Kohli scores his first Test century in England

England will doubtless be the happier of the two teams trundling off for tea, the hosts took three wickets – two for Ben Stokes and one more for Sam Curran – to leave India struggling to reach the hosts’ below-par first innings total of 285.

India vs England 1st Test Day 2 Edgbaston: It happened at Birmingham again!

“Ashwin is a very good bowler”.

India’s Virat Kohli celebrates scoring a century against England on 2 August 2018.

This is the first of a five-match series.

Kohli’s last trip to England was not a success.

This time, however, feels different.

A awful run-out of Root sparked an England collapse on day one of the first Test.

It was not an easy start for Kohli. The contest between “the master with the bowl” James Anderson and “champion with the bat” Virat had been awaited and built up for four years.

India captain Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 53 after Dawid Malan twice dropped him at second slip.

Virat dedicated his hundred to his wife Anushka Sharma, and celebrated it with a loud “come on”, Kohli then held out his wedding ring that hung around his neck, showed it to the world, and kissed it to show his delight.

Adil Rashid was introduced in to the attack just before lunch after his controversial return to Test cricket, the spinner starting with a nervous full toss and his one over costing five runs. It brought out Kohli who was booed on his walk to the crease. “I think to a larger extent that particular thing of doing something in the air is something I consciously worked on”, he said. “OK, I’ll stick around'”. Kohli has taken that prediction and run with it.

But Kohli battled through, as great players do, and now has a very cherished first Test ton in England.

While the knock was characterized by grit, what stood out as a contrast to the Kohli of the past was his decisiveness when playing the quicker bowlers.

Earlier, Jos Buttler was taken to hospital after injuring his left middle finger attempting to take an extremely tough chance off Kohli at gully, but an X-ray revealed it was bruised rather than broken.

The 31-year-old Indian, who has taken 316 wickets from 58 Tests so far, had chose to work on his bowling action.

He claimed three wickets in eight balls as he found some movement. Shikhar Dhawan looked uneasy while K. L. Rahul fell to a bad shot as Sam Curran ripped out the top three with his left-arm swing.

Curran is an exceptionally promising all-rounder but he was certainly not guaranteed a place in the XI and may not have featured if England had more faith in the fitness of Mark Wood and Chris Woakes.

Pacer Mohammed Shami, who started the proceedings along with Ashwin, got Curran (24) caught behind by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.

Bairstow played on to paceman Umesh Yadav for 70, trying to cut a ball that was too close to him.