Defiant England conquer India in the first Test at Edgbaston

England win against India by 31 runs

India needed 84 runs register a win in the first Test in Edgbaston against England, at stumps on Friday and the game looked evenly poised as India hoped to script history at Edgbaston.

But, Virat Kohli’s batting heroics and India’s power-packed bowling went in vain as England won the 1st Test match by 31 runs in Birmingham to mark a lead over the visitors by 1-0.

King Kohli Kept the Candle Burning:

Virat Kohli batting on 43 kept the hopes alive for India with Dinesh Karthik by his side and when the game of day 4 started, the game hung very much in balance with both the teams refusing to surrender before each other.

But the game tilted in England’s favour when Stokes got Kohli out with a peach of a ball. Hardik Pandya held his nerves to hold his wicket as English bowlers kept striking from the other end.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli smashed a blistering century in his first innings and followed it up with an impressive 51 before getting dismissed in the third ball of the 46th over.

England scored 287 in the first innings and gave India a target of 180 in the second inning. Coming down to chase the target, India scored 274 in the first innings and got bowled out for 162 in 54.2 Overs.

England Made us Sweat for Runs: Kohli

“Glad to be a part of such a thrilling Test match; there were a couple of moments which kept our hopes alive but a team like England is relentless, they made us sweat for our runs,” Virat Kohli said.

“We could have selected our shots better. We definitely need to improve with our batting techniques and I must say, England came back very strong and now we will take the positives to move forward,” he added.

1st Test. It's all over! England won by 31 runs https://t.co/HeruIJq0DO #EngvInd

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 4, 2018

Was always going to be too many once Kohli was out. England ahead but series still open

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 4, 2018

Virat Kohli becomes the SIXTH Indian to get to 50+ scores in either innings when none of the rest even go past 49.

The others –
Vengsarkar, Leeds, 1986
Tendulkar, MCG, 1999
Tendulkar, Mumbai,, 2001
Dravid, Kingston, 2006
Dhoni, Edgbaston, 2011
KOHLI, Edgbaston, 2018 *#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/IOXGjN7qtm

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) August 4, 2018

England win the 1st Test by 31 runs.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/v6IVoAhbXE

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 4, 2018

'There's nothing better than testing yourself out over five days against top-quality opposition' – Kohli https://t.co/PAfjOZnlJj #ENGvIND

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 4, 2018

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