England all-rounder Chris Woakes believes that the Third Specsavers Test is well poised after the first day at Trent Bridge, where India closed on 307-6.  

The 29-year-old carried on his fine form with the first three wickets to fall, before Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane shared in a 159-run stand to wrestle back the advantage after England had won the toss and put the tourists in.

“They both played really well and capitalised on the conditions as they got better in the afternoon,” said Woakes, who ended the day with figures of 3-75.

“We bowled reasonably well and they combatted it and we struggled to create chances in that middle session.

“Credit to India who played well with the ball moving round. Sometimes when you bowl first there is added pressure to skittle them but I think it has been an even day overall.”

A superb catch by Alastair Cook at first slip accounted for Rahane off Stuart Broad, after the Indian right-hander had managed to make 81.

Kohli, exactly ten years on from when he made his international debut, was once again at his stroke playing best, falling just short of a second century of the series when edging Adil Rashid to Ben Stokes on 97.

Woakes was glad to see the back of both players after they had held England at bay for the entire afternoon session.

“Virat is a world class player so to see the back of him is important for us as he is someone that can go on and get big scores,” said Woakes.

“They have had to adapt to the conditions over here and I think they left the ball well and made us bowl to them a little bit more.

“Luckily when I came into the attack in the morning I got the ball in the right areas and it was swinging a bit and I managed to make some breakthroughs.”

And with the game evenly poised after the first day, Woakes is excited by the prospect of what the rest of the contest will bring.

“Sometimes when wickets have been tumbling at a fast rate earlier in the series you expect that to happen every time you step onto the field,” he said.

“However, Test cricket is five days for a reason and sometimes you have to be patient to get your reward.”

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