Published: Aug 12, 2021, 11:23 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 12, 2021, 11:23 AM (IST)
London: In a last-minute change, KL Rahul was slotted in as the opener with Rohit Sharma, after Mayank Agarwal was ruled out of the first Test. The Indian openers came good in the Test as they stitched an invaluable 97-run stand in the first essay.
More importantly, the Indian openers saw off the new ball threat from James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Impressed by their performance, ex-English star David Lloyd praised them. Lloyd seemed to be impressed by the calmness the two showed against the English pacers.
“The performance of India’s openers on the first evening and Wednesday morning was calmness personified. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul stood there properly, picked the bat up properly and addressed the ball properly. What a contrast to England’s. They were abysmal. Again,” Lloyd wrote in the Daily Mail.
Rahul hit a brilliant 84, while Rohit scored a crisp 30. Rahul has made the most of his chance and looks set to open again with Rohit at Lord’s in the second Test.
Meanwhile, England finds itself in a spot of bother as Stuart Broad has been ruled out of the Test and James Anderson’s participation is in doubt.
What are the squads for the India vs England 2nd Test match?
England squad: Joe Root (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Dom Bess, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (wk), Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Mark Wood.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Wriddhiman Saha, Umesh Yadav, Hanuma Vihari, Abhimanyu Easwaran
