Twitter Reactions: Moeen Ali's rampant show with the ball takes England one up

The Test marked the captaincy debut of the immense talent that is Joe Root, and he made it a Test to remember for himself.

By Soham Nag

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Moeen Ali of England
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Joe Root and Moeen Ali of England leave the field after England win the 1st Test match. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Hosts England has reigned supreme at their fortress as they pick up an emphatic victory against the South Africans in the first Test of the four-match series. England had a slightly stronger team on paper and they justified their strength in the perfect way sealing a win.

The Test marked the captaincy debut of the immense talent that is Joe Root, and he made it a Test to remember for himself. Coming on to bat first, England found themselves in trouble early in the inning as the openers made their way back to the pavilion cheaply. Skipper, Joe Root stepped down with onto the field with the huge responsibility of reviving the innings.

The captain stood up to the task like a valiant warrior and played a tremendous knock of 190 runs. He was well supported by highly-rated all-rounder Ben Stokes (56) and Moeen Ali (87). England saw themselves finish at a total of 458 runs with some late onslaught steered by Stuart Broad.

The South African inning was marked by three fifties with all of them failing to convert them into a big score. Skipper Dean Elgar played a decent knock of 54, while Quinton de Kock (51), Vernon Philander (52) and Temba Bavuma (59) were the other three cross the half-century mark. South Africa could manage a total of 361 runs in return.

The second innings:

The second innings of both the teams were ones dominated by the bowlers, unlike the first ones. The South African bowled brilliantly to restrict the Englishmen to a mere score of 233. The only positive from England’s second inning was that previous captain Alastair Cook got back to some kind of form. South Africa’s most lethal weapon Kagiso Rabada bowled a brilliant spell which will work as some relief after picking up a ban which will see him miss the second Test at Trent Bridge.

However, the England bowlers were given a task to restrict the South Africans under the score of 330 which was lead obtained by the batting department. And you guess what? The bowlers responded in style. England bundled out the Proteas for just 110 runs as Moeen Ali weaved magic with the ball in hand. The all-rounder picked up 6 wickets and grabbed all the limelight as England bagged the first Test by 211 runs. Ali was also handed over the Man of the Match award for his 87 run-knock and his 10 wicket haul.

Here is what the Twitterati had to say about the action-packed game:

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