India vs England, 4th Test, Day 1: Joe Root's 106* helps England recover after initial trouble; visitors 302-7. Session-wise highlights from Day 1, Ranchi Test.
Brief Scores: ENG 302/7 (Root 106*, Foakes 47, Akash 3/70) at Stumps on Day 1.
India started in red-hot form with five wickets in the first session. But the 113-run sixth wicket stand gave England some respite from the early trouble. Joe Root stood at one end and brought England back into the contest with a masterclass century.
India took the lead in the series with their record 434-run victory in Rajkot. England looked to forget those nightmares and came up with new plans. Both teams locked horns for the first day of the fourth Test at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.
Talking point: Root’s comeback century brought England back on track
Coming into the vital game to stay alive in the series, England’s star batter Joe Root under was pressure on the back of his poor scores. England were under tremendous pressure in the first innings. But Root showed immense patience and resilience to stay on one end to rescue England with his 31st Test century.
England opted to bat; Akash Deep made India's debut
England captain Ben Stokes, on winning the toss, opted to bat first on a pitch that looked dry with a lot of cracks and could provide slow and low turn. India handed a debut to Akash Deep, as Jasprit Burmah was rested for this encounter. Ollie Robinson and Shoaib Bashir returned in the England XI.
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England found themselves in trouble after Akash Deep’s dream opening spell; England struggled to 112/5 at lunch
England began cautiously. Zak Crawley got an early life as he was bowled off a no-ball from Akash Deep. Crawley, from then, took the aggressive route as he smashed Mohammad Siraj for three boundaries and one six. Akash finally drew the first blood when he found the outside edge of Ben Duckett (11).
Two balls later, he trapped Ollie Pope (0) in front of the stumps. His in-swinging delivery broke the top of the off stump of Crawley (42), as England found themselves at 57/3 in the first hour. The 52-run fourth wicket stand between Joe Root and Johny Bairstow gave them some respite. Bairstow (38) mostly looked to take on the bowlers. Ravichandran Ashwin broke the stand as he trapped Bairstow before the stumps.
On the stroke of lunch, Ravindra Jadeja trapped Stokes (3) on the back foot as the ball stuck him in front of the stumps, thanks to the lack of bounce. England went to the break at 112/5, in deep trouble.
Root-Foakes rescued visitors with 88*-run stand; England reached 198/5 at Tea
England began the second session with much attention. They almost shut all of their shots and mostly looked to spend time in the middle. Joe Root cut Akash Deep through a backward point for a beautiful boundary, which indicated he was a good touch. With another boundary, guided in the vacant gully region, Root and Ben Foakes celebrated the fifty-run stand for the sixth wicket.
India missed a few tough chances and also looked a little flat in their ground fielding. With a single, Root celebrated his 61st Test half-century. For the very first time in the series, England didn’t lose a wicket in a session. The unbeaten 86-run partnership stretched them to 198/5 at Tea.
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Root’s 106* brought visitors back in the game; England moved to 302/7 at stumps
Foakes started the last session with intent as he smashed Ashwin for a few boundaries. Rohit Sharma brought back Siraj, who finally broke the 113-run partnership. Foakes (47) flicked the ball straight into the hands of the fielder. A few overs later, Tom Hartley (13) saw his stumps cartwheeling.
Root however looked solid on the other end with immense patience and hard work. Finally, with a beautiful drive-through cover, Root took off his helmet to celebrate his 31st Test century. He put up another unbeaten 57-run eighth wicket stand with Robinson. England finished the day on 302/7.
What’s to come
England will look to add as much as they can in the first innings. India’s main goal will be restricting England under 350, and bat well from thereon. The side, with the lead in the first innings, will be ahead in the contest.
Statistical highlights from India vs England, 4th Test, Day 1
Baistow becomes Ashwin’s 100th Test scalp against England.
Ashwin now has the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in Tests against England.
Jadeja dismissed Stokes for the sixth time in Tests at an average of 20.3.
Root becomes the third-highest run-getter (1135) in Tests against India in India.
Root now joins Ricky Ponting with the most 50+ scores (20) against India in Tests.
Root now has the most Test hundreds (10) against India.
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