England end four short of unlikely win

On a day that Alastair Cook scored his fifth Test century in India, the most by a visiting batsman, he came desperately close to registering an unlikely Test win, but was defied by his opposite n

India learn the value of the dead bat

Given the choice, India prefer to be aggressive and take their chances a fourth-innings target. In Rajkot, however, led by Virat Kohli's excellent balance, they acquainted themselves with the val

Haseeb takes the backward and forward approach

From Haseeb's spin tactics to Cook's captaincy, Aakash Chopra examines the technical talking points from day five in Rajkot

Learnt valuable lessons in drawing Tests - Virat Kohli

With just two defeats in 18 Tests under Virat Kohli's leadership, India have rarely been faced with the challenge of saving a game, especially not on home soil. In the circumstances, the captain felt they had adapted well and learnt new skills

How England's spinners outbowled India's

The stats and milestones from the final day's play in the first Test between India and England at Rajkot

Cook shines on final day with 30th Test ton

A sublime 243-ball 130 from Alastair Cook - his 30th Test ton - helped England claim a moral victory by drawing the first Test against India in Rajkot on Sunday.

England lay down a marker for competitive series

They may have fallen just short of victory, but England can leave Rajkot hugely encouraged by their performance

England give themselves outside chance to win

The fourth day of the Rajkot Test ended as it began: with England needing some magic to give them a chance to win the Test

Composed Hameed signals England's long search may be over

Haseeb Hameed's impressive Test debut has fired England's optimism that this time they have found an opener to be reckoned with.

The shine on show, and the sixth-bowler advantage

From Ashwin's technique against spin to the drawback of Rashid's run-up, Aakash Chopra examines the technical talking points from day four in Rajkot.

India concede lead at home after four years

Stats highlights from the penultimate day of the Rajkot Test.

Hameed puts England in command with impressive 70

England's debutant opener, Haseeb Hameed, hit five fours and a six in his unbeaten 116-ball 62 that gave the tourists a comfortable 163-run lead against India on the fourth day of the first Test being played in Rajkot on Saturday.

Ashwin the allrounder stands in for Ashwin the bowler

By making up for his lack of wickets with a classy half-century, India's lead spinner may have hauled his side towards safety on a Rajkot deck that hasn't yet sprung to life

Pujara, Vijay tons lead India's response to 537

Centuries from Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay led India's response to England's 537 on an engrossing third day in Rajkot

No lack of resolve as England attack plays the long game

Despite the lack of tangible reward on a tough third day, England's seamers and spinners both displayed an admirable attitude to keep India waiting

Vijay and Pujara's hundreds power India's first-innings effort

India's opener, Murali Vijay, joined forces with Cheteshwar Pujara to score his sixth Test ton, on the third day, of the first Test against England being played in Rajkot on Friday.

Pujara reads the script to thrill his home crowd

Cheteshwar Pujara gave the crowd the very thing they would have been hoping for since they realised Test cricket was finally coming to Rajkot

Pujara's footwork, Vijay's balance

Aakash Chopra examines the techniques of India's centurions and praises Chris Woakes' use of the crease in his analytical observations from the third day of the Rajkot Test

Vijay-Pujara pass 2000 runs together

Stats highlights from Rajkot, where M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara were involved in another big partnership

Vijay and Pujara show the strength of their bond

Two of India's Test-match specialists showed the importance of their old-school methods to haul their side into contention at Rajkot

Stokes ton leaves India a big task

England raised the first 500 against India in India since they did it themselves four years ago in Kolkata

Stokes ton puts England in command of first Test against India

Ben Stokes' last three Test innings against India in 2014, yielded three ducks. He made amends for his earlier failures in England, by scoring his fourth ton, which guided his side to a sizable first-innings score of 537 in their first Test against India

England not intimidated by spin

The visitors, led by Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, proved to themselves - and to India- that they weren't spooked by the turning ball, and that had learned from the Dhaka debacle

Anything that can possibly go wrong...

