Ind vs Eng 4th Test Day 1 highlights: India 19/0 at stumps; Curran hits 78

India bowled out England for 246 on the opening day of the fourth Test match at The Ageas Bowl cricket Stadium in Southampton on Thursday. At stumps, India were 19 for no loss with K L Rahul (11) and Shikhar Dhawan (3) on the crease. Earlier, Indian pacers were right on the mark from the start as they took wickets at regular intervals. But Moeen Ali (40) and Sam Curran (78) stabilised the England innings, forging a crucial 81-run partnership. For India, Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets while Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets each. Earlier, Indian bowlers maintained their stranglehold despite an unbroken 53-run stand for the seventh wicket between all-rounders Moeen Ali and Sam Curran as England reached 139 for six at tea on Day 1 of the fourth Test. The second session proved to be slightly better for the hosts as it yielded 82 runs for the loss of two wickets. Post lunch, Jos Buttler (24) was out caught at slip by skipper Virat Kohli off Shami's bowling. Earlier, Indian pacers wrecked England's top order, taking four quick wickets to reduce the hosts to 57/4 at lunch. England's opening woes continued to haunt them as Keaton Jennings was trapped plumb in front by an excellent incoming delivery from Bumrah, for a duck in the third over of the innings. One over later, Bumrah almost packed back English skipper Joe Root(4) when he was on two, before the Decision Review System (DRS) came to the latter's rescue. Root was trapped plumb in front but television replays showed the bowler overstepping. The England captain, however, failed to take advantage of the reprieve as Ishant swung it big into the England captain to trap him lbw.

India vs England 4th Test Day 1 Scorecard



In Pics: Post Tea session highlights

Day 1: Third session report

• All-rounder Sam Curran anchored the England innings with a determined 78 as he shared 81 runs with Moeen Ali (40) and 63 runs with Stuart Broad (17) for the seventh and ninth wickets respectively.
• The hosts lost six wickets for 86 runs to find themselves in a precarious position after opting to bat.
• However, the 20-year-old Curran resurrected the England innings with a 136-ball innings which was studded with eight hits to the fence and a six. It was his second Test half-century.
• The left-hander was the last batsman to be dismissed when he was cleaned up by Ashwin in the 77th over.
• At stumps, Shikhar Dhawan (3 not out) and KL Rahul (11 not out) were at the crease with the hosts leading by 227 runs.
• Earlier, Bumrah struck twice in the first session as England were reduced to 57-4 at lunch.
• Bumrah posed problems from the very beginning. Keaton Jennings (0) made a mess of leaving the ball and shouldered arms to an incoming delivery across the stumps, and was out plumb lbw in an ugly fashion in the third over.

In Pics: First session and post-lunch session highlights

Day 1: Second session report

• Moeen (30 batting) and Curran (27 batting) carried a rescue act after Mohammed Shami's (2/38) double blow left England tottering at 86 for 6 at one stage.
• The second session proved to be slightly better for the hosts as it yielded 82 runs for the loss of two wickets.
• Post lunch, Jos Buttler (24) was out caught at slip by skipper Virat Kohli off Shami's bowling.
• Ben Stokes (23) continued to defend stoically, lasting 79 deliveries. Shami bowled brilliantly, continuing from where he left off in the morning session. And it brought him reward when he trapped Stokes lbw coming round the wicket. It was a sharp inswinger that was hitting the leg-middle.
• Curran and Ali then came together, and held fort until the tea break. They showed a lot of patience, in particular Curran who stayed calm and went for his strokes whenever opportunity presented itself. On evidence he was England's best batsman so far in this innings.
• While Ravichandran Ashwin (0-9) bowled six over, Indian pacers still found assistance from the pitch.
• Jasprit Bumrah (2-35) bowled quite a few unplayable deliveries. But they couldn't break this partnership, which crossed 50 off 94 deliveries and also took England past the 100-mark in the 39th over.

