A near 50-run haul by India’s notoriously brittle batting tail in the first innings of the drawn opening Test against England was like “gold dust,” India captain Virat Kohli said.
Since 2018, India’s last three batsmen have had the worst average of all Test-playing nations.
However, they made a significant contribution at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, where rain washed out the final day’s play on Sunday and robbed the match of an exciting finish.
Photo: AP
A career-best 28 from Jasprit Bumrah, 13 from Mohammed Shami and 7 not out by Mohammed Siraj helped the tourists to a vital 95-run first-innings lead in a low-scoring contest.
“They’ve been in the nets regularly, wanting to contribute regularly, wanting to contribute to the team,” Kohli said of the tailenders’ batting exploits after the draw. “Getting 50-plus runs from those three bowlers was like gold dust for us. We’d have been talking about a lead of 40-odd and then we got to a lead of 95 purely because of their efforts.”
In comparison, England’s last three batsmen twice made a combined 20 in the series opener.
“Just the grit and determination,” Kohli said. “As opposition, when the bowlers get runs it can be annoying. They did a tremendous job with the bat.”
With the tailenders giving a good account of themselves, India will be tempted to continue with the same bowling combination of four seamers and a pacer in the remaining four Tests against Joe Root’s side.
“This looks like the right template for us moving forward,” Kohli said.
The second test is scheduled to begin at Lord’s in London on Thursday.
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
STRONG CONNECTION: Although she has considered switching nationalities, Garland said that if it was not for Taiwan’s support throughout her career, she would not be in Paris British-Taiwanese player Joanna Garland on Tuesday became the first Taiwanese to clinch a victory in a main singles draw of the French Open since 2020 after she outlasted the US’ Katie Volynets in Paris. The world No. 175, Taiwan’s highest-ranked female player in singles, said she would rely on her self-belief as she prepares for her second-round match at the French Open after overcoming a serious injury to qualify for a maiden Grand Slam appearance. After navigating her way through the qualifiers last week, Garland secured her first win at the main draw of a Grand Slam by battling past world No.
RSS