A certain Murphy S. Law visited Rajkot for its debut Test, and spent rather more time around India's bowlers and fielders than they would have liked

A rare instance of three visiting centurions

Three centuries in a visiting team's innings is a rare sight in India, just like the expensive economy rates of the home team's spinners

Five lives

The catches that India put down in the first innings in Rajkot

Widening cracks bode well for England

The case of the missing yorkers, and how Gautam Gambhir has made his open stance work are among Aakash Chopra's analytical observations from the second day of the Rajkot Test

Root, Moeen give England strong start

Joe Root scored the first century by a batsman visiting India since Michael Clarke in February 2013 to help England score the first 300 against India in the last 20 Test innings in India

Root anchors England's first-innings effort with ton

India's spinners, and R Ashwin in particular, had threatened to disrupt England's effort on the first day of the first Test in Rajkot, but Joe Root starred for the tourists with an impressive ton - his eleventh in Tests, to guide his side to a sizable 311

Root falls in spite of Yadav fumble

For a split-second, Umesh Yadav's heart was in his mouth. He'd had the key wicket of England's innings clasped in his hands but appeared to have tossed it away in a celebratory gesture

Joe Root defies conventional wisdom

R Ashwin's angle of attack and the slip fielders' conundrum also feature in Aakash Chopra's analytical observations from the first day of the Rajkot Test

Root rouses England from post-Dhaka depression

Joe Root and Moeen Ali combined to give England the best start they could have wished for, on a surface that will only get harder for batting.

Shami suffered from cramps, fit for second day - Bangar

India's batting coach Sanjay Bangar said Mohammed Shami was suffering from muscular cramps, not a hamstring issue, which was the reason he continued to bowl at the end of the first day in Rajkot

Root breaks three-year drought for tourists

Not since 2013 had a visiting batsman scored a century in a Test in India

How not to use the DRS

England have a lot of experience using the DRS, but you might not have guessed as much from their early referrals on the review system's Test debut in India

Test cricket comes to Rajkot

While there is a degree of excitement and nervous energy going around, nothing over the top awaits local boys Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja in what is a region with a rich cricketing hist

India worn down by lack of wear and tear

Deprived of the chance to bat first and put massive runs on the board, India were forced to improvise in a bid to create pressure. And it didn't work

Too much grass, says Kohli; perfect pitch, says Shah

While Virat Kohli said the liberal amount of grass on the Rajkot track was a factor in India's lack of dominance in the Test, SCA secretary Niranjan Shah called it a pitch fit for five days of Te

ECB extends Saqlain coaching spell

England's spinners will have the services of Saqlain Mushtaq to call up until after the third Test in Mohali after his contract was extended

Bayliss hails Rajkot Test as England's best performance in his tenure

England coach Trevor Bayliss believes that if his team can maintain the level of intensity in their performances they will have a chance of winning the ongoing Test series against India

How effective are India's bowlers on batting pitches?

On a dissimilar surface to the ones they've encountered in recent home Tests, India's bowlers lacked consistency and failed to adapt, raising questions about their overall efficiency

The story of an offspinner and a batsman

Anderson's sacrificial spirit is to a credit to the competitor

James Anderson's determination to battle back from injury and return to a country where he played a defining role in the 2012-13 triumph is both admirable, and typical

Memo to Haseeb: no hundreds, please

Why the Rajkot draw was a win for numbers

Why geography is increasingly ceasing to matter in Test cricket

How India learnt to stop worrying and (sort of) love the DRS

Fates align as Haseeb Hameed makes homecoming debut

Haseeb Hameed, England's 19-year-old Test debutant, will be playing both with and against his heroes in Rajkot tomorrow, in front of his Gujarat-based extended family

Shami gives Kohli his cruise control

Fit, fast and attacking the stumps, Mohammad Shami will ensure England get no respite when India's spinners take a break

Kohli transformed since failure in England

Virat Kohli has said he was "thankful" for India's tour of England in 2014, when he totalled 135 runs in five Tests, because it has led to his becoming a "really improved cricketer"