It was deja vu all over again. The flashbacks of the 2021 series came back to haunt the English batsmen on Indian soil. The Indian spinners did their job perfectly with the ball. A quickfire 76-run innings from the immensely talented Yashasvi Jaiswal meant India would be just 127 behind the English total. Virat Kohli is not on the pitch though, so it would be a tough test for the young Indian batting lineup on a spin-friendly surface.
Team Lineups
Virat Kohli was the most notable absentee from the Indian lineup that vanquished the South Africans at Newlands. The 34-year-old batter would not be available for selection due to personal reasons. Srikar Bharat came in to replace Virat Kohli. The 30-year-old from Andhra Pradesh would don the gloves for team India, which means KL Rahul is playing as a specialist batsman.
Mukesh Kumar and Prasidh Krishma are the other two missing from the Indian XI at Newlands. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel were added to the team. This decision would not surprise anyone,anyone as these two were pivotal difference makers in last series, with 59 wickets among them. The return of Jasprit Bumrah would sure please Indian fans. The 30 year old pacer returned to the Test side after two long years without a game. Mohammed Siraj was playing the first test before his home crowd.
Just like Virat Kohli, Harry Brook is absent from the English test setup due to personal reasons. Ben Foakes came in to replace him and was handed the keeping gloves. Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad have announced their retirements after the Ashes series, so there were plenty of spots up for grabs for the newcomers.
England team management opted for a trio of spin attack. 24 year old Lancashire spinner Tom Hartley makes his debut in this match. Rehan Ahmed played only one test match before this one. Ben Stokes’ preferred spinner Jack Leach is back to the team after missing the Ashes series due to a lumbar stress fracture. James Anderson is benched for this game as England chose only one pacer to play in Hyderabad.
England
1. Zak Crawley 2. Ben Duckett 3. Ollie Pope 4. Joe Root 5. Jonny Bairstow 6. Ben Stokes (Cap.) 7. Ben Foakes (WK) 8. Rehan Ahmed 9. Tom Hartley 10. Mark Wood 11. Jack Leach
India
1. Rohit Sharma (Cap.) 2. Yashasvi Jaiswal 3. Shubman Gill 4. KL Rahul 5. Shreyas Iyer 6. Ravindra Jadeja 7. Srikar Bharat (WK) 8. Ravichandran Ashwin 9. Axar Patel 10. Jasprit Bumrah 11. Mohammed Siraj
The English captain Ben Stokes won the coin toss and chose to bat first. The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad is known to be a paradise for pace bowlers. The surface looked hard, it may assist the spinners as the game progresses. In the last test match at this ground, India emerged victorious against the West Indies by a huge margin of 10 wickets. India had three spin bowlers in their lineup but Umesh Yadav was the key bowler who dismantled the West Indies lineup.
Fixture
These two cricket heavyweights have met on 131 previous occasions in Test cricket. In those games, India has emerged victorious on 31 occasions. England has the upper hand with 50 wins. The remaining 50 matches ended in a draw. On Indian soil, the hosts are clearly ahead with 22 wins. England won on 14 occasions during their tour of India. These two sides met in the Test format back in 2020-21 in an entertaining series. Top quality cricket was played across five matches in this series and it ended in 2-2. In the last series in India, the three lions succumbed to the spinning power of the hosts and lost the series 3-1. The last time India were beaten on home soil was back in 2012. An energetic English side led by Sir Alastair Cook recorded a famous win.
The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has hosted five games before this. The wins were equally shared by teams batting first and second. No visiting team has ever recorded a Test victory at this ground. India is a dominant force in Hyderabad, they even scored a astronomical 687/6 against Bangladesh back in 2017. India has secured 16 successive series win since 2012, seven of these series have been whitewashes.
| Venue | The first day of the first Test match between India and England was held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. |
| Date | The game started on Thursday, 25 January, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. local time. |
Captaincy & Tactics
The day started brightly for the touring side as Bazball was in full display during the early exchanges. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley were hitting the ball nicely along the ground. England raced to the 50 mark in just 8 overs. But once the spinners started their bowling, the Englishmen started to crumble. Ravichandran Ashwin was the highest wicket taker from the last series involving these two teams. The Tamil Nadu off spinner started spinning his webs once again with a brilliant bowling line.
