New Delhi: Indian side would be missing Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul as once again the top order failed to capitalise. But, Day 1 was all about how Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja took India from 98/5 to 338/7. New Zealand may have left England after a 3-0 defeat but somehow the presence of Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell could be felt when Pant and Jadeja were batting together.
Burmah-Butcher banter at the toss
The day started with an interesting conversation between Mark Butcher and India’s new captain Jasprit Bumrah at the toss. Butcher congratulated Bumrah for being the first fast bowler to captain India, while Bumrah corrected him and replied with the name of the Indian legend Kapil Dev. To this, Butcher replied that Kapil Dev was an all-rounder and Bumrah said, “Alright, all-rounder if you say so.” Actually, both of them are not wrong, Kapil Dev is regarded as India’s greatest all-rounder and also he was the only pace-bowling player to captain India.
England claims an edge with India’s 98/5
England won the toss and opted to bowl first. The conditions were overcast, but the ball was not swinging much. Everyone expected the Indian side to get a good start with Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara opening in the absence of Rohit and KL Rahul. Gill got a good start and was dealing in boundaries. However, in the seventh over he went to push a shortish length ball by James Anderson and edged it to give a catch to the slip cordon. India was 27/1 now. The next one to depart was Pujara who got a typical Anderson-style outswinging delivery to which he had no answer.
The game was interrupted by rain in the 21st over and resumed after a break of about two hours. After the game resumed Matthew Potts was given the ball and he dismissed Hamuna Vihari, who was looking good at 20 of 52 balls. In his next over Potts delivered an outswinger to Kohli which he tried to leave but edged. The ball went to the wicket and England was celebrating. Shreyas Iyer came out to bat at number 6 and was playing his first test in England. Iyer and pant started to build a partnership, which was soon ended by Anderson’s short ball.
The Pant and Jadeja show
Pant showed England what ‘Bazball’ means. He started off run-a-ball and went on accelerating the innings. He not only played a crucial inning but also entertained the crowd with his scoop to Anderson and a one-handed 101 meters six against the spin. Pant hit 59 runs off Leach, off just 32 balls and Leach ended with the figures of 9-0-71-0.
Jadeja on the other hand was calm and was leaving a lot of balls. Jadeja, playing a typical test inning, still kept the pressure on England by striking with a 50-odd strike rate. Pant and Jadeja’s partnership went on to accumulate 222 runs in just 239 balls. Finally, it was Joe Root who dismissed Pant for 146(111), getting the edge with a change of pace just after being hit for a six.
Ben Stokes surprised everyone with his 10 no-balls yesterday. But it proved not that bad for England as Stokes got Shardul Thakur out off the extra delivery he got to bowl. The day ended with India being 338/7 with Jadeja batting at 83*(163) and Shami holding the guard with 0*(11).
What Day 2 has to offer?
The new ball is due after 7 overs. India needs to capitalise in those 7 overs as the new ball might end the Indian innings soon. Looking at the pattern in the England vs New Zealand Test series, England might play well as the day 2 pitch will not have much to offer for the bowlers. It would be interesting to see how captain Bumrah uses his bowlers to get early wickets.
