As it happened - England vs India, 1st Test, Trent Bridge, 2nd day
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Sidharth Monga
05-Aug-2021
India's bowlers performed admirably to give them the advantage against England on day one. Can their batters push it home? Follow ESPNcricinfo's live updates to find out (Please refresh the page to get the latest). Click here for ball-by-ball commentary. Also, here is our coverage of the match in Hindi
That is that then
5.40pm
And Anderson will have to come back tomorrow to complete the over he began before 2.30pm and had two other goes at completing. I will leave you with a teaser from my end-of-the-day report. See you tomorrow. Same time, same place.
A man not supposed to be looked at as an opener anymore stepped in at the last moment to replace a concussed good friend of his, scored an unbeaten fifty in trying conditions, but wasn't even the story of the day on which only 33.4 overs were possible. Three full series since getting Virat Kohli out four times for 19 runs in 2014, James Anderson got India's captain out first ball to rouse England back into the contest after a 97-run opening stand between the returning KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma.
Oh, and the ball to get Kohli was a really good one, but it was not even the best ball to get a wicket on the day. In what is now becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy from Cheteshwar Pujara, a bowler will do well to top the delivery Anderson bowled just one ball before getting Kohli out. Perhaps it was fitting that there wasn't more cricket: you need to ration things so good.
India ended the day 58 behind England's first-innings score of 183, an outcome they would have settled for if offered at the start of the day, but not from the possible domination they were eyeing at the end of the first session.
This one lasts two balls
5.01pm
And the rain is back. We expected that. It is likely to rain for another 45 minutes. I wonder if we will be able to get any play tonight because although we can go on till 7.30pm, any interruption post a certain cut-off time means the end of the day. I am not sure if that cut-off is 6pm or 6.30pm. So we need to be back on by that time for play to carry on till 7.30pm
We will try again
They have now agreed to resume at 5pm, but don't count against that resumption being a short one too.
That lasted one ball
4.16pm
All that fun lasts one ball. The rain returns as expected, and we are back off the field.
Hoping against hope
They have scheduled a resumption at 4.15pm, but the weather forecast doesn't look great. Let's hope for the best. If they can play till the bitter end, only six overs lost.
And now it rains
2.50pm
And now it is raining heavy. And the forecast is nasty for the rest of the day.
Rahul survives, light drops
2.30pm
Just too hectic out in the middle. James Anderson looked like he could get a wicket every ball. he nearly got the third one of this spell when he drew the edge from Rahul with the perfect awayswinger, but Dom Sibley dropped it low to his left. Rahul was 52 then. Rishabh Pant is counterattacking. That is the way he knows. India 125 for 4 in 46.1 when the light dips before the promised rain arrives. Rahul still looking good on 57 off 148, Pant 7 off 8. Anderson's spell: 4.1-1-5-2.
Some might say it is good for India that this break has arrived. Some might say Anderson will now come back ready for another 5-6 overs whereas his spell was nearing an end now.
Rahane running like headless chicken
2.20pm
There was something helter skelter about Ajinkya Rahane's short stay at the wicket. He is a nervous starter at the best of times, but today he seemed to be playing baseball: have to run every time you touch the ball. The first time he survived, and also took in three overthrows, but on the next occasion, he was nowhere near. India 112 for 4 in 43.2 overs, Rahane gone for 5 off 5, Rahul unbeaten on 51 off 139.
Is Kohli expecting the inswinger too much?
2.10pm
Just going back to Virat Kohli's dismissal. It has been said before, most notably by Twitter user @flighted_leggie. Kohli said himself that in 2014 he was worrying too much about the ball coming back in in 2014 that he would play away from the body and also open his hip in the process. In 2018, one of the changes he made was to make sure his back foot was parallel to the crease to make sure he didn't open up.
Now, in 2021, already twice on the tour, Kohli has played away from his body because of that incoming ball. Don't get me wrong. This was in inswinger with the shiny side outside. Kohli picked it right, and played at it, the ball left him after pitching, but was it close enough to play at? Is he playing for that ball too much now?
