&w=3840&q=100)
Anshul Kamboj shakes off poor start at Old Trafford, announces himself with maiden international wicket
It turned out to be a mixed day for young Anshul Kamboj . A day after he received his maiden Test cap from former India wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta, replacing the injured Akash Deep in the Indian XI, the Haryana and Chennai Super Kings pacer was caught-behind for a three-ball duck off Ben Stokes' bowling.
And when it came to performing in his primary role, Kamboj was off to an expensive start after sharing the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah ahead of Mohammed Siraj, conceding three boundaries in his very first over of the day and eventually being taken off after going at nearly six-an-over in his first five overs.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Kamboj makes his mark at Old Trafford
The 24-year-old, however, ensured the day did not end entirely on a gloomy note as he got set English opener Ben Duckett caught-behind on 94 to collect his maiden international wicket. Kamboj struck shortly after left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja broke the marathon opening partnership by having Zak Crawley (84) caught-behind right after drinks.
Kamboj and Jadeja's strikes brought India back into the contest after Duckett and Crawley's dominant opening partnership, giving the visitors an opening with two relatively new batters in Ollie Pope and Joe Root at the crease.
Pope and Root, however, remained unbeaten on 20 and 11 respectively, forging a steady third-wicket partnership worth 28 to steer England to 225/2 at the close of play, trailing India by 133 runs.
England had earlier bowled India out for 358, with skipper Ben Stokes collecting 5/72 after opting to field under overcast skies in Manchester on Wednesday. B Sai Sudharsan, replacing Karun Nair in the XI, top-scored for Shubman Gill and Co with a knock of 61 while Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and Rishabh Pant (54) also chipped in with half-centuries.
Pant stood out particularly for his and complete his half-century despite suffering a fracture on his toe while batting on 37 on the previous day.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Getting pacers ready for five-Test series out of IPL tricky: Morne Morkel
Speaking on his workload and Kamboj's not so impressive debut so far, the bowling coach said, "England, they've got a powerful batting line-up. As a batter, your initial first 20 balls is very crucial. And, you know, in terms of a guy who's accurate and asking those questions, he's Booms. So, he's going to be asked a lot of times to come in and do the job for us. I think as the spearhead of the attack, that's also a responsibility that he's not shying away from. He wants to make the impact. At times today, we lacked that little bit of energy on the ball. And that was maybe for the reasons where we wanted to push Siraj and Booms a little bit more because they had a little bit quicker airspeed and off the wicket a little bit to try and create those opportunities. And then with Anshul, you know, that's international cricket. And we know we support him as best as we can. But it's also for him, it's good learning." He said the team management is trying to find a place for spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who so far has not played a single game in the series, but in their quest for batting depth that has not been possible. "I think it's finding when he comes in, how can we find balance and how can we get that batting line-up to be a little bit longer and stronger. We've seen in the past that we've lost a lot of wickets and Kuldeep is world-class and he's bowling really well at the moment. So we're trying our best to find ways for him to get in. But unfortunately, with that, just the balance with the batting throws it out a little bit." Morkel said the five-match series is a real test for fast bowlers and getting them ready for it straight after the IPL is an issue. "It's a real test. We play three, two Test match series a lot and this is now our first time in a while where we've come to five. It shouldn't be an excuse, but in terms of condition, getting our guys conditioned and getting them ready for five Test match series coming straight out of the IPL is sometimes an issue because you have to balance between Test matches, getting these guys a good amount of recovery time but also to keep their bowling loads up. And that's why it's important for us to look at the future and get a good core of five, six bowlers that we can rotate and these guys can come in and they can do the job. "At the moment, there's not a lot of experience with the ball. We've got Siraj, we've got Booms that played a handful of Tests and then Akash has played a little bit but he's out injured. So we keep on finding ways to bring new guys in that's learning now their international cricket, learning their trade in international cricket. So it is not easy at the moment, but this is just a phase, a period that we need now to work through and get these guys fitter and stronger to last for the five Tests." Probed further on Kamboj's speed, Morkel said, "If you look, I wish I could give you that answer, because I would have told him then how to bowl quicker, but he arrived here, he bowled well in the nets, and then obviously we went with what I discussed earlier. Why are speeds so low? I mean, yeah, that is something that we're working on. But he was definitely quicker when you saw him at the India A games. Yeah, again, he was definitely quicker, and in some of the games back home, he was definitely higher." Morkel cleared doubts on fitness of Siraj and Bumrah and said both are okay. "Unfortunately when we took the second new ball, Bumrah rolled his ankles going down the stairs. Siraj also, I think, rolled his foot in one of the footholds. But they seemed to be okay."
