India will get a lot more than England from 1st Test, says Dinesh Karthik
Indian batsman and television commentator Dinesh Kartik said Virat Kohli’s men will be happier than both sides after the first test of the 5-match series against England ended in a draw due to persistent rain in Nottingham.
India headed into the fifth and final day of the Test, at 52 for 1, needing another 157 runs to win the match and go 1-0 up in the series.
However, consistent rain on the final day made sure not even a single ball was bowled. With the game hanging in the balance after Joe Root hit a hundred to set India a competitive total, a cracker of a final day was denied by the wet weather in the English summer.
Dinesh Karthik said he believed that India had a good chance to gun down the target and lay down the early marker in the Test series.
“I think India definitely had the upper hand going into the final day. India will take a lot more from this game than England would – overall they played a very good brand of cricket,” Karthik told Sky Sports.
The Kolkata Knight Riders wicketkeeper-batsman lauded Jasprit Bumrah for setting the tone as early as Day 1. There were concerns about Bumrah’s form after a poor showing in the World Test Championship final but the Mumbai Indians pacer stormed back, picking up 9 wickets, including a 5-wicket haul in the 2nd innings.
Bumrah led the 4-man pace attack as India went in with only one spinner, leave out R Ashwin. And the move worked as India were able to bundle out England for 183 after Root won the toss and opted to bat on the opening day. There were contributions from all 4 bowlers, including Mohammed Siraj who was preferred over Ishant Sharma and Shardul Thakur.
On the batting front, it was KL Rahul who made the most of an opportunity to open the innings after injuries to Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal.
“Bumrah set the tone in the first over, setting up Rory Burns the way he did, the bowling unit was good and I thought the batters came in with a lot of intent,” Karthik added.
The second Test between India and England will get underway from August 12 at the iconic Lord’s in London.
