The Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team has notched a commendable performance on day-one of their first Test match against England in Birmingham.

Despite losing the toss, the India showed incredible character to break down England’s persistence in the end. The ploy of giving Ravichandran Ashwin the new ball worked for Kohli, as the off-spinner snatched Alastair Cook’s wicket by bowling him over.

However, Keaton Jennings along with Joe Root steadied the ship, as they went into the lunch break without further dismissals.

The break seemed to work for India, as Mohammed Shami bowled over Jennings, and caught Dawid Malan’s leg before wicket too. This sudden change in momentum somewhat helped India, but the English duo of Johnny Bairstow and Root combined to stitch another sensible partnership.

However, the third session completely belonged to India, as a rejuvenated bowling attack ensured that they caused enough trouble to the English batsmen. Ashwin was instrumental in removing the middle and lower-middle order batsmen like Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Stuart Broad.

The pacers complemented him well too, as Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma notched a wicket each, whilst Shami walked away with two scalps. It was a professional performance from the Indian side, but England would be disappointed for not capitalizing on their chances.

Captain Root, and Bairstow scored 80 and 70 runs respectively, but none of them could convert it into a bigger innings. Currently, the English team has scored 285 runs for the loss of nine wickets. Kohli would want his bowlers to finish off the opposition’s innings soon enough on day-two.