India vs England: Who is Sam Curran?

The opening pair of Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan had done what no other Indian opening pair had managed to do in 17 innings on English soil in Test cricket. The pair had added 50 runs between them, the first time since 2011.

India in England 2018 Series Page

Aftet bowling out England on 287, India began their reply on a solid footing. Enter Sam Curran.

READ: What if Sam Curran had stood his ground?

With James Anderson and Stuart Broad failing to create much chances, England skipper threw the ball to the baby-faced Sam , who is playing in his second game of his Test career. By the time he was taken off, India's bright start had turned gloomy in a matter of minutes. In six overs, he had rattled Indian batsmen with some impressive bowling as he got rid of Murali Vijay, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan in the space of eight deliveries. From 50/0, he reduced the visitors to 59/3, putting them back in a familiar territory which they became used to on their last tour of the country in 2014 , a series they went on to lose 1-3.

So who is this greenhorn? Sam Curran, for those who have been following England cricket for the past one year and Indian Premier League, is the younger brother of right-arm medium pacer Tom Curran. Tom made his England debut in June 2017 during a T20I against South Africa and has since played in six T20Is, eight ODIs and two Tests.

The late Zimbabwe allrounder Kevin Curran is their father.

Born on June 3, 1998, Sam is an allrounder who bowls left-arm medium pace and bats left-handed. He represents Surrey in County cricket and packs an experience of 42 First-Class and 50 List A matches. He was drafted into the England playing XI against Pakistan earlier this year after Ben Stokes failed to pass a fitness Test. He returned figures of 2/85 from the match. Later, he made his ODI debut against Australia, picking up 2/44. He has played one Test and one ODI so far and the ongoing Edgbaston game is second in whites for England.

In his first spell, Sam bowled six overs for 23 runs and picked up three wickets. And has out-shined his senior teammates to announce himself against the world's top-ranked India.