India.
The ball drifted into middle stump, and Cook decided to plays forward. However, it grips to spin past the outside edge and into the off stump.
Here is the video of the dismissal:
