4th Test: Early strikes reduce England to 57/4 at lunch
Southampton, Aug 30: Indian pacers wrecked England's top order, taking four quick wickets to reduce the hosts to 57/4 at lunch on the opening day of the penultimate Test of the five-match rubber at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground here on Thursday.
Ben Stokes (12 batting) and Jos Buttler (13 batting) survived a few scary moments before heading back undivided at the break.
For India, Jasprit Bumrah (2/21), Ishant Sharma (1/7) and Hardik Pandya (1/16) were among the wickets even as Mohammed Shami, coming in as the second change bowler, constantly kept asking questions to the vulnerable English pair.
Electing to bat on a track with a tinge of live grass, England's opening woes continued to haunt them as Keaton Jennings was trapped plumb in front by an excellent incoming delivery from Bumrah, for a duck in the third over of the innings.
One over later, Bumrah almost packed back English skipper Joe Root(4) when he was on two, before the Decision Review System (DRS) came to the latter's rescue. Root was trapped plumb in front but television replays showed the bowler overstepping.
The England captain, however, failed to take advantage of the reprieve as Ishant swung it big into the England captain to trap him lbw.
Reduced to 15/2, England's hopes were pinned on former skipper Alastair Cook (17) and Jonny Bairstow (6), playing as a specialist batsman after injuring his finger.
But Bumrah nipped any such ambitions in the bud with the scalp of Bairstow, caught behind by Rishabh Pant in the 13th over before first-change bowler Hardik ended Cook's 55-ball resistance, thanks to a brilliant low catch at third slip by Virat Kohli.
India could have had Buttler too, but Pant missed a tough one. Together with Stokes, Buttler managed to see off the initial scare from the Indian pace attack before heading for lunch undivided.
Brief Scores: England 57/4 (Alastair Cook 17, Jos Buttler 13 batting; Jasprit Bumrah 2/21, Ishant Sharma 1/7) vs India.
Latest Updates: ENG 87/6 (35.0 Ovs)
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Brazil's Ancelotti raises doubts about whether Neymar will reach the 2026 World Cup
Sao Paulo (AP): Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti raised doubts about whether Neymar will be in his squad for the 2026 World Cup. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May.
“If Neymar deserves to be (in the squad), if he is, well, better than others, he will play in the World Cup and that's it. (But) I don't have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw.
Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
“If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list we will make after the FIFA fixtures in March.”
The 33-year-old Neymar has never fully recovered from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he's been key for Santos in its fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship.
On Wednesday, he scored a hat trick for Santos despite a muscular injury. He is expected to play again on Sunday against Cruzeiro.
Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a “referential player” at the moment, a tag for the most valuable player that Neymar has mainly worn since the 2014 home World Cup.
“We have one of the world's best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don't want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said.
Asked about his team's group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it.
“We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final and for that to happen you need to face very strong teams anyway.”
Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002.
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