Ind vs Eng 1st Test Day 4: Kohli's heroics in vain; England win by 31 runs

India lost the first Test against England by 31 runs at the Edgbaston in Birmingham. Chasing 194 to win, the visitors were all out for 162 on the fourth day of the opening Test. First-innings centurion Virat Kohli again top-scored for India, the skipper making a valiant 51. Batting first, England were all out for 287 in the first innings and then bowled out India for 274 to take a slender lead. In their second essay, England were bundled out for 180, but they came back strongly with their bowlers helping the hosts take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Ben Stokes picked up three wickets, including the big one of Kohli.
 

India vs England 1st Test Day 4 Scorecard

 

Virat Kohli: A legend in the making

Before the England tour, Virat Kohli wanted to play county cricket to prepare for England tour to escape the ghost of 2014 where he scored mere 139 runs in 10 innings at an average of 13.9. But due to a neck injury, Kohli was not able to play county cricket. He didn’t impress much in the limited over cricket, however, in the longer format of the game, he struck a brilliant 149 in the first test when he was running out of partners from the other end. The fact that his last 90 runs came while batting with tailenders shows his temperament and grit to excel in England, which is the only frontier where he has failed to make a mark. 

In the second innings also, when rest of the batsmen fell like a pack of cards and India were reduced to 78/5, it was Kohli who kept one end intact. If he is able to win the series after going 1-0 down, then undoubtedly he will register his name in the list of legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble.

 
Virat Kohli record outside Indian sub-continent

Country	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	Highest score	100s	50s
Australia	8	16	992	62	169	5	2
South Africa	5	10	558	55.8	153	2	2
New Zealand	2	4	214	71.33	105	1	1
West Indies	7	9	327	36.33	200	1	0
England	6	12	334	27.83	149	1	1
Overall	67	114	5754	54.28	243	22	17

 
R Ashwin become first bowler to take 200 wickets under one captain- Virat Kohli
 
On Day 3 when R Ashwin regular off-break got the wicket of England captain Joe Root, he become the first Indian bowler to take 200 wickets under one captain that is Virat Kohli. R Ashwin who is not part of the limited side. However, he has been India’s lead spinner in the Test matches.

Indian bowlers taking 150 or more under one captain

Bowler	Captain	Test	Wickets	Average	5WI	10WI
R Ashwin	Virat Kohli	34	200	22.85	17	5
Anil Kumble	Azharuddin	36	179	24.95	10	2
Harbhajan Singh	Sourav Ganguly	37	177	26.84	15	3
Kapil Dev	Sunil Gavaskar	45	172	29.65	14	1
Anil Kumble	Sourav Ganguly	31	167	28.08	11	4
Ishant Sharma	M S Dhoni	47	152	36.65	5	1

Ishant Sharma, Ashwin reduced England to 180 on Day 3: A recap
 
Pacer Ishant Sharma ran through the middle order for a five-wicket haul after R Ashwin rattled the England top order but Sam Curran's fighting 63-run knock helped England set India a tricky 194-run target. Ishant (5/51) took his eighth five-for while R Ashwin (3/59) and Umesh Yadav (2/20) shared the other five wickets as England were bowled out for 180 at the stroke of tea. India had England on mat at one stage as they had reduced England to 87 for seven but 20-year-old all-rounder Curran took the centre stage by scoring 63 runs off 65 balls and delayed India's victory march. Curran put on 48 runs with Adil Rashid (16) for the eighth wicket. It was the only passage of play on Day 3 wherein English batsmen looked comfortable at the crease as Indian bowlers searched desperately for a breakthrough. Curran played with a maturity that belied his young age. Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan dropped Adil Rashid at first slip off Umesh Yadav. Read Day 3 session by session report here
 
India's record at Edgbaston cricket ground
 
When it comes to Edgbaston, there is nothing but painful memories for the Indian cricket team, as far as Test cricket is concerned. India's record at Edgbaston is exceptionally poor with six losses in seven Tests stretching back to 1967. The last time India played a Test match at this venue was in 2011 and it was a masterclass from England opener Alastair Cook that guided the hosts to victory.
  
India vs England head-to-head comparison in Test matches
 
Total
 
Matches played: 118
 
India won: 25
 
England won: 44
 
Drawn: 49

In England
 
Matches played: 58
 
India won: 6
 
England won: 31
 
Drawn: 21
 
Here are some latest cricket news:
 
Why James Anderson said that Kohli is not invincible: England pacer James Anderson says Virat Kohli is not "invincible" and poor slip fielding from his teammates has allowed the Indian skipper to get off the hook in the first innings. It was an engrossing duel between Test cricket's second most successful pacer, Anderson and Kohli on the second day when the Indian skipper was dropped twice off the bowler on 21 and 51 by Dawid Malan. Kohli went on to score 149 and was batting on 43 not out in India's second innings score of 110 for 5 with the visitors still needing 84 more to win first Test. Anderson rued his side's poor catching and said England need to take their chances against a batsman of Kohli's calibre. "I've been encouraged the way I've bowled at him (Kohli) in this game so far, found the edge a few times in the first innings. On another day I could have got him for 20, and then we're not talking about how brilliant he is," Anderson said. "You can't drop Virat Kohli on 21, because he's one of the best players in the world, and he'll capitalise on that and which he did. We could have been in a much different position now. We've just got to go away and know we can get him. No one is invincible in world cricket. We can get him out," he said. Read more
 
Ishant Sharma credits Sussex stint for success in England: Back in the reckoning after registering his eighth five-wicket haul, Indian pacer Ishant Sharma says his impressive county stint with Sussex gave him the much-needed confidence and experience ahead of the current tour of England. Ishant played four matches for Sussex in the County Championship Division Two earlier this year, scalping an impressive 15 wickets and even scoring a half-century. Ishant (5/51) registered his second five-wicket haul on English soil yesterday to help India bowl out the hosts for 180 in the second innings, leaving the visitors to chase a 194-run target to win. "Playing county cricket has helped me a lot. I was disappointed a bit (on missing out IPL) but I figured, whatever happens, it's for your good. It was a good experience and I enjoyed it a lot. I played for Sussex and bowling with Duke's ball was good," Ishant told reporters at the post day's press conference. "The good thing was I had overs behind me. I played four matches for Sussex, and a few One-Day matches too, but I bowled nearly 250 overs in that. "It feels nice to represent your country, come abroad and take five wickets in an innings, especially the second one. I bowl hard but my wickets' column doesn't (always) become bigger. It feels nice to work hard as a bowler," he added.