India lord it over England to go 1-0 up

For a game that lasts five days through ebbs and flows, it’s amazing how a couple of sessions end up deciding its fate. Having laboured for four days and managing to be ahead of the hosts for quite a few sessions, India were not the favourites as the players made their way out into a cloudy morning.

They lost Rishabh Pant soon but as the weather cleared a bit, the mood in the Indian camp too brightened up with Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah chipping away with some crucial runs.

What started as a desperate measure to delay the inevitable grew into a seize that helped India post England a target of 272 runs in a little less than two sessions.

The confidence of having four quality Test pacers in the side gave them the belief to make a match out of it. And they did so, by getting a wicket in the first over and when teams went for Tea, England were four down with just two results possible in the match.

But if India were to realistically seal the game, they had to get Joe Root early in the final session. Bumrah raised his hands and removed the England captain. While Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler tried their best to stave off the Indian challenge, Mohammed Siraj’s back to back wickets of Ali and Sam Curran, who returned a King Pair in the game, turned out to be the game changer.

Ollie Robinson could frustrate India for a while, dragging the game towards a thrilling draw before Bumrah dug deep into his T20 reservoirs to produce a slower delivery that trapped him in front.

Robinson wicket was expected to caution Buttler more who until then had not switched to keeping the strike to himself mode like a senior batter. But Siraj had different ideas; he induced one edge to Rishabh Pant, effectively shattering the hopes of the hosts before coming around the wicket to kiss the off-stump of James Anderson.

What followed was a mad run featuring two RCB stalwarts – captain Kohli and Mohammed Siraj – perfectly ending a script India had crafted brilliantly.