LIVE SCORE | INDIA vs ENGLAND | 1st TEST | DAY 5
RAJKOT
FULL SCORECARD
Earlier in the match, England batted superbly to notch up 537 on the board. They rode high on the back of centuries from Root, Ali and Stokes. Indian bowlers were made to toil hard on a good batting track. Jadeja was the most successful with three wickets.
It turned out to be a cracker of a match in the end. A half an hour declaration may have seen the English side sneaking in a victory. Rashid weaved his magic around and took three crucial wickets to put immense pressure on India. Other bowlers played the perfect foil to him and kept the batsmen on their toes. Virat was the one who stood like a thorn and steered the home side to safe lands and Jadeja enjoyed himself in the end.
Kohli and Cook are having a chat. Yes, the handshakes are out. That's officially the end of the first Test of this lengthy 5-match series between India and England. MATCH HAS BEEN DRAWN.
The captains decide to shake hands and the 1st Test ends in a draw
42.3 overs: Adil Rashid to Wriddhiman Saha, OUT! GOT HIM! Soft dismissal but England will take it. Floated outside off, Saha steps out to whip as the ball lobs back at Rashid who claims the return catch. There is some doubt if it is a bump ball or not. The soft signal is out from Dharmasena. It's being referred upstairs. Replays show that it is not a bump ball. Curtains for Saha then. England now just need 4 more wickets. Massive pressure on the Indians now. Minimum of 6.3 overs left.
38.6 overs: Zafar Ansari to Ravichandran Ashwin, OUT! GONE! ENGLAND'S HOPES SOAR AGAIN! Fuller outside off, Ashwin goes for a big drive but cannot keep the stroke down. Finds Root at cover to perfection. Ashwin cannot believe it. India are now five down. Another 10 overs minimum left, England need 5 more wickets.
35 overs: India 95/4. Virat Kohli 30 (50), Ravichandran Ashwin 15 (36)
28 overs: India 82/4. Virat Kohli 28 (37), Ravichandran Ashwin 4 (13)
23.4 overs: Moeen Ali to Ajinkya Rahane, OUT! Pitches this shortish on the rough outside off, Rahane makes room to cut it through point but the ball spins in appreciably and kisses his pads only to deflect back onto the middle stump. He needed to more careful. Is this the opening the English side needed? They need 6 wickets to win!
OUT! Now Rahane departs for 1. India 71/4
22.2 over: Adil Rashid to Murali Vijay, OUT! RASHID IS KEEPING ENGLAND IN THE GAME! Pitched outside leg, spinning back into Vijay. He prods forward to defend but gets an inside edge onto his pads and lobs towards Haseeb at short leg. He bends in front to take a good reflex catch. Crucial breakthrough for England. They still needs 7 wickets to win!
OUT! Vijay goes, India lose their third wicket
Superb session for England. They first rattled up quick runs before declaring, thereby setting the hosts an improbable target of 310 from a minimum of 49 overs. Then, their bowlers tested the Indian batsmen and removed two vital strikes to leave the home side under a bit of pressure going into the tea break. Vijay is well set and has his captain for company. Game is still heading for a draw but the hosts should not be complacent.
That's Tea on Day 5
16.4 overs Adil Rashid to Cheteshwar Pujara, OUT! RASHID STRIKES! Pitches it around leg stump, turns in. Pujara stays back to defend but plays down the wrong line and is rapped low on the pads. There is a loud appeal from the English side amd the umpire rules it out. Pujara keeps walking and doesn't take the review. It looked close. The replays show that it pitched just outside leg. He should have taken the review!
OUT! Cheteshwar Pujara goes for 18. Rashid strikes
10 overs: India 31/1. Murali Vijay 21(37) , Cheteshwar Pujara 10(17)
4 overs: India 4/1. Murali Vijay 0(12) , Cheteshwar Pujara 4(6)
1.6 overs Chris Woakes to Gautam Gambhir, OUT! WOAKES DRAWS FIRST BLOOD! Brainfade from Gambhir. Short of a length outside off, climbs on the southpaw and he just dabs at it. The ball flies off the glove towards second slip where it is easily taken. Duck for Gambhir. What a start for England this is! Must say that it was a very poor shot though.
