Match Thread India tour of England : 1st Test at Edgbaston | 1st Aug 3:30 PM

[sourab10forever 3,646]

Quote

"Don't carry any sandpaper, guys," was the generous advice of one of the ground staff at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground. England might take special delight from Australia's spiralling misery, but there is still a lingering doubt how this England side might fare against the current world toppers - India.

 

 

"You think India will win? It's going to be a tough series," he added. And it might well be, looking at both sides, at least on paper.

 

 

But such promises for exhilarating cricket between these two sides have fallen on deaf ears. In the last two series the two teams played against each other, the results were 3-1 and 4-0 in favour of the hosts.

 

 

That might just be the difference between the two sides - the conditions. But here's the twist. England is in the middle of a heatwave, something that was summed up by Ajinkya Rahane, who said their practice game at Chelmsford was almost like playing in Mumbai or Chennai. That would mean conditions in England could be somewhat similar to what you'd get in India.

 

 

In Birmingham though, there was a brief spell of rain a couple of days before the Test, a welcome break from the heatwave that coincides with the duration of this match. England will hope conditions return to normalcy but if it doesn't though, India could well pull out the mattresses and come out to sleep on these tracks.

 

 

That the series will not be a walkover has already been underlined by England. Alastair Cook talked up India's pace bowlers, and England, perhaps swayed by Rashid knocking over Kohli's stumps in the limited-overs leg, brought him into Tests despite him not having a red-ball contract. Not long after, they announced Jos Buttler, two Tests since his own return to the Test squad despite not having a red-ball contract, as their vice-captain for the series, with a view on long term benefits.

 

 

India, of course, have their own worries. Shikhar Dhawan's practice match lasted all of 4 balls, while Pujara, despite his County stint, struggled in the nets. They have lost their best bowler in these conditions, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and another strong backup in Jasprit Bumrah. The pitch wears a slightly dry look, but England's decision to pick Sam Curran over Jamie Porter perhaps indicates that swing bowlers will be key.

 

 

Key also will be how India's batsmen have adapted to English conditions. Pujara and Ishant had already travelled to England to play County cricket, and four from the current Test squad played the India A game as well, before the practice match against Essex. But the England squad offers challenges at a whole new level.

 

 

Alastair Cook already served up a notice with a 180 against India A, as did Dawid Malan and Sam Curran. India must make sure that they start well, and then keep it going from there. They would have learnt from the last time they toured here that just a good start will mean next to nothing if they fail to keep the momentum going. They will also know that England have had a far from impressive year in Tests, just managing to shrug off a eight-Test winless streak, and some solid performances could land them serious pressure again.

 

 

England, on the other hand, will lean back on how reliable they are at home. The last time they lost a series at home was back in 2014 to Sri Lanka. They will also know that India have only one draw and one win in 10 games in England. It would probably only take one big Test to make India relive those nightmares again.

 

 

Who's your money on?

 

 

When: England vs India, 1st Test, 11 AM Local time, 3:30 PM IST.

 

 

Where: Edgbaston, Birmingham

 

 

What to expect: The pitch has a brown, hard look to it and if the sun beats down, it should be good for batting. Weather forecasts, however, point at more cloud cover, which could just prompt the teams into playing a lone spinner.

 

 

Team News

 

 

England: England announced their starting XI a day before the Test, giving Sam Curran a cap ahead of Jamie Porter. Moeen Ali, too, doesn't find a slot, with the selectors going for Rashid.

 

 

Playing XI: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Stuart Broad, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, James Anderson.

 

 

India: A few questions linger over India's team selection. Dhawan, Pujara and Rahul all batted in the nets, but it looks as if Rahul would get the nod ahead of the left-hander to open alongside Murali Vijay. Shami should be up alongside Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, with Ashwin as the lone spinner.

 

 

Probable XI: KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav.

 

 

Did you know

 

 

- At no other venue have Asian teams played more Tests without registering a single win than the 16 they have played in Edgabston. India have lost five of the six matches they have played at this venue.

 

 

- Adil Rashid will be playing his first Test in England. All his first ten Tests were played in the sub-continent - three in the UAE, two in Bangladesh and five in India. Rashid picked a four-wicket haul in four of the five Tests he played in India in 2016.

 

 

- Joe Root has scored a fifty in each of the 11 Tests he has played against India. No other player has hit fifty-plus scores in more consecutive Tests against a single opponent than Root's 11 against India.

