England vs India, 4th Test Day 1: 5 Talking Points

It was yet another exciting day of Test cricket at the Ageas Bowl with the pendulum swinging between India and England at various stages, during the course of the 90 overs.

Eventually, one can say that it is the visitors who would take the greater satisfaction of having bowled out the hosts for 246 and then finding themselves at 19 for no loss in four overs.

They could have faced themselves against a smaller deficit, but Sam Curran ensured like he had in Edgbaston that England didn't rest the advantage to India, with a terrific counter-attacking knock of 78 that helped his side post something for the bowlers to bowl at.

Here are the talking points from the day:

---

#1 Kohli ends long streak

India went in with the same side as the Nottingham Test on Thursday

Virat Kohli first led in a Test match in December 2014 at Adelaide and took over full-time three Tests later at Sydney. A lot has happened in his tenure as a captain of India, but the one thing that has always been predictable has been the changes by him to the starting XI.

38 matches prior to this game, 38 different changes. Finally, on Thursday in the fourth Test of the series, Kohli broke the streak and picked the same XI that won his team the Test match at Trent Bridge.

Hopefully, the decision proves to be the right one.

---

#2 Cook fails again

How many more chances before England start looking beyond Cook?

Before the ongoing Test began, there was some talk of how Alastair Cook returning to the Ageas Bowl could help him get back to form.

Sadly, for him and England, it did not turn out to be the case as the left-hander fell for a mere 17, adding yet another poor outing to an already long list of low scores in this series.

#3 India's fast bowlers impress again

Ishant has become the leader of a very potent Indian bowling attack

When Virat Kohli's tenure as India captain ends, the one aspect that could define his stint could be the manner in which the fast bowlers developed into a lethal crop, with the ability to bowl any team out.

The combination of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami in this game and the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav in the reserves means that Kohli can really have his hopes pinned on them to help India win more games abroad with the ball in hand

#4 Jasprit Bumrah proves to be too hot to handle for the English

Bumrah has added the extra bite to the present Indian bowling attack

If there was one player who has added an edge to this playing XI, that is Jasprit Bumrah. Having missed the limited-overs leg of this tour as well as the first two Test matches, the Gujrat pacer seems to be making up for lost time, having already taken 10 wickets midway through his second Test of this series.

With at most three innings left to go in this series, he would hope to grab a few more scalps and end his tour on a high.

#5 Sam Curran comes to England's rescue again

Curran was exceptional with the bat again

When this series ends in a few weeks time, Sam Curran will be one of the top contenders for the Player of the Series award. Usually, statistics are a reflection as to who wins that award, but with Curran, more than the numbers, it is the impact which would make him stand apart from the rest.

Like was the case in the second innings of the Edgbaston Test, Curran was once again in the forefront, rescuing England from 86 for 6 by making 78 on his own to take them to 246 at the end of the first day's play.