ENG vs IND 1st Test Results

3:56 PM IST Right then, Day 5 has been completely washed out and this Test match ends in a draw. That means both India and England will get 4 points each in the ICC World Test Championship table. What a shame! It was one heck of a Test match and was heading towards a close finish but the rain gods decided to spoil the party and have robbed us of a possible humdinger. 157 runs were needed on the final day but not a single ball was possible.

3:40 PM IST JOE ROOT, THE ENGLAND CAPTAIN, IS THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH. He says that it was a great Test match and the weather has robbed them of a close game and hopes that they can take the good stuff from this week to the rest of the series. Believes that they would have had nine opportunities to take wickets, had they played, but it is a shame that the weather did not let them have any action. Tells that there are certain areas which they want to work on and they want to take all the chances they create and they have to show strong character. On the scheduling of cricket in England, with The Hundred going on and no First-class cricket right now, Root tells that they have to deal with this issue, until the schedule changes and for the experienced players, who had to come from white-ball cricket to the Test format, it would have been easier to adapt, but, for the younger guys, it is slightly tough. Stresses that this is not an excuse, but opines that it could be challenging. Root says that he enjoyed his hundred and there was a lot of enjoyment as to how he played in this game. Adds that India have a really good seam attack and from his point of view, he looked to attack the bowlers and feels like he got into a good rhythm early in his innings.

3:35 PM IST England also had a few positives from the match but there are more negatives for them. Their top order batting needs a serious look-in, while the middle order is also looking fragile. Only Joe Root stood up with the bat to take the challenge to the Indian bowlers. That's surely not enough if you want to take down a team like India. James Anderson is aging like fine wine and his bowling spell on Day 2 was incredible. Ollie Robinson is another bowler who continues to show that he belongs to this level.

3:33 PM IST Virat Kohli, the Indian captain, says that this is a bit of a strange one and they wanted a crack at the total, but it is a shame that the weather did not allow the game to continue. Feels that they wanted to start strong and heading to Day 5, they felt like they had the chance to win and felt like they were on top in the game. On the way the openers played late on Day 4, he says that they wanted to play with intent and it was not about survival and their intent kept them ahead in the game. Shares that the bowlers have been in the nets for the last three and a half weeks and they got a lead of 95 just due to their effort and he thinks they did a tremendous job with the blade. On whether this team will be the template for the series, Kohli thinks that this should be the template but adaptability has been their strength. Hopes that they get some exciting cricket for the remainder of the series.

3:27 PM IST That's your lot for this Test match. It was a thorough entertainer but unfortunately didn't reach the climax. We are expecting more similar action (minus the rain) in the coming games. The caravan moves from Nottingham to London as the Mecca of Cricket, Lord's will be hosting the second Test match from 12th August 2021. The first ball will be at 11 am local (10 am GMT) but you can join us in advance for the build-up. Until next time, it's goodbye and cheers!

3:20 PM IST Positives for India! The batting of their openers, KL Rahul in particular. If Mayank Agarwal recovers from his concussion, that would be a real headache for Virat Kohli, ignoring KL after such a good Test match will be tough. The quartet of Indian pacers dominated the show. Jasprit Bumrah led the pack with a 9-wicket haul but the other three pacers were equally impressive if not more. Ravindra Jadeja getting preferred over Ravichandran Ashwin didn't have much of an impact with the ball but his knock with the bat justified his selection in a way.