A new-look India reached 106 for one at lunch on the opening day of the first Test against England yesterday with the loss of Shikhar Dhawan’s wicket their only setback at a sunny Trent Bridge in Nottingham, England.
The visitors, who won the toss and elected to bat at the opening of the five-match series, set the tone as Murali Vijay hit three boundaries off the first over bowled by Jimmy Anderson.
It was a sign of things to come from Vijay as he raced to his half-century in 69 balls and resumed on 55 after the interval, with Cheteshwar Pujara (38) looking to take further advantage of the perfect batting conditions.
Photo: AFP
On a flat morning for England, Anderson took the solitary wicket of Dhawan (12) to become the only bowler to take 50 Test wickets at the Nottingham ground.
Anderson, who conceded five boundaries in his first three overs, tried to find a different angle when he opted to bowl around the wicket and was rewarded with an outside edge from Dhawan, which was well-taken by wicketkeeper Matt Prior.
Prior, who was a doubt to make the England side over tightness in his right thigh, showed no signs of injury as he dived well to his left to take the catch.
India, who have not won a Test away from home since 2011, handed a debut to all-rounder Stuart Binny in an inexperienced side featuring only one bowler who has previously played a Test against England: Ishant Sharma.
England, in search of their first win in nine Tests, recalled Ben Stokes in place of Chris Jordan.
The visitors have not played a five-Test series on English soil since 1959 and their last visit in 2011 resulted in a 4-0 sweeo by the hosts.
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