England are going to have to do things the hard way if they’re to come away from the first Test against India at Headingley with a win.
On a ground that has recently favoured teams bowling first, both captains would have taken that option, but by the end of day one, England’s captain Ben Stokes may regret winning the toss.
Both sides had a new look to them with India bringing Karun Nair into the side after an absence of eight years, handing a debut to Sai Sunderasan and led by a new captain in Shubman Gill.
England threw the new ball to Bryden Carse and had Josh Tongue as first change, with the two sharing eight Test caps between them.
But it was India who came within two overs of having the perfect morning session.
They were 91/0 with both batters in the forties and thinking of chicken skewers for lunch before KL Rahul (42) edged to Joe Root to hand Carse his first Test wicket on home soil.
Rahul was mad with himself as he knew this would expose the new boy Sundaresan.
And Stokes, who had bowled five overs by that stage, may well have thrown the ball to the off-spinner Shoaib Bashir for an over if not for that wicket.
Instead he bowled a sixth and with his fourth delivery got Sudarshen to edge down the legside to Jamie Smith for a duck on debut.
England went into lunch buoyed by those late successes, but struggled to maintain any pressure on their opponents after the break with Gill (127*) batting proactively and with intent.
Gill’s 50 came from 54 balls – his fastest in Test cricket.
At the other end, Yashwashi Jaisal went past 50 for the 15th time since making his debut twenty Tests ago, but as the session progressed Jaiswal, who got treatment at the base of his back during the afternoon session, started to suffer from cramp in his right hand.
India starred at Headingley after they were sent in to bat first by StokesGetty Stokes’ decision hasn’t seemed to have paid off as they took just three wickets on FridayGettyAfter one attempted cover drive he immediately took both gloves and his arm guard off in extreme discomfort.
It was something of a surprise he stayed on the field, although if England felt they might have a much needed and unexpected opening, it wasn’t immediately obvious with Jaiswal flaying his next two balls through the covers for four and then pushed a quick single to reach 100 before celebrating in real style.
England went wicketless through the afternoon session and Stokes turned to his only strike bowler, himself.
And it paid off with Jaiswal castled by a fast and furious delivery that straightened to beat Jaiswal’s attempted drive.
But that was to be as good as it got for England.
Rishabh Pant (65*) confounded expectations throughout his innings.
In just the second ball, he slog smashed Stokes over his head for four to elicit a huge smile on the face of the bowler.
England are in danger of losing the opening test against IndiaGettyThe next over he batted out a maiden to Shoaib Bashir to elicit ironic boos from the crowd.
Scoring slowed to a crawl with both batters happy to push singles and see off Stokes.
After seven overs of hostility he was replaced by Chris Woakes who continued a disappointing day.
As the shadows started to lengthen and the bowlers tire, India upped the tempo with Gill reaching a hundred and Pant going past fifty with little concern.
Pant ended his short, unbeaten innings, with a six from the first ball of the last over of the day, bowled by Woakes.
Both batters walking off in the Leeds sunshine with a smile on their faces.
England know they have a lot of work to do on Saturday – both with the ball and with the bat.
Overseas cricket fans can listen to live commentary of every England Test this summer by tuning into the talkSPORT Cricket YouTube Channel. The Following On Podcast hosted by Jon Norman and Steve Harmison will also be available shortly after the close of play.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( England made to rue crucial First Test decision as India dominate at Headingley )
Also on site :