There was a lot of discussion regarding the lack of intent showing by the England team when they delayed the declaration in the second innings in Chennai. Many felt the visiting team was scared that the hosts have the capacity to chase down the total. But as it happened on Day 5, England comfortably managed to bundle out the Indian team with a lot of overs in hand and took a lead of 1-0 up in the series. James Anderson put up a special performance in the morning after which the rest of the bowlers joined the party to register a memorable win.
India resumed the final day with the requirement of chasing down 381 runs but it was all about playing out 90 overs to save the Test. The fans and experts were hoping for the team to repeat their heroics from Sydney and Brisbane. But the pitch was getting worse with each passing over and it proved to be an uphill task for India.
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Cheteshwar Pujara was the first to be dismissed on the skillful delivery by Jack Leach which spits from a good length ball to catch the bat’s edge and rest in the hands of the slip fielder. Shubman Gill was playing some dominating cricket and it looked while he lasted scoring an impressive half-century. James Anderson then managed to send the youngster’s off-stump for a cartwheel with a beautiful reverse swinging delivery and followed it up with yet another ripper to send Ajinkya Rahane’s off-stump for a walk in the same over.
Soon Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar followed as India witnessed a major collapse as they went down from 92/2 to 117/6 dumping all the hopes of a draw. On the other end, Virat Kohli was didn’t give up when the wickets tumbled around him. Whenever England’s spinners faltered in their lines, he took the toll of them hitting boundaries and in the process, got to his 24th half-century as well.
After wickets fell in a heap, Virat stitched a decent partnership with Ravi Ashwin to keep England at bay but the duo delayed only the inevitable. Ashwin got out edging one behind off Jack Leach while Kohli got a low grubber from Ben Stokes as India was soon bundled out for 192 runs losing the game by 227 runs.
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The Indian skipper only managed to score 72 runs off 104 balls hitting nine fours but none of the other batsmen stuck it out with him making the task even tougher and close to impossible. For England, James Anderson scalp three wickets while Leach recovered from the innings hammering to scalp four with Jofra Archer, Stokes, and Bess accounting for one each. This is a massive win for England and now India will have to do all the running in the series to keep themselves alive in the World Test Championship.
Here’s how Twitter reacted of England taking a series win:
A huge win over India in the first Test has propelled England to the top of the ICC World Test Championship standings 👀#WTC21 pic.twitter.com/8AaC8XMrjr
— ICC (@ICC) February 9, 2021
Congrats @root66 .. 26th Test win as skipper .. that’s 52 Test wins for @SheffieldColCC now 👍👍👍👍
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 9, 2021
Don't lose heart Indian fans.
Last time India lost first test of a series, they won the series.
Last time India lost first test of a home series, they won the series 😉#INDvsENG— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) February 9, 2021
Incredible performance from @Englanddcricket @root66 @jimmy9 et al……well worth climbing out of bed for! 👏👏🥂
— Alan Butcher (@abutch58) February 9, 2021
Well played England. Congratulations on doing the unthinkable. Never easy to beat India in India. Especially, this Indian team. But, beware there are 3 more matches to go, and expect a big fightback from India. #EngvsInd #ENGvIND
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) February 9, 2021
Planning , execution and beyond !! Well fought test win and a well deserved one !! Special & a big win , Well done Joe root 👍 and the entire English team #INDvsENG #1st Test
— Mithun V Manhas (@MithunManhas) February 9, 2021
One over from the legend #jimmyanderson killed our chances for a draw. Congratulations @englandcricket #INDvENG
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) February 9, 2021
Memorable performance from England; took advantage of a good toss with a masterful innings from Joe Root and then applied pressure with a balanced and varied attack until India cracked. A great win. #chennai
— Mike atherton (@Athersmike) February 9, 2021
What a test match!! Well done boys @englandcricket!! Awesome to watch! Another great team performance!! #INDvENG 👌🙌🏴
— James Taylor (@jamestaylor20) February 9, 2021
One of the great Test Match wins for @englandcricket in India!! From winning the Toss they completely bossed the game. Big 1st innings runs, tactics spot on & top class bowling from the @jimmy9 and spinners!! Near perfect & a dream start to the series for England!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
— Ian Bell MBE (@Ian_Bell) February 9, 2021
Why to play on such a wicket where winning the toss becomes vital and that too when a team has had a brilliant last series !! Just a thought #INDvsENG #ChennaiTest
— Mithun V Manhas (@MithunManhas) February 9, 2021
Congratulations on this magnificent win to England. The senior players did a lot of the heavy lifting. @root66 and @jimmy9 led by example. Sets up the rest of the series rather nicely. #INDvENG @StarSportsIndia
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) February 9, 2021
