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England consolidated their position despite losing Alastair Cook early, reaching 83 for one at lunch on the opening day of the first cricket Test against India.
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At lunch, Keaton Jennings was batting on 38, while skipper Joe Root was unbeaten on 31 after England won the toss and opted to bat.
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Ravichandran Ashwin (1/13) was the only wicket-taker for India as he bowled Cook (13) with a ripper in the ninth over. The ball pitched on middle and turned away to knock back Cook's off-stump. Umesh Yadav (0/29) and Ishant Sharma (0/17) started off the proceedings for India with the new ball, and the latter in particular got a good shape going.
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Cook and Jennings, both left-handers, struggled against Ishant's away-going movement.
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Ishant induced an edge from Jennings when he was on 9 but the chance was dropped in the slips by vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane.
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To everyone's surprise, India captain Virat Kohli introduced Ashwin in only the seventh over of the morning, even before Mohammed Shami (0/17) and Hardik Pandya (0/6).
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The move yielded result instantly when Ashwin bowled Cook in only his second over to give India the breakthrough.
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It was the eighth time Ashwin had dismissed the left-handed opener in Test cricket.
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Root, however, started off well and struck a few lusty boundaries to shift the momentum in his side's favour.
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Shami came on as second-change bowler and bowled a tight first spell, albeit lacking enough penetration to get another wicket for India as England crossed 50 in the 16th over.
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Jennings played a few pre-meditated sweeps shots against Ashwin, but he settled down soon after a nervous start to add 57 runs for the second wicket with Root.
Here are the playing 11 of both the teams:
India playing 11: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, K L Rahul, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma
England Playing 11: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow Sam Curran, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.
In pics: How Ashwin got Alastair Cook wicket
India's show since their last series win in England
Under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India twice failed to lift the trophy in England — first in 2011 and then in 2014. They received a 4-0 drubbing on the former occasion and lost 3-1 on the latter. In fact, India have won only six of the 57 matches they have played on English soil so far.
However, Virat Kohli and co will be buoyed by the fact that three of these six wins have come since 2002. India's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar was part of the Sourav Ganguly-led Test squad that won at Leeds in 2002.
Wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik was part of the 2007 series-winning squad of Dravid. Besides skipper Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma, seven others in the current side were part of the teams that either toured in 2011 or 2014.
England's Test performance in recent past
England's form, particularly in the longer format of the game, has been a cause for concern in the recent past. Since September 2017, England have won only one of the nine Tests played against Australia, New Zealand, and Pakistan.
They have been beaten twice in their last five home Tests by West Indies and Pakistan. The sharp pace attacks of Pakistan and West Indies exploited the weaknesses in the English batting line-up, heavily dependent on Root, Jonny Bairstow and seasoned opener Alastair Cook.
India's record at Edgbaston cricket ground
When it comes to Edgbaston, India have no dearth of painful associated memories as far as Test cricket is concerned. Their record at Edgbaston has been rather dismal, with five losses in the six Tests played here since 1967. On the previous occasion when India played a Test here, in 2011, England opener Alastair Cook's masterclass guided the hosts to a thumping victory.
While picking the playing eleven this time around, Virat Kohli must avoid the mistakes made in the previous overseas tour of South Africa. There, the team management had backed an in-form Rohit Sharma over Ajinkya Rahane. This time, an in-form K L Rahul is bidding for a spot. Both Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri have maintained that as a third-choice opener, Rahul must wait for his chance. But the fit-again batsman's fine form might just compel them.
Cheteshwar Pujara's dismal record outside India
Cheteshwar Pujara's form has been a worry. Yet to get a half-century this first-class summer, he has managed only 172 runs in six matches at an average of 14.33 for Yorkshire. He scored a mere 35 against Afghanistan in Bengaluru, and in the practice game at Chelmsford, he managed 1 and 23. In 2014, too, Pujara had has a poor series with a score of 222 in five matches at 22.20. He, however, had drawn little negative publicity amid Kohli's own struggles (134 runs in 10 innings in 2014) as well.
When and where to watch England vs India, 1st Test 2018
Match date: 1 August - 5 August 2018
Match timing: 3:30 pm (IST), 10:00 am (GMT), 11:00 am (Local time)
Match venue: Edgbaston, Birmingham, England
India vs England 1st Test 2018 live streaming details
India vs England 1st Test match will be broadcast on Sony Six, Sony Six HD in English Commentary. India vs England second T20Is will be available for live streaming on Sony Liv app. Tatasky subscribers can also live stream India vs England 1st match on Tatasky mobile app.
India vs England head-to-head comparison in Test matches
Total
Matches played: 117
India won: 25
England won: 43
Drawn: 49
In England
Matches played: 57
India won: 6
England won: 30
Drawn: 21
India vs England 1st test: Important stats
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James Anderson is 10 wickets short of the 550 Test wickets. If he reached the 550-mark then he will become the 2nd fast bowler to take 550 or more Test wickets
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Stuart Broad needs 24 more runs to achieve the feat of 3000 Test runs. Amassing these runs, Broad will become the only 5th player to achieve a double of 3000 Test runs and 400 wickets in Test cricket.
