(Cricket news) India finished day 1 at 276-3 with KL Rahul still batting on 127. Both the captains wanted to bowl first but it was Joe Root who won the toss. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul dealt with the new ball in old school style. Sharma and Rahul batted the entire 1st session and put together 126 runs to set the tone for the rest of the day.
The opening partnership was the perfect balance between aggressive and watchfull. Rohit Sharma was playing his strokes while KL Rahul played second fiddle initially. Rohit was scoring at the strike rate of 57 while KL Rahul was blocking it out. Both the batters' best shots were perhaps their leaves as they judged the line and length perfectly. The dimension changed when Rohit Sharma was bowled by an absolute peach of a delivery by James Anderson when he was just 17 short of his first overseas Test hundred. Rahul then started to attack more after the arrival of Cheteshwar Pujara who generally likes to take his time.
Pujara's bad run of form continued as he only managed to get 9 runs before edging Anderson's ball to 2nd slip. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul then put together India's another hundred-run partnership for India. Rahul subsequently scored his 6th Test hundred. Just when India’s batsman looked set at the crease towards the end of day's play, Ollie Robinson sent Virat Kohli back. Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul negotiated a nervy last half hour to end a very successful day for India.
Anderson, who was in doubt for the game, was the only England bowler who bowled well consistently. Despite the fact that Robinson picked up Kohli's wicket he didn't always get his line and length right. The bounce that Robinson generated due to his pace most of the time worked against him as the Indian batsman survived a few close LBW calls. Mark Wood, Sam Curran and Moeen Ali all looked ineffective and often leaked runs.
Also read: Best I have seen KL Rahul bat as he was clear with his plans: Rohit Sharma
India will be looking at minimum 350 runs as their 1st innings score. The weather is expected to be sunny at Lords so the pitch will get flatter as the match progresses. India's four seamers will have to be relentless with their bowling efforts which is where Ishant Sharma will be very useful. Kohli will use Ishant to hold one end and keep it tight by bowling 10-15 overs on the trot. Ravindra Jadeja will come in very handy with his left arm spin in the middle overs.
England will need to knock India over as soon as possible and before they reach 350 runs. England's batting will have a massive task ahead and a good opening partnership will be absolutely key. This will be the right time for Jos Buttler to get his groove back and start firing on all cylinders.
Player of the Day: KL Rahul
KL Rahul has made the most out of the opportunity presented to him. After scoring 84 in the first test, Rahul has got a very important comeback hundred. Rahul started the innings being watchful of the new ball while Rohit Sharma was counter-attacking from the other side. He started to get boundaries together after Rohit was dismissed. Rahul played a classic test match innings, after he got settled he started dominating the cover and point region. KL Rahul has a very good opportunity to make it a big innings as he is set on 127 and India still have 6 wickets in hand. With this innings, Rahul has almost guaranteed his place in the side for the rest of the series.
