England v India, 5th Test Day 1 Session 2 : India spill chances, Cook reaches 50
England have India's slip fielders to thank for being 123-1 at Tea on Day 1 of the Fifth Test match in the series. Retiring Alastair Cook reached his 50 half an hour before Tea and is now batting on 66 alongside Moeen Ali (23).
It was a wicketless session for the visitors. India could have wrapped up both Alastair and Moeen Ali early inside the session had they held onto the chances both the English players provided. India dropped two catches inside 4 balls.
Ishant had Cook out-edging one to Rahane at close gully only for the fielder to juggle it before eventually dropping it. Cook was batting on 37 at that time and Ishant was clearly disappointed. In the next over, Kohli dropped Moeen Ali off Jasprit Bumrah after a one-handed attempt at third slip.
The England batsmen made India pay for their hiccups in slips as they ground their way through the session. The mental edge in red ball cricket for which Alastair Cook is famous for was on display once again in his 161st test where England's highest test run scorer of all time played out good spells of bowling from Bumrah and Shami.
Both the Indian bowlers pitched the balls in the right areas but their wickets columns have little to show for it as Moeen and Cook played their deliveries on merit. Shami as a special mention was outstanding in the session post Lunch. He enforced a lot of play-and-miss from the Englishmen but couldn't scalp a wicket.
India also lost a review in this session when Kohli went upstairs after a Bumrah delivery angled in sharply to kiss Moeen Ali's front pad. But the ball was hitting the pad outside the line of the off-stump and the on-field umpire was asked to stand with his decision.
Now with England regaining the upper hand in this session courtesy Cook's 50, Indian bowlers face an uphill task in the final session of the day.