India vs England: From draw at Trent Bridge to emphatic Indian fightback at Oval, a recap of Test series so far – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Cricket is set to witness a unique event later this week with England taking on India at Birmingham in a Test series that had begun last summer, but will finally reach its conclusion over the next few days.

The five-match Test series that was to take place between August and September last year had to be suspended after a COVID scare in the Indian camp ahead of the fifth Test in Manchester. India were leading the series 2-1 heading into the Old Trafford Test, but a few members of the visiting squad began voicing their concerns over the emergence of positive COVID cases in their camp.

Following a round of discussions between the host board ECB and the BCCI, the fifth Test ended up getting postponed to the following year. Given that the second leg of the 2021 IPL was set to begin in a matter of days in the UAE, the BCCI couldn’t afford to get the match rescheduled later that month.

Also Read: Timeline of events leading to cancellation of Manchester Test

Additionally, Old Trafford lost the hosting rights for the concluding game, with Birmingham’s Edgbaston Cricket Ground instead being named the venue.

Ahead of the marquee clash that starts this Friday, we bring to you a quick recap of the four Tests that have taken place so far in the series.

1st Test at Trent Bridge, 4 to 8 August

The series began with a draw — the only one over the course of the next one month — at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge.

A clinical performance by Jasprit Bumrah (4/46) and Mohammed Shami (3/28) helped bundle the hosts out for 183 and the visitors would then grab a 95-run first innings lead thanks to half-centuries from KL Rahul (84) and Ravindra Jadeja (56).

England fought back in the second essay with Joe Root slamming the first of his three centuries that series, his 109 helping the home team go past 300 and set India a 209-run target.

India began their chase confidently, reaching 52/1 at stumps on Day 4. However, the weather decided to play spoilsport on the final day as not a single delivery could be bowled due to incessant rain.

2nd Test at Lord’s, 12 to 16 August

Rahul would continue to bat with confidence as he followed up his half-century at Trent Bridge with a sparkling 129 at the ‘Home of Cricket’, and was ably supported by Rohit (83) at the other end as India found themselves in a commanding position of 276/3 at stumps on the opening day.

The hosts however, would fight back the following day and led chiefly by James Anderson (5/62), would grab seven wickets for 88 runs to restrict India to 364. Joe Root would then dish out a masterclass, the Indians failing to dismiss him till the very end as the skipper’s unbeaten 180 helped England grab a slender 27-run lead at stumps on Day 3.

India began the fourth day on a shaky note, losing three top-order wickets for 55 runs before Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane led a revival of sorts with a 100-run partnership, the latter going on to complete his half-century (61). India ended the day on 181/6, 154 ahead with Rishabh Pant at the crease and hoping to score another 60-70 runs at the very least to give the bowlers something to defend.

Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah shared an unbroken 89-run stand for the ninth wicket to help India set a daunting 272-run target for England on the final day of the second Test at Lord’s AP

While Pant was dismissed cheaply at the start of the final day followed by Ishant Sharma not too long after, it was a heroic unbroken ninth-wicket stand between Shami (56 not out) and Bumrah (34 not out) worth 89 that stole the show on the final day and frustrated the hosts. India declared on 298/8 shortly after lunch on the final day, setting a 272-run target.

The momentum had shifted in India’s favour by then and the bowlers capitalised on it by grabbing a couple of early wickets. Mohammed Siraj (4/32) ran through the English batting lineup this time as India bundled England out for a meagre 120 to register a comprehensive 151-run win and grab the series lead.

3rd Test at Headingley, 25 to 28 August

The celebrations among the Indian supporters following the emphatic victory at the ‘Home of Cricket’ would quickly die down after the teams travelled north to Yorkshire for the third Test at Headingley. The English seamers breathed fire after India opted to bat, dismantling the visitors for a paltry 78, with Anderson (8-5-6-3) dishing out yet another hostile spell.

The English top-order, in response, made merry as each of the top three collected half-centuries and skipper Root smashed his third consecutive ton. England, sitting comfortably at 350/3 at one stage, perhaps even eyed a total in the range of 550-600 at one stage but Mohammed Shami (4/95) helped the visitors grab the next seven wickets for 82.

Ollie Robinson setup an emphatic innings victory for England at Headingley with a second innings haul of 5/65. AP

It would require a herculean performance of sorts for the Indians to avoid an innings defeat, let alone pull off a victory after conceding a 354-run first innings deficit. The senior batters tried fighting back after Rahul’s early dismissal, with Rohit (59), Pujara (91) and skipper Kohli (55) all pitching in with half-centuries, and Pujara and Kohli sharing a 99-run stand for the third wicket to give the visitors a semblance of hope.

Ollie Robinson (5/65) and Craig Overton (3/47) though quickly wiped out any hopes that the Indian camp was starting to build as the visitors would end up scoring exactly 200 runs more than what they managed in their first innings.

4th Test at The Oval, 2 to 6 September

The series so far had panned out exactly as it did in the 2014 tour — a draw at Trent Bridge followed by an Indian victory at Lord’s followed by a resounding series-levelling English victory. The similarities between the two tours though, would end here; while England would go on to win both remaining Tests eight years back to pull off a convincing 3-1 series victory in MS Dhoni’s final Test series in England as captain, the Kohli-led visitors would bounce back from the morale-shattering defeat at Leeds with another resounding victory.

What made this win even more impressive was the fact that India actually got off to a shaky start; they were reeling at 127/7 before a late fightback from Shardul Thakur (57) helped them get to a relatively respectable 191. England too, were in trouble in reply as they found themselves at 62/5 at one stage before a lower-order fightback led by Ollie Pope (81) and Chris Woakes (50) helped them grab a 99-run first-innings lead. The match was once again England’s to lose.

What followed was a dramatic fightback from the Indians, almost Gabbaesque, as Rohit Sharma would produce the innings of a lifetime, his knock of 127 erasing any remaining doubts over his status as a proper Test opener for all conditions.

Also Read: Ajit Agarkar backs India despite hosts’ 3-0 sweep of New Zealand

And it wasn’t just the top-order that fired; Pant (50) and Thakur (60) shared a 100-run stand for the seventh-wicket to take the Indians past the 400-mark for the first time in the series. Umesh Yadav (25) and Bumrah (24) further added to the hosts’ frustration as India finished on a handsome 466 shortly after tea on the fourth day, setting England an improbable 368 to win.

England, on their part, didn’t seem like they would give in too easily as openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed ensured the hosts ended the penultimate day on 77 for no loss. The following day however, Ravindra Jadeja’s dismissal of Hameed, followed by a memorable spell from Bumrah in which he removed Pope (2) and Jonny Bairstow (0) in a space of a few deliveries, would tilt the balance in the visitors’ favour and would open the floodgates for the hosts, who kept losing wickets at regular intervals from thereon and were ultimately bundled out for 210 shortly after tea.

India went 2-1 up in the five-Test series as a result, and were in prime position to collect their first Test series win in England in 14 years and only their fourth overall.

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