Day 1: First session report

• At the break, Jos Buttler was batting on 13 not out, while Ben Stokes was unbeaten on 12 runs, with the pair adding 21 runs for the fifth wicket.
• This was after England won the toss and opted to bat. India fielded an unchanged eleven from Nottingham, bringing an end to the 45-match streak of constant chopping and changing.
• It was the first time in 39 Tests as captain that Virat Kohli fielded the same team as the previous match.
• Bumrah was handed the new ball and he posed problems from the very beginning.
• Keaton Jennings (0) shouldered arms to an ugly fashion to an incoming delivery across the stumps, and was adjudged leg before in the third over.
• England should have been two-down in the fifth over, when Bumrah also trapped Joe Root (4), on 2, plumb lbw. When the on-field umpire didn't agree, DRS review showed that the bowler had over-stepped.
• Root didn't survive for long though, adding only 14 runs for the second wicket. He was out leg before, this time to Ishant, who bowled his stock delivery, the off-cutter.
• England did lose a DRS review at that instance.
• Even as skipper Alastair Cook (17) toiled on, the top-order had no answer to this sustained pressure built up by the Indian attack. Runs came in a trickle, and even after the drinks' break, the pacers attacked relentlessly.
• Bumrah returned to further peg England back as Jonny Bairstow (6) was caught behind in the 13th over, nicking him off with an unplayable delivery outside the off stump.
• Pandya then got rid of Cook, with Kohli taking a brilliant low catch at third slip as England were reduced to 36 for 4 in the 18th over. England barely managed to crossed 50 in the 20th over.
• It could have made for an even more miserable score for the hosts as Buttler, on 11, had an under-edge off Mohammed Shami (0-9) just ahead of lunch. But the ball died on the way to keeper Rishab Pant, who didn't get down well on time.

Here is the playing 11 of both the teams: 

India playing 11: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
 

England playing 11: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

How Southampton is England’s hunting ground

Surprisingly, this will only be the third Test at the Rose Bowl Stadium. England had previously played Sri Lanka (2011) and India (2014), winning the latter game by 266 runs. The hosts will count on that previous win to boost confidence and close out the series, albeit given their most recent performance it will be a tough ask.

 

Indian cricket Team news

 
With the Indian pacers exposing the frailties in England top-order, the teams will be on even keel with Kohli bracing for another big knock after his 97 and 103 in a winning cause at the Trent Bridge. The pacers have accounted for 38 out of 46 wickets in these series so far, following on the heels of their good showing in South Africa. Kohli currently leads the run charts with 440 runs, which includes two centuries and as many half-centuries and once again, the Indian batting will more or less depend on the 29-year-old.
 
Kohli currently leads the run charts with 440 runs, which includes two centuries and as many half-centuries and once again, the Indian batting will more or less depend on the 29-year-old. Vice captain Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara scored 81 and 72 runs respectively in the third Test and both will need to repeat their performance here.
 
With Murali Vijay axed from the remainder of the series, Shikhar Dhawan and Lokesh Rahul would once again open India's batting, while Hardik Pandya is likely to be retained in the playing XI after his all-round show in the third Test.
 
Hardik had bagged six wickets conceding 50 runs at Nottingham beside playing an unbeaten 52-run knock in the second innings.
 
India’s chopping and changing reached full cycle
 
With the batsmen also finally coming to the party, there is little chance of tinkering with the playing 11, thus theoretically bringing an end of the 45-match run of chopping and changing. Ironically, that run had begun with the Southampton Test in 2014. Even so, Virat Kohli's propensity for change is well proven, accounting for 38 matches out of those 45.  "It has not always been the case of (making random) changes. There have been injuries as well, which have not been taking in to consideration. It has been a mix of both. Seeing the way things are right now we don't feel we need to change anything", said Captain Kohli on the eve of fourth test.

R Ashwin fit to play 4^th Test

R Ashwin has recovered from his hip injury and is fit to play the fourth Test against England, said Indian skipper Virat Kohli. "Everyone is fit to start tomorrow. Ashwin has recovered nicely. He had a good practice session yesterday. He is good to go," Kohli told reporters.
 

England team news:

England have included batting all-rounder Moeen Ali and left-hand batsman Sam Curran in their playing 11 for the fourth Test of the ongoing five-match series against India. The duo will be replacing Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes in the team, ESPNcricinfo reported. Meanwhile, right-hand batsman Jos Buttler will take over the wicket-keeping duties from the injured Johnny Bairstow, who will be playing as a specialist batsman in the team.
 
Ali has been among the runs for his county side, scoring 210 runs in 277 deliveries before turning it on with the ball, returning match-figures of 8 for 89. He has not played for England in the five-day format since being dropped after the first Test against New Zealand in March.
 
