"England have bowled well and not let the game drift"- Dinesh Karthik after Day 1 of fourth Ashes 2023 Test

Veteran Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik feels England have done really well to not allow Australia to run away with their first innings on Day 1 of the ongoing Ashes Test at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Despite good batting conditions, the visitors ended the day on 299/8 and Karthik credited the hosts for chipping away with wickets at regular intervals.

Speaking on Sky Sports Cricket's Ashes Podcast, here's what Dinesh Karthik had to say about how Ben Stokes and Co. didn't let any Australian batter convert their start:

"You can say that England put pressure on them for a couple of wickets. But Marnus Labuschagne played a soft shot for the way he was batting. Travis Head played a shot which was perhaps not the best at that point in time. But they have bowled well and not let the game drift. They ensured hundreds haven't been scored easily."

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Kumar Sangakkara on Australia's failure to pile runs on England

Former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara was also present in the discussion and he questioned the Australian batters for not grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck when they had the opportunity to bat big.

The former cricketer shed light on how some of the soft dismissals meant that the hosts always found a way to come back. He stated:

"England are ahead for sure. It wasn't such a bad toss to lose for Australia as they did play that extra all-rounder in Cameron Green. But it's a strange case of Australia not being able to fully take control of a game. Just 4-5 batters getting in but not being able to convert their start. England were out of it for the first one and a half sessions, but have bowled with discipline and have come roaring back."

The hosts now need to ensure that Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins don't have a frustratingly long partnership on Day 2.