Hyderabad: The Indian spinners spun their web around English batters as the visitors were bundled out for 246 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Thursday on the first day of the opening Test.
Then India ended the day at 119 for 1 courtesy opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's unbeaten 76 off just 70 balls. The southpaw took on the England attack with gusto and hammered nine boundaries and three sixes. Skipper Rohit Sharma (24) could not convert his start. The Mumbaikar Rohit was caught by rival skipper Ben Stokes off Jack Leach. Rohit and Jaiswal, both who play for Mumbai in the domestic circuit, added 80 runs for the first wicket and laid the foundation stone of a big score.
Jaiswal, a left-handed batter, showed his prowess and sparred no English bowler. After Rohit's dismissal, one-down Shubman Gill (14 not out off 43 balls) played the perfect second fiddle as the duo have added 39 runs for the unbroken second wicket. India still trail England by 127 runs.
Earlier, England won the toss on a sunny morning and skipper Ben Stokes opted to bat. India went in with three spinners - Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. The team management decided to drop Kuldeep Yadav while England also preferred playing three specialised spinners in their lineup.
The opening duo of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett stuck to the English template of playing attacking cricket in Tests from the start and amassed 55 runs for the first wicket at a scoring rate of five. However, as soon as the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin (3 for 68) and Ravindra Jadeja (3 for 88) was introduced after the eighth over, they troubled the opposition batters. The pitch was turning from day 1 itself, on expected lines.
England notched up team 50 in the 11th over with a sweep from Ben Duckett. It was Ashwin who gave India the first breakthrough after he trapped Ben Duckett in front of the wickets. Duckett, who made an unsuccessful review, became Ashwin's 491st Test scalp as England lost their first wicket for 55 and the near capacity crowd cheered for the Rohit Sharma-led side. In walked Olive Pope. But Jadeja got rid of Ollie Pope with a ball that turned away from him sharply. England were reduced to 60/3 as a result of wickets in quick succession but Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow then took the responsibility to steady the innings on their shoulders.
Root (29) and Bairstow (37) joined forces to add 48 runs for the fourth wicket by the end of the first session. The partnership put the game in the balance. However, in the second session, both of them were dismissed against the spin wizardry from Indian bowlers and half of the English side was back in the dugout inside 36 overs. More wickets kept tumbling as the spinner shone with the ball in the game.
However, thanks to skipper Ben Strokes valiant 70 off 88 balls, in which he hammered six boundaries and three sixes, England could go past the 225-run mark. Stokes was the last man to be dismissed as he was castled by pacer Jasprit Bumrah (2 for 28) played his part to perfection. Ashwin (3 for 68), Ravindra Jadeja (3 for 88) and Axar Patel (2 for 33) shared eight wickets among them. Clearly the day belonged to India and the hosts will like to continue their domination on the second day at a venue, where they have been successful.