Curran's axe in the third Test had left many people surprised after the left-armer had put up an impressive showing in the first two Tests. He contributed with both bat and ball for England and his return will add more depth to the brittle English batting.
 
India vs England 4th Test details

Match Date: 30 August- 3 September, Thursday
Match Time: 15:30 IST, 10:00 AM GMT, 11:00 AM LOCAL
Match Venue: The Rose Bowl, Southampton, England.

India vs England 4th Test match live streaming details
 
India vs England 4th Test match will be broadcast on Sony Six, Sony Six HD in English Commentary. India vs England fourth Test match will be available for live streaming on Sony Liv app. Tatasky subscribers can also live stream India vs England 4th Test match on Tatasky mobile app.
 
India vs England head to head in test matches

Total
Matches played: 120
India won: 25
England won: 45
Drawn: 49
 
In England
 
Matches played: 60
India won: 7
England won: 32
Drawn: 21
 
England squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes, James Vince, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Alastair Cook, Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid.
 
India squad: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant(wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Prithwi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari.
 
Here is some latest cricket news:
 
Virat comes close to Sachin, says Saqlain Mushtaq: He has been part of many enthralling duels with Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan's spin great Saqlain Mushtaq says Virat Kohli is the only current player who "comes close" to matching the standards of his legendary contemporary. "As a batsman, Sachin was a very big player. I cannot compare (two eras) but today Virat is the only one who comes close," Saqlain told PTI in an exclusive chat. England's spin consultant Saqlain said that India's turnaround in the five-match series would largely boil down to how Kohli leads the batting line-up. "We were talking amongst the English support staff about how he played at Trent Bridge. In this third Test alone, Jimmy Anderson beat his outside edge 40 times, and yet he played the next ball with so much confidence. Virat plays ball by ball, run by run and session by session. He has a tremendous hunger for runs and victory. When you have someone hungry like that, he can do anything to satisfy his hunger."

I am desperate to keep wickets, says Bairstow: England's Jonny Bairstow has said that he has a good chance to play in the fourth Test against India at Southampton despite a fracture in the left middle finger. He stressed that while he has recovered sufficiently to play as a specialist batsman, he is desperate to keep wicket as well, for that's when he is at his best. "The finger feels good. Obviously we'll know more later on today but the swelling has gone down and it's a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I wasn't able to put my hand in my pocket a few days ago that's absolutely fine now," Bairstow said. "I'm going to try and keep wicket this afternoon as well. I want to play so if I'm not able to keep wicket I'd like to think I could play as a specialist batsman. At the same time I'm still desperate to try to keep my place as the keeper. "If you look at the stats they suggest I'm better if I keep wicket as well. I don't know why."

BCCI declares Bhuvaneshwar Kumar fit, to play for India A: The BCCI declared pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar fit and said he will be a part of India A squad in the ongoing Quadrangular series. "Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been declared fit and will be a part of the India A squad in the ongoing Quadrangular series," the BCCI said in a statement. Kumar had aggravated his lower back injury while playing the third India-England ODI match in the UK. He was subsequently ruled out of the ongoing India-England Test series and had to undergo recovery training at the National Cricket Academy. Kumar will play against South Africa A on August 29 here as Shreyas Iyer-led India A will battle it out for the third position in the Quadrangular series.

How watching Anderson bowl helped Mohammed Shami: India speedster Mohammed Shami is amazed at how Jimmy Anderson is able to deceive batsmen with his guile even when he is not as quick as his Indian counterparts. On the eve of the fourth Test, the Indian pacer wished luck to Anderson, who at 557 scalps, is only seven short of becoming the highest ever wicket-taker among fast bowlers in international cricket surpassing Glenn McGrath (563 wickets). "As far as learning goes, when you see a senior player (Anderson) performing before you like that, you observe him as much as you can. I am always looking at how he doesn't have as much pace as us but still takes wickets - what lengths does he bowl? You get to learn these things. He's a different bowler in different conditions," Shami told reporters at a media conference.

BCCI polls in next 3 months, says Vinod Rai: Almost a week after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) registered its new constitution, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) said on Monday the board's polls will be held in three months. "We are looking at elections in about 90 days and that's the deadline we have given ourselves. We have given the date as September 20. There is no cause for any ambiguity," CoA chief Vinod Rai told reporters. "The COA will leave, the moment the new body takes over. There is a specific mandate that has been given to the CoA; rest assured that we will not overstep it by a day," he added.