SM
Man Utd vs. Newcastle: 10 hrs 10 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

Dom Sibley hits half-century as England post 140 before tea

:Headline: Dom Sibley hits half-century as England post 140 before tea: ID:433839: from db_amp
India were wicketless between lunch and tea.

Dom Sibley's determined half-century and Joe Root's latest classy effort carried England to a tea score of 140 for two on the opening afternoon of the first Test against India.

The pair came together with 63 on the board in Chennai, a rash reverse sweep from Rory Burns and a five-ball duck for Dan Lawrence unpicking a promising start for the tourists just before lunch.

Together they stabilised the position by batting through the middle session, with Sibley resolute on a docile batting surface that had yet to offer any real spin, absorbing 186 deliveries for 53 not out, while Root followed up his prolific series against Sri Lanka by reaching 45no.

The England captain was celebrating becoming the 15th Englishman to play 100 Tests and looked in the mood to mark his milestone in fitting fashion.

Both sides were keen to make first use of what was widely expected to be the best batting conditions of the match, but it was Root who called correctly.

A minor miscalculation almost saw Burns fall at the start of the second over, stepping across his stumps and flicking fine around pad only for Rishabh Pant to let the half-chance slip. The wicketkeeper's glovework is under near constant scrutiny in India and an early blemish, no matter how tough, will not have helped.

That proved a solitary scare in the opening 90 minutes, with England happy to sit in on a flat surface. The runs trickled rather than flowed, but Sibley was reassuringly secure after his struggles against spin in Sri Lanka.

It is one he has rarely filled at county level and proved too great an ask here, as a big slice of reverse swing from Jasprit Bumrah had the Essex prospect plumb lbw for nought.

Root contrived to involve himself in a run-out scare moments before lunch, underlining the growing unease, and would have been happy to reach the break without further damage at 67 for two.

The hard work continued with just 24 runs in the first hour of the afternoon's play as India dried up the scoring options meticulously. Root was stuck for a while on 11, during which he had three dicey moments against Ishant Sharma. After chopping past his off stump, surviving an lbw shout and toe-ending one in front of slip he finally got moving again.

A gentle 10-over burst from Nadeem and Washington Sundar allowed England to top up their total with minimal risk, Root driving his first boundary after 55 deliveries then nailing a reverse sweep.

Sibley, meanwhile, picked his moments to meet the pitch of the ball, working around his front pad to pick gaps at mid-wicket and crunching one full-blooded sweep.

A single got him to a well-earned fifty, with Root catching up quickly as he lashed Ashwin for successive boundaries on either side of the wicket.

amp_article__433839 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2021-02-05 09:14:49:
html db last update - 2021-03-11 16:50:35 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City37277393336088
2Arsenal37275589286186
3Liverpool372310484414379
4Aston Villa37208976562068
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs371961271611063
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle361761379572257
7Chelsea361691173611257
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd36166145256-454
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham371410135971-1252
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton361212125458-448
11Bournemouth37139155365-1248
12Crystal Palace371210155258-646
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves37137175063-1346
14Fulham37128175159-844
15Everton37139153949-1040
16Brentford37109185461-739
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3789204766-1929
18Luton TownLuton3768235081-3126
RBurnley3759234076-3624
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd37372735101-6616
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .