Murali Vijay Ton Buoys Aggressive India in First England Test
Murali Vijay scored his fourth Test century and his maiden overseas as India batted first after winning the toss at Trent Bridge.
Murali Vijay's maiden overseas Test century - 122* off 294 - helped India reach 259/4 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test against England on Wednesday. Supported well by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 50*, Vijay completed his fourth Test ton to propel the tourists. (Day One's action | Scorecard)
The visitors, who won the toss and elected to bat at the opening of the five-match series, set the tone with Vijay hitting three boundaries off the first over bowled by Jimmy Anderson. Though he lost Shikhar Dhawan's company early, he hit the ball with confidence to keep the score ticking. (Day 1 in pics)
It was a sign of things to come from Vijay as he raced to his half-century in 69 balls and resumed on 55 after the interval with Cheteshwar Pujara (38) looking to take further advantage of the perfect batting conditions.
On a flat morning for England, Anderson took the solitary wicket of Dhawan (12) to become the only bowler to take 50 Test wickets at the Nottingham ground.
Anderson, who conceded five boundaries in his first three overs, tried to find a different angle when he opted to bowl around the wicket and was rewarded with an outside edge from Dhawan, which was well-taken by wicketkeeper Matt Prior.
Prior, who had been a doubt to make the England side after feeling tightness in his right thigh in training on Monday, showed no signs of injury as he dived well to his left to take the catch. Anderson a Broad took a wicket each as India lost Cheteshwar Pujara for 38 and Virat Kohli for 1. Rahane was unbeaten at 32 when team was taken after 59 overs.
India, who have not won a Test away from home since 2011, handed a debut to all-rounder Stuart Binny in an inexperienced side featuring only one bowler who has previously played a test against England, Ishant Sharma.
England, in search of their first win in nine Tests, recalled Ben Stokes in place of Chris Jordan.
The visitors have not played a five-Test series on English soil since 1959 and their last visit in 2011 resulted in a 4-0 whitewash by the hosts.
(With inputs from Reuters)