Nottingham is close to 9,500 km away from Tokyo. But it seemed that the Indian cricketers want to be part of the one big party that the athletes are setting up for the country over the next few days. Following up on Ravi Dahiya and Neeraj Chopra’s heroics at the Olympics, the Indian pacemen did everything right at Trent Bridge to put Virat Kohli’s men in a commanding position on the first day of the first Test on Wednesday. And it was triggered by a spectacular England collapse post tea that saw them lose six wickets for 45 runs and getting bowled out for 183.
It was even-stevens till then with England battling away to 138-3 with an over to go for tea. Joe Root and Jonnie Bairstow had put up 72 for the fourth wicket on a pitch that did a bit for pacers and a good first innings score looked on the cards.
But suddenly a patch of cloud started hovering over Trent Bridge and the ball started doing a little more. The Indian pace battery of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj and Shardul Thakur seemed to be waiting for exactly this moment and they didn’t miss the opportunity to put the ball just a bit fuller.
And it immediately paid dividends on either side of tea. Bairstow was caught leg-before by Shami (3-28) with one that swung in. And after Dan Lawrence departed just after tea, nicking one down the leg off Shami, it was the Bumrah (4/46) show. The Gujarat paceman, for some time now, seemed to have lost the delivery that left the right-hander in red-ball cricket. But come Wednesday, it was well and truly back. While he had left-handed opener Rory Burns with one that swung in right at the beginning of the day, the way he toyed with the dangerous Jos Buttler post tea was something to behold.
As all of it was happening, there was the England captain Joe Root (64) who looked his usual composed self at the other end. Coming in at 42-2 in the first session, Root was playing it late and as close to his body as possible. He lost partners at the other end but wasn’t exactly looking in any serious discomfort. But then, once Buttler departed the mood changed. India’s fourth pacer Shardul got one to swing just a bit more and a ruffled Root missed it, getting caught plumb in front.
With the lights on, the conditions were tricky when Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul walked in. But over the next 13 overs, the openers gave the impression that they have come well prepared for the tour. They seemed to have a fair idea of where their offstump was and played out a difficult hour, giving India a strong platform to launch an attack to go 1-0 up.