Finance
On the first day of the 1st Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, India bowled out England for 246 thanks to the acceleration of veteran spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who each claimed three wickets. Ben Stokes top-scored with 70 off 88 deliveries.
England performed admirably in certain areas of the innings; for example, their opening partnership of 55 runs was followed by a 61-run stand for the fourth wicket between Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. After lunch, England’s captain, Stokes, reached his thirty-first Test fifty while making crucial runs with the lower order to push his side beyond 200.
In their “Bazball” era, England’s first attempt to take on Indian spinners ended in favour of the visitors’. Eight England wickets fell to spin as they were left in a spot of bother twice at 60-3 and 155-7.
Jadeja and Ashwin each claimed three wickets, but Ashwin’s cost was high because he was in the path of the Stokes onslaught. Two wickets were claimed by fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and fast bowler Axar Patel.
After undergoing surgery on his left knee last year, Stokes returned to the field and shown that he still had the renowned fighting ability by hitting three sixes and six fours to lead England in a late counterattack.
He began slowly, as was his usual habit, but as soon as he got into a higher gear, he pressed the pedal and used aggressive stroke play to clear the boundary lines. This was evident when he scored 53 runs off his final 36 deliveries.
After lunch, Stokes smashed Jadeja with two consecutive massive leg-side sixes to reach fifty runs. On the opening ball of the third session, KS Bharat had given him a reprieve.
Stokes lofted the off-spinner for six after Ashwin had castled Mark Wood for eleven as he attempted a big heave. Bumrah then scored a four to get a boundary. Ultimately, Bumrah rattled his off-stump and defeated Stokes emphatically on the outside edge to end England’s innings in 64.3 overs.
The hosts will be looking to bat for at least one and a half days to put themselves into position, as 246 is a respectable score on a wicket that hasn’t been as difficult to bat on as it is typically in India.
Brief Scores: England 246 in 64.3 overs (Ben Stokes 70, Ben Duckett 35; Ravichandran Ashwin 3-68, Ravindra Jadeja 3-88) against India
Source:IANS