On another day, perhaps the ball would have missed the edge and given Kohli just the wake-up call. Not here. Not in 2021. This is not 2018 when every mistake Kohli made against Anderson went unpunished. Fifty-eight of those in fact. Here, the first one has taken the edge and got him. Just like Anderson got him four times in nine mistakes in 2014.
Rahul gets fifty
2pm
Easy to forget with all this drama, but KL Rahul is meanwhile playing a gem here. He has brought up his fifty with an open-face push off Robinson for two. India need to arrest this momentum. England are riding on it. The crowd is loud. They are singing "Oh Jimmy Jimmy." He is now level with Anil Kumble on the wickets. India 107 for 3.
Anderson to Kohli. Golden duck
1.55pm
Oh cricket. Anderson kept beating Kohli all series in 2018. Did it 60 times, I think. Couldn't get an edge that would go to hand. First ball here, he switches the shiny side, looking for the inswinger, Kohli is equal to it, plays for the inswinger, but then the ball pitches and holds its line to take a healthy edge through. Oh cricket, you messy, beautiful beast. India 104 for 3. Anderson on a hat-trick.
No need for DRS now
1.53pm
The relief is short-lived. Pujara, who has started the series under pressure, will feel it more now. He has nicked an outswinger from James Anderson through to Jos Buttler. They check if the catch is clean. It is. Just looking at the replays, has Pujara just played a touch in front of his body and not right under his eye? This is a good seed though. He absolutely has to play at it because the line is on off. India 104 for 2.
India do DRS right. Again
1.50pm
Cheteshwar Pujara is given out lbw leaving alone, but he immediately looks adamant that the ball is high. He is looking for affirmation for KL Rahul. Not sure he gets it, but Pujara knows he has left this alone on height, and goes ahead with the review. The replays prove him right. It is Ollie Robinson, and this one is sailing over from his high release. This is the third decision India have got overturned in this Test against two extremely good umpires.
India 100 for 1 still. England operating with Robinson and Anderson at the start of the session.
In other news, Jofra Archer has been ruled out of all cricket for the rest of the year with a recurring stress fracture
At the stroke of lunch
Just three runs short of might have been only the second 100-run opening stand in England since 2016, Rohit Sharma has pulled Ollie Robinson straight down fine leg's throat, but this has been a superb opening stand for India. More than half of Indian total has been knocked off, and KL Rahul looks in great touch. He was not even the preferred opener coming into the series according to reports. India 97 for 1 in 37.3 overs, Rohit gone for 36 off 107, Rahul unbeaten on 48 off 124. Rahul has scored 32 off the last 45 balls he has faced. India in a position where they can hope to dominate. Do join us soon for the middle session.
Where's the real Stuart Broad?
12.45pm
Broad's first session is done. It is rare that you say that it is his spell that releases the pressure. This is his analysis this morning: 5-0-27-0. At his home ground. Too many half-volleys and short balls. You wonder if not opening with him has had any impact on how he has bowled. It seemed he wanted to attack after the pressure was built by Anderson and Robinson, but never really found the ideal length, Consequently he didn't have the catching men when he did get an edge.
India 88 for 0 in 35 overs, Rahul 42 off 19, Rohit 35 off 96.
Openers march on
12.30pm
As it often happens, you get through the tough periods with a lot of judgement and a little bit of luck, and you start to get a few loose balls. With the introduction of Stuart Broad and Sam Curran, a few full balls have arrived, and KL Rahul, in particular, has latched on. Just the two slips and a sweeper on the off side. He has scored 25 runs off the last 28 balls he has faced. At 71 for 0 in 32 overs, this is India's second-biggest opening stand in England since 1980.
India's hour
First drinks break on day two, and India's openers are still together. They have added 25 runs in 14 overs, but the crucial column is wickets. The bowling and the conditions have demanded the utmost of respect because the bowlers have been accurate, and there is something for them both in the air and off the pitch. They have now drawn 40 false responses - one every four balls - for no wicket. India got all their 10 in 93 such events.