 

 

What they said

 

 

"Back in the day when I did not know better, these things used to bother me because I used to read a lot. But honestly - and I'm not saying this because I'm sitting here in front of all of you - I genuinely don't read anything. I have no idea what's going on. After the first two Tests in South Africa, I had no idea what was going on. My only focus was on my preparation and where the team has to head. If I waste my energy on all these things, I'm compromising on my mindset." -- Virat Kohli keeps his focus despite growing pressure on him to deliver in England

 

 

"I've known Adil from being a really young lad at Yorkshire. He's been around the first team since I joined the academy. He's very talented; he always has been. I think over the last couple of years, with experience, he has grown as a player massively. He's developed his game in a way that he has a better understanding of what he's trying to do and how he's trying to work batters out. He's got high skill levels which I think are very transferable into Test cricket." -- Joe Root backs his spinner after his contentious selection

 

Edited August 2, 2018 by sourab10forever

[sourab10forever 3,646]

Indian Bowling lineup Preview by @express bowling

 

 

 

[tweaker 7,923]

Most likely team

 

Dhawan

Vijay

Pujara

Kohli

Rahane

Karthik

Pandya

Ashwin

Ishant

Shami

Umesh

[Lannister 4,164]

England playing X1 just confirmed:

 

1 Alastair Cook, 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Dawid Malan, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos  Buttler, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Sam Curran, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.

[tweaker 7,923]

England team

 

 Alastair Cook,

 Keaton Jennings,  

Joe Root (capt),

Dawid Malan,

Jonny Bairstow (wk),

 Ben Stokes,

Jos Buttler,

Adil Rashid,

Sam Curran,  

Stuart Broad

James Anderson.

[Lannister 4,164]

An off-spinner is a must, as Sam Curran is a left hand bowler and the foot marks left by him can be exploited by an off-spinner. 

[Brainfade 912]

36 minutes ago, tweaker said:

Most likely team

 

Dhawan

Vijay

Pujara

Kohli

Rahane

Karthik

Pandya

Ashwin

Ishant

Shami

Umesh

Is it confirmed that Bumrah is not ready?  If he is available, I'd risk one less bat (Pandya) and take him.  Plus, it is very tempting to replace Pujara or Dhawan with Rahul.

[test fan 570]

good for india that england drop Moeen Ali Bcz last in 5 years ,off spinners trouble indian batters more than any leg spinners .

[WC2011INDIA 1,727]

1 hour ago, Lannister said:

England playing X1 just confirmed:

 

1 Alastair Cook, 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Dawid Malan, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos  Buttler, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Sam Curran, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.

That middle-lower order will pound Indian asses into submission. 

[Switchblade 8,937]

Need to get Cook early still remember his 294 against us plus he has done well on this ground.

[kruiser 594]

India will bat first whether they win toss or not. Will be 50/3 at lunch.

i would say indian bowling will be better than Englishmen, but we will be out-classed in batting department

[Nikhil_cric 1,684]

1 hour ago, Lannister said:

England playing X1 just confirmed:

 

1 Alastair Cook, 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Dawid Malan, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos  Buttler, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Sam Curran, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.

Damn it. They are going with 6 proper bats and Stokes for the first time in a long time. This actually looks a good team.

[Pollack 7,379]

I would like to have a green pitch, cloud cover and Anderson at least 50% of his best. And we still win then we are obviously deserving no 1 test team. I suspect none of our batsman are even half good against movement. Dhawan is lolworthy. Vijay is overrated. Pujara is weak when ball moves. Kohli, interesting watch, let's see where it goes. Rahane good.DK would be a walking wicket. Trust me.

[CG 1,768]

I would like to have a green pitch, cloud cover and Anderson at least 50% of his best. And we still win then we are obviously deserving no 1 test team. I suspect none of our batsman are even half good against movement. Dhawan is lolworthy. Vijay is overrated. Pujara is weak when ball moves. Kohli, interesting watch, let's see where it goes. Rahane good.DK would be a walking wicket. Trust me.

Irony is England Batsman are worse Than Us Against Moving Ball Considering It's their Forte.

[Ankit_sharma03 17,354]

 

[Vilander 9,364]

3 hours ago, tweaker said:

Dhawan

lol what

[Vilander 9,364]

I want Eng to batfirst and be shown what Indian bowling can do in a helpful wicket.

[Switchblade 8,937]

3 minutes ago, Vilander said:

I want Eng to batfirst and be shown what Indian bowling can do in a helpful wicket.

I believe that is what England will do bat first if they win the toss.

[beetle 18,341]

England XI for first Test
Joe Root (capt), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.   https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/cricket/45017582

[Stumped 184]

8 hours ago, Lannister said:

An off-spinner is a must, as Sam Curran is a left hand bowler and the foot marks left by him can be exploited by an off-spinner. 

We have 8 left handed batsmen in our lineup which makes that rough slightly less important.

 

6 hours ago, Nikhil_cric said:

Damn it. They are going with 6 proper bats and Stokes for the first time in a long time. This actually looks a good team.

For the first time since our last game.

Edited July 31, 2018 by Stumped

[Vilander 9,364]

1 hour ago, beetle said:

England XI for first Test
Joe Root (capt), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.   https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/cricket/45017582

they are expecting a batathon..hmm

[Vilander 9,364]

2 hours ago, Switchblade said:

I believe that is what England will do bat first if they win the toss.

batting day 3-4 will be easier in this wicket..what ever batting edge they might have will be negated if they bat first. Besides you never know with Kohli and KLR and Rahane/DK..one of them might kickon and score 

[beetle 18,341]

7 minutes ago, Vilander said:

they are expecting a batathon..hmm

For the first time in years, our batting looks thin.

I feel Rahane will be key. Kl rahul has to play....

[WeStMiDz 806]

27 minutes ago, UnknownGenius said:

On 2nd thoughts I think Thakur should play mayvr ahead of pandya

 

Almost equal test batsman but better bowler

 

That allows us to play both Ashwin and jadeja and bat deep and have 5 Frontline bowlers

Thakur an equal test batsman to Pandya. Sorry - what planet are you living on?

[vishalvirsingh 2,686]

if kuldeep ishant,umesh shammi and hardik is our attack we are definitely going to win as they cannot manage to play kuldeep.

but if ashwin plays ashwin wont suceed as pitch wont offer turn.

i think Kuldeep may play and ashwin wont play.

we should not read much from the practice match , Hardik is an intelligent and clever bowler as after giving 22 runs in a t20 match he bounced back, it shows he is no joker.

he has always bowled well on bowler friendly tracks in the past. even in africa , he may not have got many wickets but i think he bowled OK and thats why he was played in the 11.

we should play KUlpdeep.

 

 

[cowboysfan 1,102]

We gotta to bat first on this pitch, it's going to dry on in a day.

[velu 22,245]

21 minutes ago, UnknownGenius said:

Hey mods @velu

 

Can we not allow troll votes withowithot offering any subtance ooopinion

 

bunch of posters running around giving troll votes without rebuttal

 

Lazy and lacking cricket k owledge

 

Btw troll votes don't bother me. Good posters like @UrmiSinhaRay know good posts

 

cant help...

civilized mans burden

[YCCC 981]

Arrived here in Birmingham. Really looking forward to tomorrow. No predictions, I always get them wrong!

 

Actually I made some predictions on here on a predictions thread a while back. 2-1 India in the T20s 2-1 England in the ODIs. 2-2 in the Tests. Not sure where the draw will come from with no rain around though. Possibly some in September?

Edited July 31, 2018 by YCCC

[Vilander 9,364]

38 minutes ago, YCCC said:

Arrived here in Birmingham. Really looking forward to tomorrow. No predictions, I always get them wrong!

 

Actually I made some predictions on here on a predictions thread a while back. 2-1 India in the T20s 2-1 England in the ODIs. 2-2 in the Tests. Not sure where the draw will come from with no rain around though. Possibly some in September?

Enjoy the game man.  

[beetle 18,341]

4 hours ago, YCCC said:

Arrived here in Birmingham. Really looking forward to tomorrow. No predictions, I always get them wrong!

 

Actually I made some predictions on here on a predictions thread a while back. 2-1 India in the T20s 2-1 England in the ODIs. 2-2 in the Tests. Not sure where the draw will come from with no rain around though. Possibly some in September?

Post some pictures....

[Lannister 4,164]

We should bat second as we don't do well on wickets with little assistance to bowlers. This series is entirely depends on the bowlers and how they make use of the pitch. We always say bowling is our weak spot but it is turning out to be the other way round from the past couple of years. 

[mahesh_g 15]

Dumb captain and his chumcha coach will drop Rahul and Kuldeep from the 11. Win the toss and bat first when wicket has all the juice and fresh. We will be 70 for 6 at the end of first session. Eventually all for 170. Ashwin and other spray guns will let those average eng batsmen look like Bradman. They will score around 450. India in second innings will get all out for 300 runs.

 

dhawan and Pujara will get out for single digit scores in first innings. One of them may go past 10 combining both innings but no more than 30s.

 

if I was standing infront of kohli and Shastri, I would keep slaping them in their face until they cry. Kola veri la irukkean. mfers.

Edited August 1, 2018 by mahesh_g

[Mosher 19,490]

Bumble's pitch report

 

 

[Lala 1,235]

Come on India You can win 

[BERGKAMP 129]

VIJAY 

 

RAHUL

 

RAHANE

 

KOHLI

 

DHAWAN

 

PANT

 

PANDYA

 

ASHWIN

 

KULDEEP

 

ISHANT

 

UMESH

 

 

[Austin 3:!6 5,955]

Lets do it boys

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[prinzo 205]

I hope India learnt a lesson in south Africa regarding team selection for this tour. 

[Nikhil_cric 1,684]

14 hours ago, Stumped said:

We have 8 left handed batsmen in our lineup which makes that rough slightly less important.

 

For the first time since our last game.

What i meant is England in recent years have played as many as 6 bowling options in a team while compromising on their batting strength. 

[CoverDrive 962]

poll should be around what will be biggest outrage regarding team selection 

 

1. No Rahul

2. No Kuldeep

3. Only 2 genuine pacers

 

[Forever Indian 4,959]

Overcast conditions. Whoever bats will have a tough first session.

[vayuu1 1,952]

5 minutes ago, Forever Indian said:

Overcast conditions. Whoever bats will have a tough first session.

It's bright conditions not overcast 

[vayuu1 1,952]

Nice Chicks 

Edited August 1, 2018 by vayuu1

[Forever Indian 4,959]

5 minutes ago, vayuu1 said:

It's bright conditions not overcast 

It is overcast, although not too much dark clouds. Should assist swing in first session.

[Switchblade 8,937]

Is Harbhajan still there doing commentary please keep us updated with his gems .We have to endure Manjrekar,Bhogle and Gavaskar on Sony .

[philcric 3,689]

14 hours ago, UnknownGenius said:

On 2nd thoughts I think Thakur should play mayvr ahead of pandya

 

Almost equal test batsman but better bowler

 

That allows us to play both Ashwin and jadeja and bat deep and have 5 Frontline bowlers

 

Thakur played 0 tests.

 

If you meant FC cricket,

 

Thakur - 15 avg, 5 50's in 74 innings.

Pandya - 30 avg (37 in tests), 1 100 and 8 50's in 37 innings.

 

How are they almost equal batsmen ?

 

[Ankit_sharma03 17,354]

Here is Nagraj Gollapudi's first update from Edgbaston, and it's going to get you thinking. The Indian slip cordon taking catches in training today: Dhawan, Rahul, Kohli, Rahane

He also reckons Shami, Ishant and Hardik could be playing. He hasn't seen Umesh mark his run-up...untill now. Three specialist fast bowlers is a possibility.

Manage

Edited August 1, 2018 by Ankit_sharma03

[Forever Indian 4,959]

1 minute ago, Ankit_sharma03 said:

Here is Nagraj Gollapudi's first update from Edgbaston, and it's going to get you thinking. The Indian slip cordon taking catches in training today: Dhawan, Rahul, Kohli, Rahane

So is Pujara dropped? And please, why Dhawan in slips? Vijay is a better slip fielder.

[Ankit_sharma03 17,354]

1 minute ago, Ankit_sharma03 said:

Here is Nagraj Gollapudi's first update from Edgbaston, and it's going to get you thinking. The Indian slip cordon taking catches in training today: Dhawan, Rahul, Kohli, Rahane

He also reckons Shami, Ishant and Hardik could be playing. He hasn't seen Umesh mark his run-up...untill now. Three specialist fast bowlers is a possibility.

Manage

Kohli get the F*** out of slips

[philcric 3,689]

1 hour ago, Nikhil_cric said:

What i meant is England in recent years have played as many as 6 bowling options in a team while compromising on their batting strength. 

 

They play 6 bowlers on LOIs (3 pacers + Stokes + 2 spinners).

 

They play 5 bowlers in Tests (3 pacers + Stokes + 1 spinner).

 

[Switchblade 8,937]

Manjrekar getting orgasms over traditional English weather while Bhogle getting excited over non cricketing stuff like BBQ and weather and some English terms .