
IND vs ENG Test: Anshul Kamboj denies Ben Duckett century for maiden Test wicket
India found a much-needed breakthrough on Day 2 of the fourth Test in Manchester, as debutant Anshul Kamboj picked up his maiden Test wicket, removing England opener Ben Duckett for 94.
The 24-year-old pacer from Haryana, who was brought into the squad due to multiple injuries in India's pace unit, made an immediate impact in his first outing at the highest level.
Kamboj, on a difficult day for Indian bowlers, dismissed Duckett with a delivery that climbed sharply from a back-of-a-length spot outside off. Duckett, looking to cut, was surprised by the bounce and edged it to substitute wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel.
The dismissal came shortly after Ravindra Jadeja had removed Zak Crawley on 84, shifting momentum in India's favour after a dominant opening stand by England.
A visibly charged-up Kamboj let out a roar as he celebrated his first Test scalp. With both openers gone, India suddenly found themselves with an opportunity to apply pressure on the new England batters.
Kamboj's inclusion was the result of injuries to Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akash Deep, and Arshdeep Singh. Before this, he had been part of the India A squad against England Lions, where he impressed with his seam bowling in a pace attack that featured Mukesh Kumar and Harshit Rana. Though he was initially overlooked for the Test squad, his consistent domestic performances eventually earned him a well-deserved call-up.
Anshul Kamboj Joins India Nets After Nitish's Injury | Debut Incoming at Manchester?
The young seamer's debut wicket at Old Trafford is not just a personal milestone, but also a timely breakthrough for India as they look to claw their way back in to the 4th Test and ultimately, level the series.
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India vs England Test match
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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."


United News of India
an hour ago
- United News of India
Joe Root's masterclass put England in command
Manchester, July 25 (UNI) Joe Root led England's charge with a majestic 150 as the hosts closed Day 3 at a dominant 544 for 7 in 135 overs, taking a commanding 186-run lead over India's first-innings 358 in the ongoing Test at Old Trafford today. Resuming the day at 225 for 2, Root and Ollie Pope (71) steadily built England's innings, frustrating the Indian bowlers with measured resistance. The duo's 113-run partnership set the tone, as Root calmly moved to his 38th Test century with a gentle glance to the fine leg boundary off debutant Anshul Kamboj. It was a knock that combined patience and panache, highlighted by reverse sweeps, late cuts, and elegant drives. Root brought up his 150 in 248 deliveries (14x4), drawing a loud cheer from the spectators. But his splendid innings ended at 150 when Ravindra Jadeja produced a sharply turning delivery that beat the bat and saw him stumped by substitute keeper Dhruv Jurel. Captain Ben Stokes was equally impactful. After his five-wicket haul earlier in the match, he brought up his 36th Test 50, showcasing his all-round dominance. Stokes muscled boundaries through pulls and reverse sweeps and took charge against both pace and spin. He eventually retired hurt on 66 at 491/4 but returned later in the day and remained unbeaten on 77 by stumps. Jamie Smith's brief cameo of 9 ended when Jasprit Bumrah finally found reward for his effort, getting Smith caught behind off a delivery that straightened and induced an edge. Jurel, again impressive behind the stumps, took a sharp low catch diving forward. Liam Dawson added late momentum with aggressive stroke play, including a pair of well-timed boundaries, one via a pull off Bumrah and another thumped straight down the ground off Washington Sundar. However, wickets began to fall as India finally saw some return for their toil. Chris Woakes became Siraj's first scalp of the innings when a low ball sneaked under the bat to hit the stumps, a just reward for the pacer who had bowled without luck all day. Earlier, India had lost a review against Root in the morning and missed a runout opportunity, which proved costly as Root built his imposing innings. England's innings was peppered with quality strokes and decisive running between the wickets. Despite occasional breakthroughs, India's bowlers lacked sustained pressure, and their inconsistent lengths allowed England batsmen to settle in. The second new ball taken at 90.3 overs did little to trouble Root and Stokes during their partnership. With England sitting comfortably at 544 for 7 and still having batting left, India faces an uphill task heading into Day 4. England: 544/7 in 135.0 overs (Joe Root 150, Ben Stokes 77*, Ollie Pope 71; Sundar 2/57 Jadeja 2/117); India 1st Innings: 358 UNI BDN SS


Deccan Herald
an hour ago
- Deccan Herald
Anshul Kamboj struggles as selection backfires
The 24-year-old, who bagged five wickets in total in the two India A games prior to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, was added to the squad suddenly on Sunday after key pacer Akash Deep was hit by a groin injury and Arshdeep Singh cut his bowling hand during a training session last week.