England lead the four-match Test series by 1-0 as they defeated India by 228 runs. Virat Kohli got out to Ben Stokes on a ball that was dipping and surprisingly did not get the kind of bounce that was expected. So after Virat was back in the pavilion, no one really had any hopes of saving the match for India. The onus must be on the batsmen for not rising up to the occasion when it was required the most. All credit to the England team for scoring 500+ in the first innings and then also, tactically cleaning-up India’s batting order in the final innings of the Test.
In what looked like a nicely set-up chasing day for India early on in the morning had changed in to a desperate attempt to save the match in Chennai. India look at their weakest. All the Indian batsmen fell like a pack of cards. Once Gill was back in the hut after scoring a half-century, it was just a down-hill road for India’s batsmen. Pujara went for 15, Rahane for 0, Pant for 11 and hero of first innings, Washington Sundar also got out for a duck. So, all the batsmen who were expected to do the scoring were out before lunch.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ENGLAND WIN 🎉<br><br>An all-round performance by the visitors has given them a 227-run victory over India.<br><br>The lead the four-test series 1-0!<a >#INDvENG</a> ➡️ <a >https://t.co/gnj5x4GOos</a> <a >pic.twitter.com/luS7HAcWIm</a></p>— ICC (@ICC) <a >February 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It will be an up-hill task for Shastri and Kohli and they would be wanting to do certain changes in the team. Will we see any major changes in the batting line-up, only time will tell. Meanwhile, England would be rejoicing this moment and setting their eyes on the World Test Championship (WTC) final. With this victory, England go on top of the WTC table.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A huge win over India in the first Test has propelled England to the top of the ICC World Test Championship standings 👀<a >#WTC21</a> <a >pic.twitter.com/8AaC8XMrjr</a></p>— ICC (@ICC) <a >February 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The likes of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and perhaps, Rishabh Pant would be rightly criticised for their poor show in the last innings. With the first match of the India vs England PayTM Test series going to the visitors, the remaining three matches would be tricky for the Indian team.