Two balls later, perhaps some prayers had been answered as Ben Stokes trapped Virat Kohli plumb in front to break India's resistance as England went one-up in the five-Test series of the Pataudi Trophy
England's Ben Stokes celebrates the wicket of India's Mohammed Shami on the fourth day of the first Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Saturday. Pic/AFP
The Hollies Stand at Edgbaston is often referred to as the unofficial 12th man for England. On Saturday, there were people dressed up in all sorts of different costumes from Baywatch characters to world leaders like Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump. As the tension grew with each minute, it was a man dressed up as Jesus that finally broke the nervousness by running up and down the steps causing noise levels to rise. Two balls later, perhaps some prayers had been answered as Ben Stokes trapped Virat Kohli plumb in front to break India's resistance as England went one-up in the five-Test series of the Pataudi Trophy.
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James Anderson had stated at the end of Day Three that England would be dreaming about dismissing Kohli early and while they didn't get that wish immediately, Anderson did manage to snare Dinesh Karthik in the opening over.
Kohli at ease
Karthik had looked solid on the third evening, but the wicketkeeper-batsman pushed hard at the Anderson outswinger to leave India six down with still 82 runs to get.
Kohli, in the meantime, looked at absolute ease as he accumulated 200 runs in the Test match with a fine half-century. Kohli and Hardik Pandya added 29 and in the process even managed to reduce the chanting in the Hollies Stand to near-silence. India was starting to get a grip on the game and England needed their 12th man at his loudest.
Dangerous Ben
A couple of minutes later in the middle, Stokes went wide of the crease and shaped one into Kohli to trap him leg before for 51. Three balls later, Mohammed Shami edged one to the 'keeper.
Ishant Sharma hit a couple of boundaries before Adil Rashid trapped him in front, leaving India 40 runs to get with just one wicket in hand. Pandya tried to hit out, but eventually perished to Stokes, as the England all-rounder finished with figures of 4-40 and in the process put his team one nil ahead in the five-Test series.
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