Spoils shared in first England-India Test after rain ruins final day

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India would have started the day at an overnight score of 52/1 with Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease and still needing 157 runs to win, but the match was called off without a ball being bowled on the fifth day.

Both teams would have pushed for a win had the weather permitted, but will had to settle for four points each in the ICC World Test Championship standings.

Virat Kohli's side started the first match of WTC 2021-2023 cycle strongly on day one, with the fast bowlers justifying the skipper's decision to drop a spinner for a pacer.

Jasprit Bumrah found his rhythm in the very first over, getting rid of Rory Burns, which set the tone for the rest of the innings. The fast-bowling quartet picked up all 10 wickets in the innings, with Bumrah leading the way with 4/46.

Joe Root was the only half-centurion for England in the first innings. While Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow made good starts, they failed to make substantial contributions as the hosts were bundled out of 183.

Playing his first Test in almost two years, KL Rahul was calmness personified as he had an answer for everything that the England attack threw at him. Patient knocks from Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja and handy contributions from the tail gave India a valuable lead of 95 runs on day three.

Stuart Broad and Sam Curran failed to trouble the Indian batters, but James Anderson and Ollie Robinson had a memorable day with the ball. Robinson recorded his maiden five-for in Tests while Anderson became the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, equalling Anil Kumble's record with the wicket of Kohli for a duck and then surpassing it with the scalp of Rahul.

Root was once again England's saviour in the second innings with a counter-attacking century that put the pressure back on India. The skipper strung together several vital partnerships with the rest of the batters to set India a target of 209 in the fourth innings.

If the four-for in the first innings wasn't enough proof that Bumrah had found his groove, the paceman was on fire in the second innings as well, putting his name on the Trent Bridge's honours board with a five-for.

India finished day four on 52/1, and never took the field on day five after rain forced the first Test into a draw.

With a fifty and a hundred to his name, England skipper Joe Root was awarded the Player of the Match.

The action now moves to Lord's in London where the two teams will clash in the second Test of the five-match series, starting on Thursday, 12 August.