India vs England Test series opener ends up draw due to continual rain

India had a target of 209 which was looking quite possible but the Day 5 Rain ruined the celebrations of the Indian side.

In the dramatic 1st Test of India tour of England, the match turner was rain unfortunately for India. England won the toss and decided to bat first to put a target on the Indian side as the pitch was more on the swing side and playing safe was a better option though England managed to score 183 in the 1st innings with captain Joe Root being the highest score of 64 (108).

Indian openers started with a power pact opening after facing 37.2 overs and a strong base opening base partnership of 97 but Rohit Sharma lost his wicket on his favourite pull shot just before the lunch on Day 2. The batting lineup collapsed after the early wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane scoring single-digit runs with Kohli on a golden duck. Rishabh Pant played his Pant special quick knock of 25 off 20 deliveries. But the star performers were K.L Rahul 84 (214) and Ravindra Jadeja 56 (86) and a surprising knock by the Indian tailender Jasprit Bumrah 28 (34) which helped India get a lead of 95.

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England was incomplete pressure of the lead and the conditions in favour of India as they got some early wickets as well but Root again played a captain’s knock of 109 (172) saved his team from an early defeat in the game and was caught by Pant as the 3rd wicket for Bumrah. Bumrah took a fifer with his exceptional up to the mark bowling with 19-2-64-5. India got a target of 209

Again India’s second innings started with a positive note with Rahul looking great with the bat as he scored 26 with 6 fours but was caught behind on Stuart Broad’s delivery. Still, with 9 wickets in hand, India was on the winning side when the fourth day ended with a score of 52-1. Though Day 5 rain was predicted earlier as well a ray of hope was still there that at least a single session with 40 overs can be played and it was possible to grab the game with slight aggression in Batting but it was not our day and the match was abandoned and Joe Root was declared as Man of the Match.