India were well placed to claim a first Test win at Trent Bridge, needing 157 more runs with nine wickets in hand before rain saw the final day abandoned; Watch the second Test between England and India at Lord's from Thursday, August 12 from 10am on Sky Sports Cricket.
Monday 9 August 2021 15:25, UK
India captain Virat Kohli believes the series with England is still very much a ‘blockbuster’ despite the weather seeing the first Test ending in a draw.
Kohli's side were well placed to claim a first Test win at Trent Bridge, needing 157 more runs with nine wickets in hand going into the final day.
But with Nottingham seeing rain all day, the final day was abandoned with India likely to feel most aggrieved having manoeuvred themselves into a winning position from the moment they dismissed England for 183 on the first evening.
Although Kohli was surprised at the day five weather, he was philosophical on the outcome and his side's performance.
Speaking to Sky Sports Cricket, Virat Kohli said: "We expected rain on day three and four but it chose to arrive on day five.
"Heading into day five, we felt like we had our chances right in front of us and were on top in the game.
"We bowled and batted well enough and thought we were in a good position to have a crack at the target.
"We wanted to play with intent and it wasn't about going into day five surviving"
"It would have been a nice, interesting day of Test cricket so it's a shame the weather prevailed in the end.
"Nevertheless, it's going to be an exciting series to be part of. India-England is always a blockbuster so I will expect a lot of exciting cricket ahead."
Sky Sports Cricket's Dinesh Karthik: "I think India definitely had the upper hand going into the final day.
"(Jasprit) Bumrah set the tone in the first over, setting up Rory Burns the way he did, the bowling unit was good and I thought the batters came in with a lot of intent.
"India will take a lot more from this game than England would - overall they played a very good brand of cricket."
Watch the second Test between England and India at Lord's from Thursday, August 12 from 10am on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event.