Ravindra Jadeja soon joined him in the hunt. The left-arm orthodox was tossing the ball up and asking questions with his looping flight. Axar Patel was the last man in the three-pronged spin attack for the Indians. Axar was the second highest taker (27) behind Ashwin in the 2021-22 series. The English batter simply had no answer to the spin trap set by the Indian bowlers. Rohit Sharma was cleverly rotating his spinners, not allowing any batsman to settle down.
Ben Stokes was the shining example for the Indians about how to play spin on this track. The 33 year all-rounder was getting close to the line of the ball and dispatching it towards the boundary line. He was regularly employing the reverse sweep shot also to negate the turn. Joe Root also was employing the sweep shot on a regular basis.
Yashasvi Jaiswal showed glimpses of his immense talent with a magnificent half century. Jaiswal was especially merciless against the spinner. Tom Hartley received a harsh welcome in the international wicket. The left-arm spinner was hit for a myriad of boundaries on the leg side. Jaiswal employed slog sweep by getting to the pitch of the ball. His strike rate of 231.67 against spin speaks volume about his hitting ability.
Batting Analysis
It was not an easy task to bat at this pitch. But the English batters started well as the openers showed domination against a good pace attack. The English openers were hitting the ball through the line and were duly rewarded for their hard work. But spin attack undid their work. The English batsmen adapted to the situation and started playing sweep shots along the ground. Joe Root attempted 12 sweep shots during his stay at the crease. Jonny Bairstow on the other hand was punching the ball off the back foot. The Yorkshire wicketkeeper batsman was living dangerously as Axar Patel was delivery the ball at a high pace.
Ben Stokes came and changed the whole complexion of the batting. The left-hander was not allowing the Indian spinners to pin him down. Rather it was an innings of counterpunch of the highest order. Stokes was not the only batter who tried to improvise. The tailenders also played some shots and England looked to break the shackles of Indian spin attack. Stokes was playing the ball by using his feet, he was getting close to the pitch of the ball.
Yashasvi Jaiswal did not let the English bowlers settle down once they came out to bowl. The young left-hander was carnage personified, whacking away every ball that was erring in length. The left hander played 72% of his shots on the leg side in a dominant display of batting. He displayed all the right characteristics to play on a surface like this: using his feet, hitting the ball through the line, playing the ball late.
Jaiswal reached his 3rd half century in just 46 deliveries, the quickest at this ground. Rohit Sharma also played some shots. But the right hander could not replicate his form shown in Bengaluru when he scored a dominant century against a good Afghan bowling attack. It would be interesting to see whether Jaiswal changes his approach or not. The English bowlers would be eager to see the back of the opener as soon as possible. Ben Stokes need to change something about his bowling attack; otherwise, it would be game over for his side who is lacking in confidence due to lacklustre performances over the last 12 month period.
Bowling Analysis
England’s much debated “Bazball” approach failed stamp its authority on the game. England made a promising start with Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley picking up 53 runs in 11 overs. They were taking the attack to the pace bowling of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Ravichandran Ashwin came to the attack and immediately provided a breakthrough by dismissing Ben Duckett lbw in his second ever.
After the initial setback, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow worked in tandem to send the score past 120. But Joe Root was trapped in front while attempting to play a sweep shot off Jadeja. The contest between Jonny Bairstow and Axar Patel was a joy to watch.
Eventually it was the spinner who had the last laugh by bowling Bairstow out with a delivery that ripped through the air. England were reduced to 125-5 after the completion of the 36th over. Jasprit Bumrah joined in with the fun and India found themselves in deeper trouble with 155 for 7. Ben Stokes then took centre stage. His innings of 70 off 88 balls gave the English score a respectable look.
Ashwin and Jadeja is the deadliest pair in the history Indian Test cricket. These two spinners have taken 500 wickets in total, inflicting heavy damage on the opponent’s batting lineup. Ashwin is getting closer to the 500 wicket mark after another dominant display with the ball. No English batter was able to play his deliveries comfortably.
The English bowlers did not enjoy much success as Jaiswal started hitting boundaries at will. The left-hander was in a destructive mood, punishing everything that was short. Jack Leach was the only English bowler who had something to show for his hard work. The big wicket of Rohit Sharma will always please a spinner.
Tom Hartley will try to forget his debut day for the rest of his life. The 24 year old spinner was put to the sword by a rampant Jaiswal. His strike rate of 267.45 against the left hander paints a picture of sheer dominance. Hartley soon lost his line and his wayward deliveries were duly punished by the left handed opening batter.
