3rd Test, Day 1: KL Rahul, Pujara & Virat Out to Anderson; India 56/4 at Lunch

Lunch report from Day 1 of the Headingley Test between India and England.

James Anderson celebrates Virat Kohli's wicket on Day 1 of the Headingley Test.

(Photo: PTI)

England dominated the first session of play on Day 1 of the third Test against India at Headingley with KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane all back in the hut.

The visitors went to Lunch at 56/4 with Rahane falling on 18 on the last ball before the innings break.

Earlier in the day, Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first. He is also playing an unchanged XI meaning once again, there's no place for Ashwin in the starting line-up.

England brought in Dawid Malan and Craig Overton for Dom Sibley and Mark Wood respectively.

James Anderson was the wrecker-in-chief for England this morning as the 39-year-old began by taking out KL Rahul for a duck on the fifth ball of the innings. He set up Rahul's dismissal by enticing him to drive on an outswinger to keeper Jos Buttler after three inswingers.

Anderson troubled Cheteshwar Pujara with inswingers before bowling an outswinger, on which Pujara (1) hung his bat out and nicked behind to Buttler. Kohli (7) unleashed a cover drive off Anderson, only for the thick edge to go behind to Buttler.

At 21/3, the tourists were in all sorts of trouble. But Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane stopped the slide with a partnership of 35 runs for the fourth wicket. At the stroke of lunch, Rahane nicked behind to Buttler off Ollie Robinson to leave India in trouble again.

Sharma was the only batsman trying to defend and negotiate the moving ball. He is unbeaten on 15 runs off 75 balls in a session completely dominated by England.