Birmingham, Aug 4: India suffered a heartbreaking 31-run loss to England as skipper Virat Kohli’s heroics went in vain amid yet another abject batting capitulation in a riveting opening Test at the Edgbaston today.
It was virtually Kohli versus England and when the Indian captain was trapped lbw off Ben Stokes in the 47th over, the absorbing game was only heading the home team’s way.
Resuming on overnight 110 for five, India folded up for 162 in 54.2 overs despite Kohli’s combative 51 off 93 balls and Hardik Pandya’s 31.
All-rounder Stokes (4-40) came to the party on the morning of day four by removing Kohli and Mohammad Shami in the same over. James Anderson (2-50) and Stuart Broad (2-43) took a brace each as England drew first blood in what promises to be an engrossing five-match series.
The Indian bowlers did their job in both the innings but the batsmen, with the exception of Kohli, let the team down again.
The second Test begins at Lord’s on August 9.
“Glad to be a part of such an exciting Test match. There were a couple of moments when we came back. A team like England doesn’t let you do it everyday, they were relentless and they made us work very hard for our runs,” said Kohli.
“It sets up the series nicely and gives us what we need to do going forward. Our shot selection could have been better. We definitely need to apply ourselves better with the bat, but England came back superbly and we need to take the positives and move forward,” added the star batsman.
England skipper Joe Root was thrilled with the result.
“It is a great start for us in the series, we know there is a lot of work to be done, but it gives us a lot of confidence. It shows that there is so much more than just skills, runs and wickets when it comes to Test cricket at this level,” he said.
