India dominate day 1 of 4th Test vs England
Southampton, Aug 30 : India dominated the opening day of the fourth Test match as the visitors first bowled out England just a few overs before stumps and then scored 19/0 at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground here on Thursday.
With India trailing by 227 runs, openers Lokesh Rahul (11) and Shikhar Dhawan (3) remained unbeaten.
The day started with Indian pacers wrecking England's top order, taking four quick wickets to reduce the hosts to 57/4 at lunch.
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 sent packing 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 had overstepped.
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 scuttled such ambitions by scalping 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 the 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.
The second session saw Indian pacers continue their domination, taking two more wickets in the second session to reduce England to 139-6.
Resuming the post-lunch session at 57/4, Stokes and Buttler played out the initial few overs cautiously before Buttler started opening up only to bring his downfall, caught by Virat Kohli off Shami.
Reduced to 86/6, the left-handed pair of Moeen and Sam steered the ship to safety, as they played the Indian pacers with extreme caution and did not allow premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to dominate.
The final session saw Moeen and Curran stabilising the hosts innings, forging a crucial 81-run partnership. After Moeen's wicket no other batter supported Curran, and as a result the hosts were bundled out for 246 just before the end of play.
For India, Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets while Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets each
Brief scores: England first innings: 246 all out (Sam Curran 78; Jasprit Bumrah 3/46) against India: 19/0 (Lokesh Rahul 11) at stumps on Day 1
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Riyan Parag likely to be fined 25 percent of match fees for vaping inside dressing room
New Delhi (PTI): Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag is set to be fined 25 per cent of his match fee for bringing the game into "disrepute" after being caught vaping on camera during the IPL game against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur.
Parag's actions during the Royals' chase on Tuesday night drew condemnation on social media.
PTI has learned that on field umpires Tanmay Srivastava and Nitin Menon had not reported the matter to match referee Amit Sharma right after the game. They only did that after seeing visual proof and Sharma found Parag guilty for a code of conduct breach as per the IPL guidelines.
The Level 1 offences carries 25 per cent deduction from match fees and one demerit point.
"He is set to be fined a portion of his match fees and a demerit point for a Level 1 offence," said an IPL source.
The Indian government had banned e-cigarettes back in 2019, prohibiting their production, sale and distribution. As per the law, the offender faces imprisonment up to one year and/or a Rs one lakh fine for a first time offence.
"Article 2.21 of IPL Code of Conduct is intended to cover all types of conduct that bring the game into disrepute and which is not specifically and adequately covered by the specific offences set out elsewhere in this Code of Conduct, including Article 2.20," the IPL Code of Conduct states.
"By way of example, Article 2.21 may (depending upon the seriousness and context of the breach) prohibit, without limitation, the following: (a) public acts of misconduct; (b) unruly public behaviour; and (c) inappropriate comments which are detrimental to the interests of the game.
"When assessing the seriousness of the offence, the context of the particular situation, and whether it was deliberate, reckless, negligent, avoidable and/or accidental, shall be considered.
"Further, the person lodging the Report shall determine where on the range of severity the conduct lays (with the range of severity starting at conduct of a minor nature (and hence a Level 1 Offence) up to conduct of an extremely serious nature (and hence a Level 4 Offence)."
Since it is a Level 1 offence there was no need for a hearing.
Parag, who has not had the best of times with the bat this IPL, was seen inhaling an e-cigarette, also known as vaping, in the dressing room during the live broadcast of their game against Punjab Kings. Royals won the game to end Kings' unbeaten run in the tournament.
This is not the first controversy to hit the Royals this season. Earlier this month, team manager Romi Bhinder was fined Rs one lakh for breaching PMOA protocol after being found using his phone in the dugout.
IPL and BCCI officials involved in the conduct of the IPL termed it as a careless act in the age of social media and prying TV cameras.
Royals next host Delhi Capitals at home on Friday night.
