India will take a lot more than England from rain-affected first Test, says Dinesh Karthik. India might not have been able to win the series opener and go 1-0 up but Virat Kohli’s men will take a lot of confidence from the way they played, says wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik.
Television commentator Dinesh Karthik said Virat Kohli’s men would be the happier of the two sides after the first Test of a 5-match series against England ended in a draw due to constant rain in Nottingham. India headed into the fifth and final day of the Test, at 52 for 1, needing another 157 runs to win the match and go 1-0 up in the series.
India Definitely Had The Upper Hand In the 1st Test: Dinesh Karthik
However, consistent rain on the final day made sure not even a single ball was bowled. With the game hanging in the balance after Joe Root hit a hundred to give a competitive target to chase, a cracker of a final day was denied by the wet weather in the English summer.
Dinesh Karthik said he believed that India had a good chance to gun down the target and lay down the early marker in the Test series.
“I think India definitely had the upper hand going into the final day. India will take a lot more from this game than England would – overall they played a very good brand of cricket,” Karthik told Sky Sports.
Dinesh Karthik hasn’t played for India since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand in 2019 but the Tamil Nadu veteran has not given up on another comeback. Dinesh Karthik was last seen in action in the IPL 2021, where he scored 123 runs across 7 innings at an average of 30.75. He has featured in 203 IPL games and amassed 3946 runs averaging 26.13 with 19 fifties. The KKR keeper has played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs, and 32 T20Is.
Dinesh Karthik: Jasprit Bumrah Set The Tone In the Very 1st Over Of The Test Removing Rory Burns
The Kolkata Knight Riders wicketkeeper-batsman lauded Jasprit Bumrah for setting the tone as early as Day 1. There were concerns about Jasprit Bumrah’s form after a poor showing in the World Test Championship final but the Mumbai Indians pacer stormed back, picking up 9 wickets, including a 5-wicket haul in the 2nd innings.
Jasprit Bumrah led the 4-man pace attack as India went in with only one spinner, leave out Ravichandran Ashwin. And the move worked as India was able to bundle out England for 183 after Joe Root won the toss and opted to bat on an opening day. There were contributions from all 4 bowlers, including Mohammed Siraj who was preferred over Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav.
On the batting front, it was KL Rahul who made the most of an opportunity to open the innings after injuries to Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal. KL Rahul had top-scored for India in the 1st innings, scoring 84. KL Rahul got an opportunity to play a Test for the first time since August 2019 when he opened the innings along with Rohit Sharma in the recently-concluded first Test of a 5-match series against England in Nottingham.
KL Rahul made the most of the opportunity that came his way, top-scoring in the first innings with a solid 84. Even as India’s Big 3 – Virat Kohli (0), Cheteshwar Pujara (4), and Ajinkya Rahane (5) failed, KL Rahul kept the Indian innings afloat with a patient knock.
“Bumrah set the tone in the first over, setting up Rory Burns the way he did, the bowling unit was good and I thought the batters came in with a lot of intent,” Karthik added.
The second Test between India and England will get underway from August 12 at the iconic Lord’s in London.