As India lost the first Test to England in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium by a margin of 227 runs, a lot of hearts broke as Indian fans expected the home side to give a tough fight to the visitors, especially after their tremendous series win in Australia.
England scored 578 and 178 in two innings with Joe Root top-scoring with 218 and 40 respectively in both innings. On the other hand, India managed just 337 in the first innings with Cheteshwar Pujara (73), Rishabh Pant (91), and Washington Sundar (85*) being the top-scorers for the home side.
England managed to give India a target of 420 runs to win and their bowlers, especially Jack Leach and James Anderson wreaking havoc by picking 7 wickets in between them. Though Virat Kohli top-scored with 72, it wasn’t enough as apart from Shubman Gill (50), none of the other batsmen could withstand Leach’s spin on a day five pitch, while Anderson swung the ball traditionally and reversed it as well.
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer took to Twitter and consoled the Indian team fans, asking them to not lose hopes and hearts. He also mentioned that the last time India lost the first Test of the series both away and at home, they went onto win the series.
“Don't lose heart Indian fans. Last time India lost first test of a series, they won the series. Last time India lost first test of a home series, they won the series #INDvsENG,” Jaffer tweeted.
The second Test between India and England will begin in Chennai from February 13 onwards. This Test will also see the return of crowd in stadiums, as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association received permission from the BCCI to allow 50% of crowd and media personnel into the stadium for the match.
