India vs England: Heartbreak for India, Virat

Kohli; England win Edgbaston Test by 31 runs

India slumped from 141/6 to 162 all out as Ben Stokes ran through the lower order, returning
with figures of 4-40 as England registered a win in the first Test at Edgbaston.
CRICKET Updated: Aug 04, 2018 20:39 IST

N Ananthanarayanan
Hindustan Times, Birmingham

It was déjà vu for Virat Kohli. Almost four years ago, after a harrowing time
with the bat in England, he took on Australia’s bowlers as stand-in skipper in
Adelaide. A sensational 141 in the second innings wasn’t enough as the rest
of the batting caved in and India lost by 48 runs. (IND v ENG Day 4 - As it
happened)
The Edgbaston Test, also first of the series, didn’t last until lunch on Day 4
but all excited was tightly packed. India had taken the Adelaide game deep
into the final day.

Like then, Kohli was heroic with the bat, scoring a personally significant 149
and 51 in the second innings as India chased a tricky, but by no means
unattainable, 194 in the quest for what would have ranked as one of India’s
famous wins.

If pressure got to them in Australia, India’s top-order batsmen paid for poor
technique and lack of fight against swing bowling as England bowlers
wrested the game at their favourite venue.

India have now lost six of seven matches here with no win. England logged
their 28th victory.
STOKES STRIKES
All-rounder Ben Stokes turned the game on its head to ensure a 31-run win
before lunch on Saturday. The all-rounder was all raw emotion as he
celebrated on his knees mid-pitch with Jimmy Anderson rushing in to
embrace, after he trapped Virat Kohli leg before with 53 more to get for
India. Both teams knew the significance of the wicket.

Going into the day on 110/5, with 84 more to get, Kohli had faced only 17
balls in 48 minutes before his dismissal. Anderson had said overnight that
Kohli’s wicket was all that mattered, and Stokes, replacing the spearhead,
struck third delivery with one that nipped back late to catch Kohli on the
front pad.

He sought a review, more in faint hope than conviction, before walking away
with shoulders slumped.

Stokes’ 4/40 was an emotional affair. He will miss the Lord’s Test starting on
August 9 due to a court hearing in Bristol over his alleged assault outside a
bar in that city last year.

England though were toasting the new Stokes, left-handed all-rounder Sam
Curran, 20, who took four wickets in the India first innings and hit a 63 in the
England second innings when all seemed lost.

KOHLI CHANTS
Like in the South Africa Tests, India’s bowlers claimed 20 wickets, only for
the batsmen to cave in.
India slumped from 141/6 to 162 all out as Stokes ran through the late order.
Leg spinner Adil Rashid trapped Ishant Sharma (11) again, after a review,
and India still needed 40 runs.

Indian fans chanting ‘Kohli, Kohli’ as he reached his 16th Test fifty fell silent
and the Barmy Army took over at the head of a large crowd that watched the
final act.

England have had a way of finding their way back at Edgbaston, where they
pulled off a nail-biting two-run win over Australia in the 2005 Ashes series.

India had the better of batting conditions to start with, and the ball was
already 36 overs old. Anderson though raised hopes by having Dinesh
Karthik caught low by second slip Dawid Malan – who had dropped three
until then – in the first over.

Karthik, on 18 overnight, stood outside the crease like Kohli to negate late
swing, but was sucked by the master swing bowler into the front-foot prod.
Root threw the ball to Stokes in the 11th over, and it came unhinged for
India.

India have not won a series in England since 2007.