The much-awaited 5th Test match between India and England went underway at Birmingham here on Friday as Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to field first. India got off to a steady start as for the initial 5-6 overs Indian openers Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara seemed to settle in nicely. But then Gill poked at a wide delivery and was caught in the slips.

James Anderson then just before lunch then picked Pujara’s wicket. At Lunch, India was 52-2. After that, it started raining and the match was halted for a while. After the restart, India lost its way as Matthew Potts got important wickets of Hanuma Vihari and Virat Kohli. Shreyas Iyer then came in an attacking mode as he went after Potts. He hit Potts for 3 boundaries in 2 overs.

But then he was constantly being troubled by Jimmy Anderson with short-pitched bowling. Eventually, Iyer fell to a short delivery.

In short, Shreyas Iyer’s inning was brief and frantic. He received three half-volleys from England, all of which he drove to the boundary. Anderson also bowled two short balls to him along the way. He took a bit longer than expected to move out of the path; as the ball followed him inward, he had to shift course and duck.

The second short ball was less dangerous, but it was difficult to handle because it veered into his body and squeezed him. Sam Billings sent him on his way with a fantastic diving one-handed catch after Iyer gloved it down the leg side. India is 98 for five.

Here is the video of the catch taken by Sam Billings:

https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/1542870931718418437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

There was no doubt that Brendon McCullum and the English team had planned that dismissal. It’s worth mentioning that McCullum was Kolkata Knight Riders head coach where Iyer was leading the franchise.