England tour of India

[Durhamfootman]

just remembered this

decent enough start for England. I wasn't expecting 128-2 tbh

Benign pitch? Did England win the toss?

[sussexpob]

Benign pitch? Did England win the toss?

Yeah England elected to bat. Hard pitch to read for me, the Indian seamers have got some swing from the hand, but certainly no real spin for Ashwin as yet, and the bounce seems on the slow/low side. India certainly wont want to give much up though, it looks a dry and abrasive surface though, so I can imagine it falling apart in a couple of days time.

That is lovely from Ishant that last ball. Hes deserved a wicket

[Red Devil]

Not the greatest deck to start for channel 4 this.

Agreed, no pace, no seam and no spin - Eng batsman must be absolutely delighted

England bowlers might be less so later in the match Reckon bowling India out is likely to be their biggest problem in this series.

It depends - if Eng can bat long then the pitch might be helping the bowlers by the time Eng bowl

[sussexpob]

Last ball is an indication of why the pitch is hard to read. That one swung in and then off cut a long way, but its on a line that never troubling the batsman.

[Durhamfootman]

They have a camera in the comms box

Sunny looks well.

[Red Devil]

Eng will be delighted at 140/2 at tea - well on top and it's starting to look ominous for India

[sussexpob]

Hard to know what to think of this Sibley innings too. Might sound overtly negative to fault the effort, but I guess he's still at a stage of his career where you have to judge the method as much as the results.

When he uses his feet to the spin, hes looked very good. Come down the pitch and got to the pitch well when being aggressive, or switching his weight a lot to playing off the back foot in a defensive manner, and that gives him more time to judge the spin and get on top of it.

But there has been way too many times that bat comes out a long way in front of a static front pad..... if this surface had any sort of spin and bounce in it, that approach is pure suicide.

[sussexpob]

Eng will be delighted at 140/2 at tea - well on top and it's starting to look ominous for India

Potentially. At the moment its probably more important for England that Bumrah and Ashwin have wracked up quite a few overs, so Kohli will have to think hard about how he uses his resources in this session. Doesnt want to gas his pacers, and would definitely want a 10 over hit from his new ball bowlers at the end.

One wicket does change it though. England will want to get to 400.

[sussexpob]

Cook in the studio sounds like hes trying his best to audition for a hollywood movie trailer job.

Sibley has worked (drops voice) HHHaarrrdd

[alfie]

England will be happy with that session. Lot more to do though : need to make this a big score if they're to gain a serious advantage from the expected wear and tear on the pitch later in the match.

India will be less pleased with their fourth and fifth bowlers who have so far failed to impress. Kohli will want more from Nadeem and Washington as the game goes on , so as not to overtax his main three...

Still early days.

[sussexpob]

Root struggled to deal with Ishant when he first come in, and hes struggling again... two edges dont carry in this over. Ishant bowling really well today but no luck so far.

Indian slips and keeper need to move up a tad

[Arthur Crabtree]

Presume there'll be a collapse on the way, but encouraging that England are able to make runs on a flat pitch.

I presume the catches aren't carrying for the pace bowlers. So that'll be a headache for Anderson, Stokes and Archer.

[sussexpob]

I presume the catches aren't carrying for the pace bowlers. So that'll be a headache for Anderson, Stokes and Archer.

Well the latest example was the Ishant one I mentioned, and that was a regulation outside edge that just died after the bat.

Some encourage for England is the pace bowlers for me have looked more likely to take wickets on this surface.

The ball is just sitting up nicely from the spinner.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Hundred partnership! Wow.

With little chance of the catches carrying for the England seamers, a traditional problem, I expect England will need a huge score here to stay in the game.

Amazing that there's cricklet on tv!

[sussexpob]

India really need to break this partnership soon, because its just starting to get a bit more wayward