England take on India in the first Test at Edgbaston.
Joe Root’s side face the world’s best, Virat Kohli’s No 1 ranked team, in the most-anticipated Test series of the year. For Kohli’s men it’s the chance to cement their place as one of the great teams of the last decade after dominating the long form of the game for the last three years. Will that big away win finally come to fruition over the next six weeks?
For Root and his side the series presents the opportunity to build on the thrilling one-day series win over the same opponents last month as they look to return to the top of the game under new chief selector Ed Smith.
We will have all the latest for you from Birmingham.
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Anderson’s marathon spell is over. Just the 15 overs unchanged for the Burnley Lara today. Ends without reward too which is a crime given how well he’s bowled, particularly this afternoon.
Broad is back on in his place and it’s a maiden to Kohli.
Stokes at the other end and Pandya finally gets bat to ball, guiding him down to the third man fence before following up with a slightly more squirted shot to an almost identical spot on the rope.
He’s on to 10 now, but those 10 have been far from pretty.
England have a case of the dropsies and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Stokes this time is the man with his head in his hands as he watches Alastair Cook put an even easier chance on the floor after Pandya’s edge had been found.
Supreme bowling from both of these two, and it really should’ve been rewarded with at least two more victims.
It was India’s slip catching that was the source of much derision yesterday but this time it is England who need to book some extra time on the cradle.
What did we say about 101?
Stokes is on a tear here and another absolute snorter fires through Pandya and on to his pads.
Has it done too much? Aleem Dar doesn’t think so and fires his index finger in the air.
Pandya isn’t convinced though and calls for a review… and so he should.
It has indeed done just too much and he gets a reprieve. Wow, this is breathless stuff.
England have another. Stokes has splattered Dinesh Karthik’s furniture all over Edgbaston with a ripper.
Full, straight and at full gas Karthik can do nothing as it rattles straight through his defences and into the stumps. He goes for a duck and India are rocking.
That’s 100 Test wickets for Stokes.
His tail is up here. 101 doesn’t look far away.
Anderson vs Kohli mark 2,852. Like two heavyweight fighters these two are staring each other down, throwing a jab or two without either landing the big shot.
Anderson continues to probe that fourth stump line and Kohli continues to resolutely leave and defend.
He doesn’t leave the two to close the over though. Two absolute beauties from Anderson beat him all ends up, just not quite swinging in enough to take his off pole.
Superb stuff.
Ed Malyon checks in
James Anderson has been finding the edge but not the fielder and then Stokes gets one to move away from Rahane, having darted plenty in at him, and the Indian helps it to Keaton Jennings at third slip. For Anderson, the figures aren’t quite telling the story but the pressure he has helped build has England in a good position right now!
They’ve been threatening and they have their breakthrough.
Stokes is the man with it as again he charges in, throws one up slightly wider and Rahane can’t help but have a nibble at it.
Jennings is waiting at slip to take the easiest of catches and just like that India are 100-4.
Brilliant bowling from England since the lunch break.
We’ve talked about England not perhaps getting the swing they are after for much of the morning but the slightly older cherry is moving now.
Both Anderson and Stokes have it hooping around Edgbaston.
Kohli is being particularly watchful with only the slow surface in Birmingham keeping him at the crease after those earlier edges.
As Michael Atherton notes on commentary a faster deck and both could well have carried.
Anderson is still chugging away and, not for the first time today, finds the edge but it drops short of a diving Bairstow behind the stumps.
And again. Another from Anderson shaping away and Kohli again nicks it, this time just short of Keaton Jennings.
Getting closer. Big 20 minutes or so here.
Stokes’ extra pace could be useful here, especially with the ball not doing as much as England would like.
He steams in as he always does, raps one into Rahane’s pads. Review? They think about it but think again.
On second look it does look a shout and Hawkeye suggests it would’ve gone on to hit leg stump. Oh boy.
A missed opportunity.
Back underway now for a session that will commence under light cloud cover. Not too many rays of sunlight making it down onto the green tapestry of turf at Edgbaston and Virat Kohli, always the main attraction, is perched on 17* for now with Ben Stokes the man charged with removing him in the first over after lunch.
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