After a glorious win in Australia, Indian fans were looking for yet another domination from their side against England in their own soil. However, the ‘Men in Blue’ displayed a completely antithetical performance of what was expected of them. The Virat Kohli-led side allowed the visitors to walk over them completely. England went on to win the first Test 227 runs as they took a 1-0 lead in the four-match Test series.
IND vs ENG: What happened in the first Test
The Indian bowlers were left without any answers as Joe Root and Co. totally dismantled the host’s bowling attack in the first innings. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane failed to rise in the crunch situation for India allowing the Englishmen to enter the second innings with a lead of 241 runs.
While the Indian bowlers made a decent comeback in the second innings, England still managed to leave a heavy total of 420 runs for the Indians to chase. James Anderson-led English bowlers thumped the Indian batsmen for just 192 runs as India lost their first home Test in four years.
IND vs ENG: Is Virat Kohli to be blamed?
As soon as India lost the test, the internet started doing its favourite thing, which is to blame skipper Virat Kohli. Netizens went too hard on Kohli as he lost his fourth consecutive Test match as India’s captain. Some questioned his team selection of benching Kuldeep Yadav and playing Shahbaz Nadeem instead. Many demanded to get Ajinkya Rahane back in the helm of India’s Test cricket.
IND vs ENG: Twitteratis slam Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is trying to score as many runs as possible so that he can blame other players and the pitch. He will say taht he is the best captain. Lol. @bcci
smell the coffee and make Ajinkya Rahane the captain. Sack Kohli and Shastri. Personal milestones my foot.#INDvENG
— Nairobi (@Nairobi_tweets) February 9, 2021
Virat Kohli such a Impactful player. Without him It took India 3 tests in Australia to go on top and create history but he joined and put us back to be a losing side in just one test. Incredible impact.
— EngiNerd. (@mainbhiengineer) February 9, 2021
#INDvsENG @ImRo45 @ajinkyarahane88 @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/BcvCtSLRKj
— Rahul Jâykãr (@RahulJykr1) February 9, 2021
Ajinkya Rahane beat Australia in Australia with net bowlers and T20 batsmen. Virat Kohli can’t beat England in India with his top bowlers and batsmen. This is getting ridiculous. Kohli’s Bangalore has finished last in IPL every time. Isn’t that proof he’s not captaincy material.
— Rakesh Thiyya (@ByRakeshSimha) February 7, 2021
