England vs India, 1st Test Day 2: Hosts lead by 22 runs after Virat Kohli's show

Birmingham: As Virat Kohli's masterclass guided India to 274, England finished with a 22-run lead at stumps on day two of the Edgbaston Test in Birmingham on Thursday. Ravichandran Ashwin already got the better of Alastair cook once again and the visitors will aim to carry on the same momentum on Friday.

England 9-1 after 3.4 overs:

BOWLED! 2-0 for Ashwin and Alastair Cook has no answer to that. Pitches towards middle and sharply turns away, knocking the off stump. Kohli is ecstatic.

2nd innings:

After putting up 287 in the first innings, the hosts produced a spectacular bowling performance led by Sam Curran to bundle out Virat Kohli’s men for 274.

Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan began cautiously with a fifty partnership before Curran changed the course of the day. The openers were sent packing along with KL Rahul in few overs by the 20-year-old pacer in only his second match.

The visitors, who were at 76 for three at lunch, later lost Ajinkya Rahane and Dinesh Karthik thanks to Ben Stokes. The no.1 Test side could have had a few more dismissals but Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya capitalised on the dropped catches to revive the innings with a 48-run stand.

But Curran returned and broke the vital partnership by dismissing Pandya with an inswinging Yorker. India skipper Kohli kept ploughing a lonely furrow as he kept losing partners at the other end with James Anderson and Adil Rashid joining the party.

After toiling hard for hours and leading the charge, Kohli brought up his first Test century on England soil. With one last wicket to go, he paced his innings, racing to 149 before being dismissed by Adil Rashid.

India 274-10 after 76 overs:

CAUGHT! Adil Rashid gives England the wicket they needed the most. Quicker one outside off, Kohli reached out for it and smacked it straight to point. Misses out on a run by the 150 target. What a top innings this has been nonetheless!

India 227-9 after 66 overs:

HUNDRED! First Test century on English soil for Virat Kohli and it's come in good time. Yet another fabulous display from the India skipper.

India 217-9 after 64 overs:

LBW! Ishant is undone by the googly that strikes him low on the pads. India are 9 wickets down with Kohli at the non-strikers end. However, had the visitors reviewed the decision they would have been successful with the delivery running down leg.

India 182-8 after 55 overs:

England are getting through. Full and pitched outside off by James Anderson. Shami goes for the drive, gets a healthy edge that makes way towards Malan at slips.

India 171-7 after 51 overs:

BOWLED! That was coming. James Anderson gets his first wicket and looks to the heavens. Pitched outside off, the delivery turns sharply outwards and knocks the bails of the stump right through Ashwin's defence.

Tea:

After Sam Curran's exploits before the lunch break, England carried on the assault till tea with India six wickets down. Ben Stokes removed the duo of Dinesh Karthik and Ajinkya Rahane to sink the visitors into trouble. Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya replied with a 48-run stand before Curran got rid of the latter just before tea. Joe Root's men will, however, be disappointed with the dropped catches that came their way.

India 153-6 after 47 overs:

FIFTY! Booed when he came into bat and he replies with this. A big statement from the India skipper as he leads from the front, once again.

India 148-6 after 46 overs:

LBW! Curran keeps getting the better of India as they lose their 6th wicket and a review. A yorker lands straight on the boot of Pandya who fails to clear his leg while playing across the line. Aleem Dar raises his finger but the batsman decides to review the decision which is unsuccessful.

India 100-5 after 30 overs:

REVIEW SUCCESSFUL! Stokes bowls full again and the ball swings late before striking the pads of Hardik Pandya. Umpire raises his finger but the batsman makes a smart call as reviews show the delivery straying down leg.

BOWLED! In swinger, pitched up, goes right through the gates before shattering the middle stump. Karthik departs and India have already lost half their side.

India 100-4 after 28 overs:

CAUGHT! Banged in short, away from the body. Rahane reaches out and pokes an edge which flies to 4th slip.

Lunch:

After the Indian openers kept James Anderson and Stuart Broad at bay early on, Sam Curran has put the visitors on the back foot with wickets of Vijay, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan. With Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease, India are poised at 76-3 as we head into the lunch break.

India 59-3 after 16 overs:

CAUGHT! Pitched up, kept Dhawan reaching for the drive and the southpaw gives a healthy edge to David Malan at second slip. India are crumbling thanks to Sam Curran.

India 54-2 after 14 overs:

CASTLED! Poor shot to play, second ball. Curran bowls it full, outside off stump and Rahul aims for the drive. Gets a thick inside edge and chops it back on.

WICKET! Review successful and Sam Curran gets the breakthrough for England as Murali Vijay perishes. Pitched in middle, darted back in late and the batsman in struck on the pads after a not out call from the umpire. England a sure this time and get their first wicket.

India 50-0 after 12 overs:

FIFTY! Decent start for the visitors as they bring up fifty. Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan have looked comfortable against the pace attack so far. Can England find a breakthrough?

India 13-0 after 3 overs:

REVIEW WASTED! Anderson treats Vijay with a sharp in swinger. The batsman misses his flick and it struck on the pads with the umpire saying not out. England think it's close and decide to go upstairs only to see the ball missing the leg stump. Poor review from Joe Root.

1st innings:

England have been bowled out for 287 in the first session of day two at Edgbaston. After a bright start, the hosts lost their momentum and will have a lot of things to ponder when they return back to the dressing room. With four wickets for R Ashwin and three for Mohammed Shami, Virat Kohli and co. have made their way back into the match. The batsmen will now need to stand up and make sure they don't commit the same mistakes as England.

England 287-10 after 89.4 overs:

CAUGHT! Mohammed Shami puts an end to the English innings. In swinger round the wicket, turns away from Curran who nicks it straight to the keeper.

Preview:

England will be cursing themselves after they lost out on a golden opportunity to put India on the mat on Day 1, after being 214/3 at one stage of their innings. India, meanwhile, will be out to cut short Sam Curran and James Anderson’s stay in the middle and restrict England to below 300 as the hosts resume play on Day 2 of the first Test at 285/9 here on Thursday.

While Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Keaton Jennings enjoyed a good outing in the middle, India managed to claw their way back in the final session on Day 1 even as pacers – Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya – failed to hit the right lengths consistently. Mohammed Shami was the lone standout pacer and he and R Ashwin, the only spinner in India’s playing XI for this Test, troubled the English batsmen.

Amidst Ashwin’s guile and Shami’s fine showing, it was Virat Kohli’s mic-drop to celebrate Root’s run-out, which began the England slide, which garnered a lot of attention.

India would have been out batting straightway on Day 2 had Dinesh Karthik not spilt a catch on the penultimate delivery on Day 1. However, today the focus will be on India’s batting on a pitch that has not had any demons for the batsmen on the opening day.

If India have to strengthen their position in this Test, the onus will now be on the Indian batsmen and while Kohli will be pivotal to India’s big score, the top three of Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul will have their task cut out.

Match-timings:

The match is scheduled to start at 3.30 PM (IST).

Live telecast and live streaming:

The live telecast of the match will be available on Sony Six, Sony Ten 3 and Sony Ten 3 HD while the live streaming of the match will be available on Sony Liv.