Vijay, Kohli hit fifties as India struggle vs Essex

For Murali Vijay, it is number of balls faced more than runs scored that gives him the rhythm while skipper Virat Kohli simply has to find his way to take charge of the bowling. The batsmen got what they were looking for after India elected to bat in the three-day warm-up game against Essex on Wednesday.

The Essex County Ground had a green pitch but an abrasive outfield, reflecting one of the key aspects of playing cricket in England as well as the heatwave conditions this summer. Kohli chose to bat to give batsmen a useful run.

However, Shikhar Dhawan (0), Cheteshwar Pujara (1) and Ajinkya Rahane (17) all fell in the morning session when the ball was doing a bit, edging catches to veteran wicketkeeper James Foster. If the top-order had to cash in on the only red-ball game before the Test, it didn’t come off. Pujara in particular had struggled in his stint with Yorkshire, especially unable to get the scoreboard moving.

However, Vijay and Kohli would be pleased with their fifties, appreciated by a decent crowd. The pair put on 56 runs for the fourth wicket to carry India to 100/3 at lunch. It is not a first-class game but it is still important for players to gain confidence and show the management they are ready to get into what will be a demanding series.

India had reached 142/4 into the afternoon session as Kohli started opening up to play shots with KL Rahul having just joined him.

Vijay though had two lives before reaching 20, both let off in the slip cordon. However, he was patient as usual while Kohli at the other end played typically authoritative shots off the legs.

The only time Kohli looked uncertain was when he twice fell over trying to play seamer Aaron Beard off his pads, but was lucky he was not in line after being struck on the pads the second time. Vijay was bowled for 53.

CHELMSFORD:

Brief scores: India 1st inngs 151/5 (V Kohli 68, M Vijay 53) vs Essex