Top match that’s severely hampered by rain. Weekend set for big showers so not sure this’ll reach a result.
The many missed chances (run outs, drop catches) have given India a pretty healthy lead.
Very surprising to see England with so many issues in the slips but I think the wobble we get in England has a hand in that too.
Also on a personal note, got back into local club cricket this week after 3 years of not playing/training at all. Really nice to be in the nets again and as difficult as it is getting a rhythm back I’m just happy to grind it out for a year or two to improve and get consistent. Having gained about 15kg of mostly unhealthy weight during the pandemic I’ve really missed recreational sport lol.
We were saved by the rain in the first game but another spectacular collapse after the Indian tail made batting look easy peasy earlier leaves this England team aside from Root and Anderson looking very below par.
India very strong side but back to the drawing board for English red ball cricket. We used to be virtually unassailable in English conditions not so long ago. Perhaps the Kroenkes have somehow got themselves involved with the ECB.
I thought India did extremely well to claw themselves out of a tight spot in the second innings but I felt they gave England too big a target to chase and themselves too few overs to get 10 wickets. So, excellent performance by the pace bowlers to get 10 wickets in less than 2 sessions on a day 5 wicket. I thought Kohli got his bowling combinations and changes right for once.
On the negatives for India, the slip catching wasn’t the best. Also the Indian middle order batsmen (Kohli, Rahane and Pujara) need runs under their belt but it’s been great to see the lower middle order and the tail contribute with the bat.
Overall, it’s great to see an Indian Test team that is making a habit of winning abroad in conditions that we have historically struggled in.
I really hope we’ve arrived at a good test opener with Hameed after Sibley floundered. Feel like Burns is half decent.
Feeling concerned about how we may fare in Aus and hoping Stokes and Archer both fit for the squad to at least bolster us before the onslaught. Wish I was at the MCG on Boxing Day.