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England skipper Joe Root needs 40 runs to reach 6,000 runs in Test match. Scoring these runs, Root will become the 15th Englishmen to score 6000 or more runs in Test cricket.
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Murali Vijay will become the 16th Indian to reach 4,000-runs mark in the history of Test cricket if he scores 93 runs in the match.
Here who said what and latest cricket news ahead of India vs England 1st Test match:
ICC wishes England on their 1000th Test: International Cricket Council (ICC) has sent its wishes to the England cricket team as they are gearing up for their 1000th Test match, to be played against India at Edgbaston from August 1. "On behalf of the cricket family, I want to congratulate England on their 1000th men's Test match, the first country to reach this milestone," ICC president Shashank Manohar said. "I wish England all the best in this historic match and may it continue to produce players and performances that inspire the following of Test cricket, the oldest and most demanding format of the game," he added. To commemorate the occasion, former New Zealand captain, Jeff Crowe, and member of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees will present a silver plaque to England and Wales Cricket Board Chairman Colin Graves before the start of the Test.
What is Michael Vaughan's message to England: Be angry and challenge Virat Kohli, urged former captain Michael Vaughan to an English side hosting an ambitious India, for long seeking to shed the poor travellers' tag, in a highly-anticipated Test series. Besides, the 43-year-old who opened for his country for almost a decade, wants the seasoned Alastair Cook to show consistency and skipper Joe Root to convert his starts into monumental knocks. Cook has played alongside the player-turned-expert in the beginning of his career. "Joe Root needs to hammer home to his men that they have a point to prove and try to replicate that angry England team that arrived at Headingley and hammered Pakistan in their last Test. Go back and say to the players: 'What were you thinking that first day at Headingley?," Vaughan wrote in the 'Daily Telegraph'
Patience could be key in fickle English weather, says India vice-captain Rahane: India's attack will have to show patience to take 20 wickets and in the fickle English weather, it could be a virtue for the batsmen as well, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said. "There is always help for bowlers in England, but that doesn't mean it is easier for the bowlers. They need to be patient and bowl in the good areas. They have to back their own skills instead of trying to take wickets from both ends" Rahane said. "It is a great opportunity for the bowlers to prove that we can take 20 wickets in a Test match consistently like we had done in South Africa. Nobody expected us to take 20 wickets in all three Test matches.
Dale Steyn to root for England in Test series against India: South African fast bowler Dale Steyn has said that he would be backing England in the upcoming five-match Test series against India as the hosts will be playing in their home conditions. "The advantage probably lies with England, obviously being at home and with such a long tour, it tends to become very long. India have been there for ODIs and are a very good touring team now. If I put my money, I will probably put it on England. But it is going to be tight," ICC-cricket.com quoted Steyn, as saying. "These are conditions that England are used to. Home series generally goes away with home sides," he added.
Kohli's extra motivation could prove to be dangerous for England, says Gooch: Former England captain Graham Gooch reckons Virat Kohli's "extra motivation" could prove to be dangerous for the home side in what will be a tight Test series due to the prevailing heat wave in the country. "He (Kohli) is a top-ranked player in the world at the moment and I think a dangerous customer for England as he has the motivation to improve his record in this country. Every player wants to be known to be able to play well in all sorts of conditions," Gooch told BCCI.TV in an interview. A discussion on Kohli led to inevitable comparison with his English counterpart Joe Root and according to Gooch, what sets the duo apart, is their ability to play match-winning knocks under any circumstances. "Well, they are both world class players across formats of the game. They are both match-winning players. I love watching Virat Kohli and Joe Root bat. They both play all around the wicket and they are both positive, very focused and I like to see that.
Rashid's selection in England test squad ridiculous, says Michael Vaughan: Former England captain Michael Vaughan on Thursday termed the selection of English spinner Adil Rashid for the upcoming five-match Test series against India as 'ridiculous.' Rashid's comeback in the larger format of the game raised many eyebrows as the bowler had, reportedly, stated that he would be concentrating only on ODI format. Moreover, the player has signed a white-ball-only contract with Yorkshire county cricket club. Vaughan took to Twitter and wrote that irrespective of whether the player is good enough or not, the decision is ridiculous. "So we have picked someone who cannot be arsed with 4-day cricket for the Test Team ... Forget whether he is good enough or not I find this decision ridiculous ... !!!," he tweeted.
Here is the squad of both the teams:
India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
England squad: Joe Root (c), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Jamie Porter, Sam Curran, James Anderson, Stuart Broad.
Video: India practice session ahead of 1st test 
 "India vs England 1st test 2018")