OUT! Gambhir out caught for a duck
India 2nd innings. India: 0-0
A minimum of 49 overs are left and the target of 310 is definitely improbable considering the surface. It's very slow and while batting is not difficult at all, you need a grinding approach to score runs. So, racking up runs at 6 rpo is next to impossible. England haven't given India any sniff with this declaration. This means that the visitors can have men around the bat from the very beginning. How will the hosts reply? Will they have a go? The chase isn't far away.
Another solid batting performance by the visitors. The big opening partnership set things up. Hameed missed out on a ton but the skipper didn't and was eventually dismissed only while trying to up the ante. Mishra and Ashwin were the wicket-takers but it was mainly due to the batsmen's over-aggression. There was considerable intent from England today and have given themselves a slight crack at the Indians.
75.3 overs: Ravichandran Ashwin to Alastair Cook, OUT! COOK DEPARTS, ENGLAND HAVE DECLARED! Floated outside leg, Cook steps out and makes room for the inside out lofted stroke but miscues it. Jadeja at long off takes the skier with ease. Ends a great innings from the England captain. INDIA NEED 310 RUNS TO WIN.
75 overs: England 260/2. Alastair Cook 130(240), 29(29)
70 overs: England 226/2. Alastair Cook 115(225), Ben Stokes 12(14)
Welcome back for the second session.
DAY 5, SESSION 2
India's bowlers continued to struggle in getting much out of the pitch. There were brief moments where they got the ball to rear with turn but it didn't happen consistently enough to trouble the batsmen. Mishra bowled a testing spell and got rewarded with a couple of wickets as England entered into declaration mode. The lead is 260 now and the declaration seemed imminent after lunch. It shall be interesting to see how many runs Cook decides on. The track still looks good but surely, only one team can lose from here. Join us in a while for the second session.
Another good session for the visitors. The openers continued to milk the bowling around. There were glimpses of some turn and extra bounce but those instances were far and few in between. Hameed missed out on a well-deserved ton when he was dismissed by a blinder from Mishra off his own bowling. The leggie then removed Root cheaply too as the visitors were pressing for quick runs. Meanwhile, Cook dug in to register his 30th Test ton, smashing several records in the process.
62.6 overs: Amit Mishra to Alastair Cook, 100! Cook drives it with the spin through mid on for a single. He thumps his fists in the air and it has been a brilliant knock! The crowd cheers his effort. Well done Cook!
60.5 overs: Amit Mishra to Joe Root, OUT! ROOT DEPARTS IN THE HUNT TO UP THE ANTE! Tossed up around middle and off, Root looks to go for a full blooded slog sweep but miscus it completely. The ball catches the top edge of the bat and lobs into the sky towards Saha. He gets under it and takes a simple catch. Mishra gets his second!
58.4 overs: Amit Mishra to Haseeb Hameed, OUT c & b Amit Mishra. England have lost their first wicket.
55 overs: England 162/0. Alastair Cook 77(159), Haseeb Hameed 79(172)
50 overs: England 145/0. Alastair Cook 64(138), Haseeb Hameed 75(163)
45 overs: England 132/0. Alastair Cook 57(129), Haseeb Hameed 69(142)
40 overs: England 116/0. Alastair Cook 48(120), Haseeb Hameed 62(121)
38overs: England 115/0. Alastair Cook 47(109), Haseeb Hameed 62(120)
We are ready to kick start the first session. The players and umpires walk out in the middle. It will be interesting to see how COOK and HAMEED build their innings today. Will India make early inroads today? ASHWIN to start the proceedings. Here we go...
Cook and Hameed have applied themselves well and especially the youngster has been a class apart. It needs to be seen what kind of mindset the English batsmen come out with and that could well decide the fate of this contest. The hosts are the No. 1 side in the world and expect them to give it their best shot. Another cracker of a day awaits!
Hello and a warm welcome on the final day of the first Test match between India and England in Rajkot. England have secured a lead of 163 and are boarded safely at the harbor at the moment but cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. The tides may turn around and catch the English side off guard. For now, the game is heading towards a draw but the duo of Ashwin and Jadeja can prove to be venomous on this track as the pitch has started to crumble.