David Willey to Shikhar Dhawan, Back-of-a-length delivery outside off, Shikhar Dhawan fends this awkwardly off his gloves.
David Willey to Shikhar Dhawan, David Willey begins with a fuller one, outside off. Shikhar Dhawan leans and blocks it out watchfully.
We are back for the chase! Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan walk out to the middle. Reece Topley has the new ball in his hand will start proceedings.
Reece Topley to Rohit Sharma, Another length delivery, around middle and off. Rohit Sharma defends it out. A positive start from England! A maiden to begin with!
Reece Topley to Rohit Sharma, On a length, around middle. Rohit Sharma blocks it out.
Reece Topley to Rohit Sharma, Lovely fielding! A shorter one, outside off. Rohit Sharma pushes it off the back foot towards cover. Liam Livingstone dives to his right and makes a terrific stop there! Shikhar Dhawan was sent back after leaving his crease, but the throw from Liam Livingstone was well away.
Reece Topley to Rohit Sharma, Outside off, shaping away a tad, a length ball. Rohit Sharma leaves it alone.
Reece Topley to Rohit Sharma, On the pads now, angling in, a length ball. Rohit Sharma flicks it towards square leg.
Reece Topley to Rohit Sharma, Reece Topley begins with a full ball, outside off. Rohit Sharma opens the face of the bat and pushes it towards point.
... THE RUN CHASE ...
Rohit Sharma will be absolutely thrilled with the performance of his bowlers after winning the toss. The pitch was not as helpful as the one we saw at The Oval and despite that, they have managed to bowl out and restrict this strong English batting lineup to a total of 246. They would be silently confident of achieving this target and sealing the series.
India on the other hand have shown why their bowling attack is so highly rated. They were on the money and extracted the most off the pitch. The opening bowlers were on fire and were really unlucky to not pick more wickets. Overall they conceded a few runs through short balls but bowled to a plan and kept regularly picking at the English wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers as he ended up taking 4 wickets while conceding only 47 runs in his full quota of 10 overs. Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah contributed with 2 wickets each and overall all the bowlers performed wonderfully to bowl out their opponents. Their batters do have an opportunity here to secure the series. Can they do so? Or will England pull off something special? We will find out. Stay tuned for the second essay!
The English openers started tentatively but managed to negotiate the new ball and preserve their wickets with a little bit of luck. However, both gave away their wickets after getting off to a decent start and the batters that followed kept up with the aggressive approach but did not last long. Eventually, England found themselves reeling at 102 for the loss of 5 wickets. Liam Livingstone played a cameo and perished in a short-ball hitting competition against Hardik Pandya. It was the partnership between Moeen Ali and David Willey of 62 runs that pushed the total beyond the 200 mark. Both of them though fell short of their half centuries and now they will have to come out with some intent with the ball if they have to win this game.
Jasprit Bumrah to Reece Topley, OUT! CLEANED HIM UP! A classical Jasprit Bumrah dismissal! He finishes the innings off with a lovely delivery! A pacey, yorker-length delivery, on target this time, on the off pole. Reece Topley makes room, clears his front foot and tries to slash this away but he misses. The ball goes on to shatter the stumps. England are bundled out for 246!
Jasprit Bumrah to Craig Overton, Short this time, around middle. Craig Overton pulls it towards mid-wicket for a run.
Jasprit Bumrah to Reece Topley, Third yorker in the over! Around middle. Reece Topley knocks it towards mid on and scampers across to the other end. Virat Kohli there scores a direct hit at the non-striker's end but Reece Topley is well in!
Jasprit Bumrah to Reece Topley, Another one in the blockhole! This is just away from the off pole. Reece Topley once again fails to squeeze it out.