Riding on Joe Root's ton and Moeen Ali's half century (99 batting), England made most of the favourable conditions to finish Day 1 on 311/4. Here are the statistical highlights from Day 1 of the 1st Test in Rajkot on Wednesday.
Ahead of Wednesday's first Ashes Test in Cardiff, Root expressed his disappointment by posting two messages on Twitter.
Saud Shakeel missed out on a hundred but Salman Agha smashed a brisk 79 not out to propel Pakistan to a commanding 515 for eight at tea on the second day of the contest on Tuesday.
Captain Root mastered the pink ball to make 136 and Cook was unbeaten on 153 at the close as England recovered strongly from a perilous 39 for two to take control of the game at Edgbaston.
The barren run of skipper Rohit Sharma and the selection conundrum that Virat Kohli's possible return poses are the towering obstacles in India's quest for a series win against England in the second ODI in Cuttack on Sunday.
England captain Joe Root hailed Moeen Ali as a role model and said he would be a huge loss to the Test side after the all-rounder announced his decision to quit the longest format of the game on Monday.
England's Test captain Joe Root considers India's Virat Kohli as currently the most complete player around and said he expects England team mate Jos Buttler to soon replicate his limited-overs dominance in Test cricket.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag believes all is not well with the Rahul Dravid-coached Indian team and a few things needed to be addressed as soon as possible after England pulled off a record 378-run chase.
2024 saw some of the most competitive and captivating cricket being played on the field.
Saud Shakeel's crafty 134 fetched Pakistan a handy first-innings lead before their spinners blew away England's top order to boost their hopes of a memorable series victory on day two of the deciding third Test in Rawalpindi on Friday.
England skipper Joe Root said he feels like the spectators have almost been "robbed" as they came to watch to the stadium to watch Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma face the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad but instead watching him taking wickets.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between England and the West Indies, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Saturday.
Joe Root smashed an unbeaten century to steer England to a convincing eight-wicket against Bangladesh in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy in London, on Thursday.
Ben Stokes has stated that he has no designs on the Test captaincy
Wood has so far played two matches in the ongoing series
England captain Eoin Morgan insisted that although they produced an aggressive brand of cricket, the real test would be to find consistency.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the 50 Most Valuable Players in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
IMAGES from the third Test played between England and Sri Lanka at the Oval on Sunday
Gus Atkinson took a hat-trick as England stayed on course for a dominant victory in the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday, reaching 378 for 5 at the close of play on Day 2 with an imposing lead of 533.
Shubman Gill once again failed to convert a decent start as he was dismissed for 34 off 46 balls on Day 1 of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam.
Joe Root's third hundred powered England to a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the fifth One-day international in Pallekele on Thursday and kept alive their hopes in the seven-match series. After rain forced play to be suspended on Wednesday, the visitors returned to chase down a 240-run victory target and won with five balls to spare.
England batsman Joe Root on Wednesday expressed joy at the "good day" his side experienced and was also confident that they can take the six remaining Indian wickets on day five of the third cricket Test in Southampton.
Harry Brook continued his remarkable form in New Zealand with a second century of the series to drive England to 280 before the tourists reduced the Black Caps to 86 for 5 at the close of play on Friday, the first day of the second Test.
IMAGES from the World Cup match played between England and Afghanistan in Delhi on Sunday.
Wood's injury has created an opening for Saqib Mahmood's Test debut and Root did not rule that out.
Two debatable decisions went against England in the first Test against India at Trent Bridge and middle-order batsman Joe Root said it was "little frustrating" to play without the Decision Review System.
'I think that as batters if you don't score runs, you will always look at yourselves, you'll always try and find ways to improve and we've certainly done that.'
England batted with positive intent to take control of the final Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday, moving on to 389-9 at the close on the third day with a 377-run lead over Australia.
Photos from the 2nd Test between England and West Indies at Trent Bridge on Sunday
India will aim to soar higher with the return of Virat Kohli against Joe Root's England
'He has not played in Australia, or at least he has not played in Perth in a Test match on a wicket that bounces.'
England captain Alastair Cook has reportedly given his permission to his team to carry on drinking whenever they win despite England batsman Joe Root getting punched by Australian opener David Warner.
Sarfaraz Khan's lighthearted sledging provided fans with a delightful moment
England must win the fourth Test in Manchester to keep the series alive ahead of the fifth Test at the Oval in London.
Ben Stokes' match haul of 254 runs and three wickets fashioned England's series-levelling victory against West Indies in the second Test on Monday, also earning him the player-of-the-match award.
Images from Day 2 of the fourth Test between India and England in Rajkot on Saturday, February 24.
England batting mainstay Joe Root has dismissed "trash talk" by Pakistan paceman Wahab Riaz who claimed he has got the batsman's number going into the first Test at Lord's starting on Thursday.
Joe Root expects Alastair Cook to continue to lead England for "a few years to come" amid rising speculation on the future of the 31-year-old as test captain. The left-handed opening batsman triggered doubts about his captaincy when he told the Cricketer magazine that he did not know "how much longer I am going to carry on. It could be two months, it could be a year".
Captain Rohit Sharma and middle-order batter Ravindra Jadeja smashed defiant hundreds to drag India out of the doldrums and into a comfortable 326 for five on the opening day of the third Test against England on Thursday.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between England and Australia at Lord's on Saturday.
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