OTD | India lost see-sawing Edgbaston Test in 2018

In 2018, India landed on English soil to play a long series in June. They also played a two-match T20I series against Ireland and won both matches. The T20I series ended in India’s favour as the team won the three-match series by 2-1. England bounced back in the ODI series despite losing the first game. They won the next two matches and finished the three-match series with two wins.

India played a tour match against Essex before the first Test started. The first Test of the series was played at Edgbaston on August 1, where India had never won a Test match. After electing to bat, the English batters finished with 287 runs on the board as Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow scored a half-century each. Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for India and took four wickets for 62 runs.

India’s first innings was all about Virat Kohli, as no other batter managed to score more than 30 runs. Kohli made 149 runs off 225 deliveries, and India scored 274 runs. In the second innings, England lost the first seven wickets for just 87 runs, but a 63-run knock from Curran dragged England to 180 runs as India needed 194 runs to win their first Test match. 

The Indian openers, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, were dismissed for just 22 runs on the board. The dismissal of first KL Rahul and then Ajinkya Rahane meant Kohli had to forge a partnership with the lower middle order to take the team home. Ashwin was promoted in the batting order ahead of Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya. However, he could make only 13 runs off 15 deliveries before Anderson dismissed him.

India finished the day 3 with 110 runs on the board and had lost half of the team. Karthik had made 18 runs off 44 deliveries, while Kohli was on 43 runs off 76 deliveries. On the sixth delivery of the first over on day 4, Anderson dismissed Karthik for 20 runs. Kohli was still in the middle, and India were one good partnership away from creating history.

Pandya came out to bat after Karthik’s dismissal and seemed like the right man for the job. Kohli faced 17 deliveries on the fifth day and scored eight runs before he was dismissed by Stokes. Stokes aslo dismissed Mohammed Shami in the same over, and India had lost eight wickets. Kohli’s wicket meant England’s win was almost certain.

Pandya was the last to depart as India was bundled out for 162 runs. No Indian batter scored more than 40 runs throughout the two innings. The match swung towards both sides during the first three days, but ultimately England finished on a high.

Disclaimer: This Exclusive News is based on the author’s understanding, analysis, and instinct. As you review this information, consider the points mentioned and form your own conclusions.

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