The Trent Bridge Test, the first of the five Tests in the English summer, has saw so many seesaw moments throughout the four days with the the fourth day being the most enthralling of them all.
Mainly so because, the rain didn't play spoilsport. Secondly, both the teams fought hard to take the lead in the game. India tried to take wickets as quickly as possible while England tried to score as many runs as possible.
ATTACK, THE BEST FORM OF DEFENCE
England surely used it as the strategy in their second innings. As soon as India got rid of the England openers, Root took the attack on the Indian bowlers straightaway. Every batsmen played around him with an aggressive intent.
The runs were scored at a rate of around 3.4 throughout the day and the crowd was certainly entertained by that. As the pitch eased out, the batting became easier and the English batsmen made the most of it.
JOE ROOT, THE PERFECTIONIST
Three years had passed since the last time Joe Root got a hundred at home. It was way back in 2018 against the same opposition. He redeemed himself by getting one against the same opposition after three years.
Image Courtesy- India Today
And how did he do that! He scored a counterattacking hundred to remember for the ages. He took on arguably the best bowling attack in the world and played effortlessly. He brought up his 21st test hundred and dragged England back in the game.
JASPRIT BUMRAH, THE SABOTEUR
England were running away with the game at one stage when Jasprit Bumrah bowled an inspiring spell to bring India back in the game.
He dismissed the likes of Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root, Sam Curran and Stuart Broad to claim his sixth Test fifer and the second on the English soil at Trent Bridge. His confidence has sky-rocketed with a total of nine wickets in the match.
Image Courtesy- The Sports Rush
THE BATTLE OF STREAKS
The second innings on day 4 of the first test saw Joe Root scoring a hundred and Bumrah claiming a fifer. During Root's previous 20 hundreds, England have never went on to lose a Test!
On the other hand, Bumrah's all seven 4-wicket hauls have resulted in an Indian win. It'd be interesting to see which of the two streaks might get destroyed on the deciding day of the Test.
TRENT BRIDGE, THE LUCKY CHARM OF INDIA
Trent Bridge is one of the luckiest ground for India away from home. Of the seven tests played by India at Nottingham, India have won 2 tests, drawn 3 and lost 2 tests. The most recent faceoff happened in 2018, which saw India's only win in the series.
The equation for the final day is simple. India need 157 runs while England need 9 wickets to win the Test with a minimum of 98 overs to be bowled. Anything can happen on the fifth day of the test, which makes the deciding day a one to watch out for.
