London [UK], August 31 : Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami helped India restrict England to 246 on the opening day of the fourth Test at The Ageas Bowl Cricket Ground on Thursday.
After losing the first two Tests, India came back strongly in the five-Test series in the third encounter. Continuing their good form, Indian bowlers showcased a disciplined bowling effort and gave a good chance to the batting lineup to take a strong lead over the hosts.
England lost six wickets for 86 runs to find themselves in a precarious position after opting to bat first. Bumrah (3/46), Ishant Sharma (2/26), Shami (2/51) and spinner R Ashwin (2/40) altogether portrayed a strong bowling attack. All-rounder Hardik Pandya (1/51) also managed to get a wicket.
Alastair Cook (17), Keaton Jennings (0), Joe Root (4), Jonny Bairstow (6) all got out cheaply thus putting pressure on the middle and the lower order.
Later, all-rounder Sam Curran anchored the England innings by scoring 78 vital runs as he shared 81 runs with Moeen Ali (40) and 63 runs with Stuart Broad (17) for the seventh and ninth wickets respectively.
However, the England side didn’t manage to build a long partnership thereby getting all-out on 246.
At stumps, Shikhar Dhawan (3 not out) and KL Rahul (11 not out) were at the crease with the hosts leading by 227 runs.
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