India 46 for 0 in 26 overs, Rohit 25 off 86, Rahul 17 off 88. Now it is Broad and Curran in tandem.
30 minutes, 7 overs, 6 runs, 1 review lost, 0 wicket
11.30am
Gripping stuff as it often is in bowling conditions. England have chosen to open up with James Anderson and Ollie Robinson. Ideally you want to open with the best two bowlers, but possibly England want experience in each spell so holding Stuart Broad back for later.
In seven overs, England have induced 10 mistakes from India, but no edge has gone to hand. James Anderson has bowled four overs but not a single inswinger although he has flipped the shiny side on a couple of occasions. The ball is still swinging, but England have shown desperation in wasting their second review on Rohit Sharma. India have made 27 false responses and lost no wicket. England were bowled out in 93.
India 27 for 0 in 20 overs, Rohit 13 off 56, Rahul 11 off 65.
Ishant Sharma watch
We have Nagraj Gollapudi on the job. This is what he has to report
Every day since India arrived at Trent Bridge, Ishant Sharma has been undergoing what appear to be fitness tests: running lengths, bowling to empty nets, and training away from the rest of the squad. He was absent from the team huddles on Wednesday and Thursday, running through the paces while being observed by Indian trainer Nick Webb and physiotherapist Nitin Patel. On Thursday India bowling coach Bharat Arun had a quick conversation with Sharma, on what from a distance could have been about his follow-through where Ishant has fallen on all fours several times during matches.
However, the question remains: does Sharma have an injury or a niggle? The BCCI has not yet given an update, and insiders claim there is nothing wrong. Ishant last played in the WTC final against New Zealand where he was hit on his webbing and got a few stitches but was cleared fit during India's preparations for the Test series in Durham.
Ishant remains a key player in the Indian fast bowling attack, and India would want him to be fit for a long series with four more Tests to go. Ishant has enjoyed bowling in English conditions, and is on the verge of becoming the first overseas fast man to take 50 wickets in the country.
Length and luck
A complicated, messy topic to start off the day then. We have all had the feeling Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah have had to work harder for their wickets in England than, say, Anderson, Broad, Boult, Southee and Jamieson. At lunch yesterday, we dug numbers to go with the claim. While Bumrah and Shami were getting a wicket for every 19 false responses in England, Anderson and Broad needed to induce around 10 false responses for a wicket. No fast bowler since 2014 has a worse ratio in England.
It can be attributed to two things: luck and length. Observers of sport - and practitioner, at least when speaking publicly - don't like to acknowledge luck because it messes around with their idea of merit in sport.
Also there is logic to the idea that the fuller you bowl, the likelier you are to take the edge as opposed to beating the bat. On to length then, but we don't have accurate data for lengths Anderson and Broad bowl in same conditions as Shami and Bumrah. However, yesterday when Bumrah and Shami got their wickets at around 10 false responses apiece, it kinda sorta checked out. Host broadcaster put out a graphic that said Shami had bowled 31% deliveries in the full zone as opposed to 19 in the World Test Championship final. Bumrah had taken it up from 26 to 35 after a wicketless return in the final.
However, what accounts for this? Kyle Jamieson, the most prolific bowler in the final, bowled the lowest percentage of deliveries in the full zone among all fast bowlers in the game.
Also the length bowlers bowl is not binary. They are also bowling to batters and to conditions. If they know a batting group is likelier to punish anything too full, you will see they will bowl a slightly shorter length. Does that say something of the England batters, who made quite a few driving errors against New Zealand too?
There is no evidence either to suggest that if you bowl fuller, nothing deliveries down the leg side will get you two wickets. It is all very complicated, and it is possible that both these assertions are correct: India bowled fuller, but were also luckier.
We will be keeping an eye on the lengths Anderson and Broad bowl today. Welcome to the Live Report on Day 2. India trail by 162 and have all their wickets in hand. The weather is fair to start off with, but there are showers forecast later in the day.
Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo