The match began with England winning the toss and batting first on a dry pitch at Edgbaston. England were cautious to begin with. Both Cook and Jennings took a defensive route and tried to see off the Indian new ball bowlers.
Advertisement
However, it was not for long that the vigil lasted. Quite early, Umesh Yadav was taken off the attack and Ravi Ashwin was brought in. Ashwin did not take long to make an impact.
On the second last ball of his second over, Ashwin pitched one on leg stumped which turned quite a lot to spin past his bat. Cook poked his bat to defend but all he could manage was to get comprehensively beaten.
Also Read: Cricket South Africa interested in playing host to IPL next year
This has now resulted in Captain Joe Root coming out to bat. Root has joined opener Keaton Jennings at the crease.
— Utkarsh Bhatla (@UtkarshBhatla) August 1, 2018
On the other hand, Indian pacers failed to make an impact with Ishant Sharma struggling to get his line right. Umesh Yadav started off well but was too expensive and was finally taken off after three overs.
The pitch looks quite dry and India would have to make early inroads to stamp their authority over the match. Mohammed Shami is yet to be tried and he is someone who can also have a massive impact on the match if he hits his straps right away.
All in all, the wicket of Cook has kept the match wide open. All India need to do is to pick up a couple of more wickets to set the tone of the series.
