CHENNAI : With a humiliating 227-run defeat on Tuesday, Virat Kohli’s losing streak as captain extended to four matches. England played dominant cricket in the first Test and outclassed the Indian team in all three departments to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.
Chasing a target of 420 runs, England bowled out India for just 192 runs to prove their authority at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
It’s the first time that Kohli has lost four Test matches in a row as a captain. Fans on Twitter demands resignation from Kohli as captain after a dreadful show of Team India under his leadership in the last few games.
However, with the bat, Kohli slammed 72 runs in the second innings to lead India’s fightback in the game. He didn’t get much support from the other India batters as the hosts suffered a middle-order collapse.
England also broke India’s 14-match unbeaten streak at home in Test cricket.
England have now jumped to the top of the ICC World Test Championships points table while India slipped to fourth. It will be an uphill task for the Indian team to seal their place in the final of WTC against New Zealand as they have to win two out of the next three games at any cost.
Apart from Kohli, Shubman Gill was the only other saving grace for Team India in the second innings with bat. The young opening batsman scored a sublime half-century before getting dismissed by James Anderson on a peach of a delivery.
Leach was the pick of the England bowlers in the second innings as he returned with figures of 4/72 in the 25 overs he bowled. He was ably supported by Anderson who scalped three wickets, conceding just 17 runs in his 11 overs. Dominic Bess, Ben Stokes, and Jofra Archer picked one wicket each.(India.com)
