England kept looking and looking, but ‘Bazball’ was nowhere to be found. After English fans kept harping about how Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have revolutionized Test cricket, the visitors didn’t even last 65 overs on the first day of the IND vs ENG 1st Test.
Despite getting what they wanted (winning the toss and batting first), their aggressive approach got them nowhere. With England struggling, it looked like someone had replayed the highlight of their 2021 tour when India tormented them.
The one-way traffic stopped only when the day’s play ended with India trailing England by just 140, scoring over 5 runs an over thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 70-ball 76.
Bazball no good against Ashwin, Axar, and Jadeja
At first, England’s new aggressive approach, Bazball, seemed to be working. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley put up a 55-run opening stand to give them the start they wanted. Despite the change in approach, the results remained the same. From 55-0, England were reduced to 60-3, thanks to Indian spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Jonny Bairstow and skipper Stokes fought back, stitching a 61-run stand. But England suffered yet another collapse, going from 121-3 to 137-6. England’s savior Stokes stood up again, taking them to 246, adding 109 runs for the last four stands, and ending as their highest scorer (70).
Indian openers demolish England
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma put on a spectacle to behold in Hyderabad in the final session. Batting at more than run-a-ball, they hit England for 68 runs in the first ten overs. In his first spell as a Test bowler, Tom Hartley gave 63 overs in his nine overs.
Soon after, Jaiswal scored his first-ever fifty on home soil. The visitors got a reprieve; Rohit skied one and had to depart for 25.
India’s ruthless attack continued and made skipper Ben Stokes scratch his head. In his daze, Stokes burned all three reviews in just 13.2 overs as he scrambled to find openings.
IND vs ENG 1st Test, Day 1: Brief Scores
England cricket team: 246/10 (Ben Stokes 70, Jonny Bairstow 37; Ravindra Jadeja 3/88, Ravichandran Ashwin Patel 3/68)
India cricket team: 119/1 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 76, Rohit Sharma 24; Jack Leach 24/1)
IND vs ENG 1st Test: Playing XI
India cricket team: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
England cricket team: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, (c) Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed, Mark Wood, Jack Leach.
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