It was a strange innings. At one stage, when Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer were at the crease, India seemed in complete control. Thereafter, wickets fell in a cluster before Shreyas tried to get things back on track and eventually pushed India to a respectable total.
The focus at the start was on Rohit Sharma and, it must be said, it was an innings that will only add to the pressure on India’s former captain. He was unable to get going and, on 26, played ten consecutive dot balls before falling to Will Jacks off the eleventh. While he did strike one excellent six, he was given an early reprieve and never looked comfortable. Lord’s could be a huge game for Rohit, and another failure will only increase the pressure, with Yashasvi Jaiswal waiting in the wings.
If Rohit was scratchy, Kohli was sublime. He made batting look remarkably easy and, for as long as he was at the crease, it was an exhibition of class. What Shubman Gill had said ahead of the Birmingham game was borne out by Virat’s innings. None of England’s bowlers could make an impact, and some of the shots left everyone in awe. Kohli, it must be said, has settled every debate and is once again batting at his imperious best. Just when a century looked there for the taking though, he fell to a false shot.
Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube did not contribute anything, and all of a sudden, what looked like a 300-plus total was in danger of shrinking to 215. That India got as far as 233 was down to Shreyas’s 66 and Jasprit Bumrah’s skills with the long handle.
While the pitch is two-paced, it has to be said that, at the halfway stage, England hold most of the aces. An England win would set up a decisive encounter at Lord’s, where Kohli and Rohit could both be playing for the final time.
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