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
No help from other end for Jasprit Bumrah… they are little bit greedy: Morne Morkel
The one big reason for India trailing in the fourth Test at Old Trafford is Jasprit Bumrah's failure to take wickets with the new ball, a trend that started in the last Test he played at Birmingham. The blazing start of English openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley — scoring 166 runs in 32 overs — pushed England ahead in this decisive Test. According to the Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel, it is the lack of support from the other end that is making it difficult for the team's pace spearhead to get the better of England's top order batsmen. 'For him to be successful, we need to build partnerships. The other guys need to help him out and I think at times, the guys are also trying from the other end, they are a little bit greedy — trying to strive too much and that's how we leak and sort of release that pressure. You can't say anything about Bumrah, he's number one in the world, he's skillful. At times you need help from the other end,' Morkel said. When talking about Day 2 when the game truly slipped out of India's hands because of the worst-bowling day of the tour, Morkel again spoke about leaking runs and bowlers being greedy. He was answering a question about debutant Anshul Kamboj being preferred over Mohammed Siraj with the new ball. 'See if we attack first with Bumrah ad and Siraj up front, then we have to go to less experienced guys at first change. So that is a bit of a tricky one, but looking back at yesterday, you back a guy that's picked on his strength — which being Anshul bowls with the new ball with the best bowler in the world. Siraj has been doing a fantastic job bowling first change. Yesterday our execution let us down, so I think it's not so much to blame on the combinations we went with, it's more the fact that we let ourselves down with our execution. I haven't seen a pitch map where we basically leaked runs, I think 100 runs on both sides, normally like a bit of a split. For me yesterday was either a sign that we were too greedy but we couldn't stick to the plan and then from there we found ourselves chasing the game a little bit.' On the question of Bumrah's workload he said, 'You know, he's the strike bowler, there will be moments that you need to push a guy a little bit harder and longer to get the breakthrough. England has a powerful batting line-up. As a batter, your initial first 20 balls are very crucial and in terms of a guy who can ask questions, he is Bumrah. He is going to be asked a lot of times to come in and do the job for us.'
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Gill's tactics in tailspin as England dominate
Mumbai: Made to grind in the field for the whole of Day 3, there were lessons aplenty for Indians, none bigger than for Shubman Gill whose captaincy has come under the scanner at Old Trafford. India's captain Shubman Gill leads the team off the field after Day 3 of Manchester Test. (AFP) Still in the nascent stage of his captaincy reign, leading just in his fourth game, this day will give Gill an important lesson — as captain of the Indian team, he would need to show more trust in his spin strength. In Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, he has a sharp pace attack but in any India bowling unit, there will be good spinners that will have an equally important role to play. Using them effectively is the key. As India's think-tank sits to analyse what transpired on Friday, which England batted through and ended at 544/7, Gill will accept he missed a trick by not attacking with Washington Sundar earlier than when he eventually brought him on. Despite English batters looking largely untroubled against pace in the morning session, it was baffling to see the delay in introducing spin as late as the 62nd over when Ravindra Jadeja was given the ball for the first time on the day. Washington was India's best spinner in the series with big scalps in the previous Test. His confidence was high after a four-wicket haul in his last spell at Lord's. Inexplicably, there was no sign of him till the 69th over. The England batters were not complaining. Their total had swelled to 305/2 and their pair at the crease were well set — Ollie Pope batting on 61 and Root on 45. As it turned out, Washington looked the best Indian bowler on display and was among the wickets straightaway. The well-set Pope was foxed beautifully to induce his edge to KL Rahul at first slip in his fifth over. Two overs later, he struck again when he lured Harry Brook to his doom by having him stumped with a quicker length ball that drew the batter into stepping out. What has made Washington stand out is the amount of drift (2.6 degree) he is getting in English conditions. Pope was beaten by the drift and it was also a hint of drift that forced Brook into a defensive block down the wrong line. In Gill's defence, it can be said that the drawback of too many bowlers, when you prefer to pack the side with all-rounders, is that one or two of them are bound to be underused. Be that as it may, the advantage had been lost by the time the spinners got the opportunity. Among other lessons for the visiting side, there was a masterclass from Joe Root on how to make the start count in these conditions. In their first innings, India's top three of KL Rahul, Yashavi Jaiswal and Sai Sudarshan got starts, but none could capitalise. Starting the day on 11, the veteran showed how it is done. Root converted the half-century into a century and century into 150. Riding on his 248-ball epic (14 fours), Ollie Pope's 71 and captain Ben Stokes 77*, the hosts took firm control of the game. With England already ahead by 186 runs, the best India can hope for is to save the game. The opening session of the day was going to be decisive for India who are trailing 1-2 in the series. However, along with Pope, Root ensured England completely dominated it. At lunch, England were 266/2, a run-rate of 4.50, with Root firmly entrenched on 35 (78b, 5x4) and Pope on 32 (70b, 5x4). Root then combined with Stokes to help England overcome the early hiccup of losing two quick wickets to add 101 runs in the second session to get them to tea on 433/4, increasing the lead to 75. Root was on 121 and Stokes on 36. A thorn in India's flesh, during his innings the Yorkshireman eclipsed a series of records, becoming the second highest run scorer in the history of the game, and now has most hundreds against them — 12. Apart from their spinners taking four of the seven wickets to fall, there was not much to write home about India's bowling attack. The long series is taking its toll on the players. India had scares when their pace weapons Bumrah and Siraj were affected by niggles. Cramps forced England captain Ben Stokes also to retire hurt at the score of 66. All three returned to action later in the day.
