England out for 246 on day 1

Fourth Test vs India

Southampton: India bowled out England for 246 on the opening day of the fourth Test match here on Thursday.

In reply the visitors were 19 for no loss in 4 overs at stumps. Sikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul were at the crease. Indian pacers were right on the mark from the start as they took wickets at regular intervals. But Moeen Ali(40) and Sam Curran (78) stabilised the hosts innings, forging a crucial 81-run partnership.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets while Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets each.

Earlier, electing to bat after winning the toss on a pitch assisting the seamers, the hosts were reduced to 57/4, thanks to a fiery spell of pace bowling by the Indians led by Jasprit Bumrah (2/35) and comprising Ishant Sharma (1/11) and Hardik Pandya (1/37).

England's top order failed to click once again with the openers Keaton Jennings out for a duck while Alastair Cook, was packed back after scoring a 55-ball 17. Skipper Joe Root (4) and Jonny Bairstow (6) also failed to get going and were soon back in the hut.

Resuming the post-lunch session at 57/4, Stokes and Buttler played out the initial few overs cautiously before Buttler started opening up and that brought his downfall, caught by Virat Kohli off Shami.

Shami struck again by trapping Stokes in front when the southpaw started to flourish with back-to-back boundaries.

Reduced to 86/6, the left-handed pair of Moeen and Sam steered the ship to safety, as they played the Indian pacers with extreme caution and did not allow premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to dominate them.

Brief scores: England first innings: 246 all out (Sam Curran 78; Jasprit Bumrah 3/46) against India on day 1. IANS