Fielding Analysis
After all the discussions about the preferred keeping option, Srikar Bharat was ultimately chosen as the man to don the gloves for team India in the first Test. The 30 year old wicketkeeper shelled a tough chance to catch Ben Stokes off Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling. But the wicketkeeper put on an impressive shift apart from this incident.
He pouched two catches to dismiss Ben Foakes and Rehan Ahmed. Much has been said about Rohit Sharma’s fitness. But the Indian skipper answered his critics by catching Ollie Pope out at first slip. The Indian fielders were magnificent in both ground fielding and catches. Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah were also among the other players who completed catches.
Ben Stokes took a regulation catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma as the only batsman to get out in the first innings for India. The English fielders tried their best but they were busy retrieving the ball from the boundary line throughout the Indian innings.
Key Performances
The Indian spin bowlers dominated the proceedings with eight wickets divided among the three. Ravichandran Ashwin got inch closer towards the five hundred mark with three wickets for 88 runs. Ravindra Jadeja also claimed three scalps for his 88 runs. The left-arm spinner from Gujarat proved a bit expensive, giving away 88 runs from 18 overs. Axar Patel also joined the party with two wickets from 13 overs. Jasprit Bumrah was one of the two pacers in the Indian team and bowled just 51 deliveries of the 64.3 overs. The brilliant pacer claimed two wickets including the most valuable wicket of Ben Stokes.
Ben Stokes put on another display of masterful batting in the face of adversity. The Three Lions captain scored 70 runs from 88 deliveries with 6 fours and 3 sixes. Johnny Bairstow was living dangerously during his 58 ball stay at the crease. The right hander was inevitably bowled by Axar Patel at the score of 37. Joe Root looked fluent before getting caught by Bumrah off a Jadeja delivery.
The opening pair of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley started off in a positive manner, but both got dismissed before reaching a substantial score. Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Mark Wood all provided support for Ben Stokes down the order.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was in a marauding mood as stormed to fifty in just 47 deliveries. The southpaw opener ended the day with an unbeaten 76 off 70 deliveries. After excelling in the last T20 series, Jaiswal showed his adaptability against a strong side. Rohit Sharma (24) was the only casualty in the Indian innings. He was dismissed by Jack Leach when he tried to break the shackles with a heave on the legside.
Turning Point
The game was turned on the 65th over of the first innings. The Indian attack pounced on the Englishmen by getting wickets at regular intervals. Ben Stokes was the only player who was resisting the Indian bowlers by launching a counterattack. The English captain hit 6 fours and 3 sixes to give the team score a respectable look. The stage was set for a fabulous cricket who relishes the chance of batting in an adverse situation. The tailenders showed plenty of courage to support their captain in his enterprising innings.
Jasprit Bumrah was back in the Indian squad after two years and bowled as if he was never away. The Gujarati pacer was brought back into the attack by the skipper Rohit Sharma to break the last wicket partnership. It took Bumrah has three balls to repay the faith shown by his skipper. Ben Stokes moved across the stump to make some room for himself. But an reverse swinging yorker was too much to handle even for a batsman of highest calibre. This wicket enabled India to bowl out England before reaching 250. Later Jaiswal’s fiery batting put India on the driving seat.
Day Result
India are 127 runs behind the visitors after the first day’s play. England accumulated a decent total of 246 thanks to the resilience of their skipper Ben Stokes.
Brief Scorecard
| England First Innings: 246/10 (64.3 overs) | India 1st Innings: 119/1 (23 overs) |
| Ben Stokes 70 (88) | Yashasvi Jaiswal 76* (70) |
| Jonny Bairstow 37 (58) | Rohit Sharma 24 (27) |
| Ravindra Jadeja 3/88 (18 overs) | Jack Leach 1-27 (8 overa) |
| Ravichandran Ashwin 3/68 (21 overs) | Mark Wood 0-19 (5 overs) |
Day Highlights
Day Wrap-Up
It was a dominating display by the Indian spin attack as the Englishmen were bundled over for only 246 runs. Ben Stokes was the sole fighter in the face of a spin onslaught with a typical innings of 70 from 88 deliveries. However, none of his teammates were able to crack the code and they were all out even before the 50th over. Jaiswal launched an all out attack on the English bowling attack to put team India in a commanding position at the close of play on the first day.
