NOTTINGHAM: India captain Virat Kohli was out for a golden duck in the first Test amid a collapse that saw England great James Anderson take two wickets with successive deliveries on Thursday’s second day at Trent Bridge.

Kohli was caught behind off Anderson by wicket-keeper Jos Buttler one ball after Cheteshwar Pujara fell to the same combination for four.

India had been in total command at 97-0 in reply to England’s meagre first innings 183 but then lost four wickets for 15 runs either side of lunch as they slumped to 112-4.

By the time bad light and then rain combined to bring about an early finish to the day’s play, India were 125-4 — a deficit of 58 runs.

One consolation for India was that recalled opener KL Rahul was still there on 57 not out after being reprieved on 52 when Dom Sibley dropped a regulation slip catch. Rishabh Pant was unbeaten on seven.

Star batsman Kohli was undone by a brilliant Anderson delivery that lifted and moved late to take the edge on its way through to Buttler.

The ball before Anderson, previously wicketless in the innings, had number three Pujara caught low down by Buttler for four.

Ajinkya Rahane survived the hat-trick when Anderson strayed down the leg side, but England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker still had figures of 2-15 in 13.4 overs at stumps.

Rahane, then the non-striker, was soon out for five in any event when, having been left stranded when Rahul set off and then stopped, he was run out by Jonny Bairstow’s direct hit from backward point.

Rahul, having completed a 128-ball fifty including eight fours, ought to have been Ande­rson’s third wicket of the day but Sibley floored a catch off an outside edge going to his left at second slip despite getting both hands to the ball.

Anderson started his 14th over but could only manage one ball before the umpires took the players off the field for bad light.

With rain falling, play did not resume again with Anderson then managing one more ball before a fresh shower.

The umpires got play going again at 5:00 pm (1600 GMT), with Anderson bowling two more balls only for a fresh burst of rain to halt play again, with two balls left in an over that had started more than two-and-a-half hours earlier.

India had been in command for all but one ball of the morning’s play after resuming on 21-0.

Both Rahul and Rohit Sharma blunted England’s attack with disciplined skill.

But on the stroke of lunch, Sharma fell for 36 when, in what appeared to be a lapse in concentration, he pulled a surprise short ball from the Ollie Robinson to Sam Curran at fine leg.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND (1st Innings) 183 (J.E. Root 64; J.J. Bumrah 4-46, Mohammed Shami 3-28).

INDIA (1st Innings, overnight 21-0):

R.G. Sharma c Curran b Robinson 36

K.L. Rahul not out 57

C.A. Pujara c Buttler b Anderson 4

V. Kohli c Buttler b Anderson 0

A.M. Rahane run out 5

R.R. Pant not out 7

EXTRAS (B-5, LB-3, NB-8) 16

TOTAL (for four wkts, 46.2 overs) 125

FALL OF WKTS: 1-97, 2-104, 3-104, 4-112.

TO BAT: R.A. Jadeja, S.N. Thakur, J.J. Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.

BOWLING (to-date): Anderson 13.2-7-15-2; Broad 11-1-45-0 (3nb); Robinson 15-5-32-1 (3nb); Curran 7-1-25-0 (2nb).

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2021