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Chennai Test: Jasprit Bumrah scalps 1st wicket in India as England reach 67/2 at Lunch
Lawrence, who came into bat after opener Rory Burns' dismissal, went back to the dressing room without troubling the scorers as he got out lbw against Bumrah. Before the ongoing first Test, Bumrah, 27, had played 17 Tests, all overseas, in which he had picked 79 wickets. Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat, Burns and Sibley provided England with a solid start as they brilliantly tackled the two Indian pacers -- Ishant Sharma and Bumrah.
Chennai Test: Joe Root becomes 15th England cricketer to play 100 Tests
Before the start of the first Test where England opted to bat, Root had scored 8,249 runs in 99 Test matches, including 19 hundred and 49 half-centuries. He is the fourth-highest Test scorer for England, only behind Alastair Cook (12,472 runs), Graham Gooch (8,900 runs) and Alec Stewart (8,463 runs).
Chennai Test: England players sport black armbands to pay tribute to Tom Moore
The 100-year-old British army veteran, who raised millions of pounds to help Britain's health service in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic last year, passed away with coronavirus. Joe Root's men wore black armbands when the teams stood for their respective national anthems before the visitors came out to bat.
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill set to get long rope as opening pair: Kohli
While Sharma had cemented him place in the opening slot back in the home Tests in 2019, Gill made his debut in Australia on the recent tour and impressed with his strokeplay, and notching scores of 50, 31, 7 and 91. The two added 70 and 71 in the third Test in Sydney. They, however, failed to score big in the two innings of the second Test.
Chennai Test: India pick three spinners, put in to bowl by England
For India, left-arm spinner Axar Patel has been ruled out of the Test. Axar complained of pain in his left knee during Team India's optional training session on Thursday, BCCI earlier informed in a statement. India are going on with three spinners -- Ravichandran Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar -- while Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack.
International cricket returns to India after more than a year
India were then scheduled to host South Africa in a three-match ODI series in March. While the first ODI in Dharamsala was washed out on March 12, the second and third, scheduled to be held on March 15 and 18 respectively, never happened as the series was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Was watching Shardul, Washington bat before doctor called us: Kohli
Kohli though considers that joy of a young India side scoring a fighting win over Australia secondary to the witnessing his first child Vamika being born. "I don't think the two can be compared. To me, becoming a father has been and will remain the greatest moment in my life, in both our lives and that is something that has to be experienced to understand what I am saying," Kohli told the media on Thursday.
WTC final won't be our focus as it cost us series in NZ: Kohli
Kohli, who will return to lead the national side after the paternity leave, said he was impressed by India youngsters and newcomers like Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini performing well in Australia and said that the team's strategy of going for the win overseas and keep draw as only the last option is what helped them do well and help India win the last Test in Brisbane.
At $238 million, Virat Kohli remains most-valued celebrity in India for 4th consecutive year
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Virat Kohli had a brand value of USD 237.7 million in 2020 for the fourth year in the row. Akshay Kumar who retained the second position with a brand value of USD 118.9 million, recorded a jump of 13.8 percent. While Ranveer Singh retained the third position for the second year in a row with a brand value of 102.9 million.
India's win in Australia inspiration to win away from home: Root
India had won the Test series in Australia despite injuries to players. England too have started the series on a similar note with Zak Crawley, who was to bat at No. 3, ruled out of the first two Tests due to wrist injury. Root, who did not share Crawley's replacement at No. 3, will be crucial for England innings.
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