Team India dictate proceedings at Stumps on Day 1

It was a fine day for Team India in Hyderabad as they bossed England for a lion’s share of the day, riding high on an imperious all-round display. Winning the toss, England opted to bat first and had a decent start to the proceedings.

Zak Crawley (20) and Ben Duckett (35) did stave away the Indian bowling for a while as the duo posted 55 runs for the opening stand. However, once Ravichandran Ashwin got the opening breakthrough, trapping Duckett in front of the stumps, the floodgates were pried open by Ravindra Jadeja.

Ollie Pope was sent back for a solitary run while Zak Crawley fell to Ashwin in very short succession. From a commanding half-century stand for the opening partnership to crumbling down to 60/3, the visitors started feeling the heat of the experienced turners.

The upcoming trio of Joe Root (29), Jonny Bairstow (37) and the English skipper, Ben Stokes (70) did their very best to battle the experienced Indian spinning trio, only to very limited avail. Jadeja’s double whammy in quick succession got rid of Root and Bairstow while Axar Patel sneaked one through the gates of Jonny Bairstow.

As the Indian bowlers came together in tandem, England were skittled out for 246, thanks to a collective display from Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin who shared six wickets between them while Bumrah and Axar shared four scalps. It was eventually Bumrah who managed to cannon through the gates of Stokes to snuff out the English resistance.

Team India got off to a rollicking start with Yashasvi Jaiswal embracing his attacking self while Rohit Sharma played the perfect two to tango. After adding 80 runs for the opening stand from just 12.2 overs, the Indian captain fell for 24. However, that did very little to dissuade the Indian batters from the notion of going after the English bowlers as they continued their charge in emphatic fashion. 

At the end of day’s play, the hosts finished at 119/1 with Jaiswal unbeaten for 76 from 70 balls while Shubman Gill stayed unbeaten for a warring 14 from 43 balls.

Scores at Stumps on Day 1: 

England – 246 (Ben Stokes – 70, Ravichandran Ashwin 3/68, Ravindra Jadeja 3/88)

India – 119/1 (Yashasvi Jaiswal – 76*, Shubman Gill – 14*, Jack Leach 1/24)