England vs India 2018, First Test: How Virat Kohli shifted momentum in India's favour
At the end of Day 1 of the first Test of the series, the scorecard (England at 285/9) may suggest it was an even day. But if you go back to the stage when England were 216/3, with Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow threatening to take the match away, you realise that the Indian team did really well to stage a comeback, courtesy some great spin bowling from Ashwin, who seems to have redeemed himself after being away from limited overs cricket, and some loose shots from the English batsmen.
But it all started with a great piece of fielding from the skipper.
At 216/3, England looked all set to cross the 300 mark on day one itself. With the Root-Bairstow duo going strong and the likes of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler still to come, a huge total seemed to be on the cards. The Indian captain tried everything from bowling changes to frequent fielding changes but the two looked untroubled, especially Bairstow who was scoring at a brisk rate. Nothing seemed to be working for them, but then...
In the 63rd over, Bairstow flicked a delivery from Ashwin on the on-side and called for a couple, to which the English skipper obliged. Kohli, from short mid wicket, was in pursuit of the ball. Off balance, from about 35-40 yards out and from a difficult angle, the Indian skipper threw the ball more out of instinct than purpose. But he hit the stumps direct to find the English skipper short of his crease.
The partnership was finally broken. And what followed next strengthened India's grip on the game. Though there is still a long way to go in the Test, and the series, if India do manage to win the match, this brilliance from Kohli will surely go down as one of the turning points, as it completely shifted the momentum in India's favour.