In the first match of the Test series between India and England at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, England faced a formidable challenge from India's spin trio—Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel. After winning the toss, England captain Ben Stokes chose to bat first. On the opening day itself, the Indian spinners exerted significant pressure on England's 'Bazball' strategy, resulting in the loss of eight wickets to spin for the visiting team.
After putting Rohit Sharma-led Indian side in to bowl first, England had a promising start to their innings with openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett taking the attack to India's Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. After 11 overs, England reached a score of 53 runs without losing any wicket. The momentum, however, shifted when India's spin maestro, Ravichandran Ashwin, secured an immediate breakthrough by dismissing Ben Duckett lbw in only his second over of the first spell.
Ashwin-Jadeja Carnage
Shortly afterward, Ashwin's accomplice, Ravindra Jadeja, made his mark in the 15th over by inducing an edge from England's number three, Ollie Pope. The ball went straight to Indian team captain Rohit Sharma at slip, resulting in England losing their second wicket at 58 runs. In the following over, Ashwin induced Zak Crawley to drive a full-length delivery straight to Mohammed Siraj at mid-off. Siraj took a fine catch, and England lost their third wicket with the score at 60 runs.
After a brief setback, England's Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root stabilised the innings, pushing the team's total beyond the 120-mark. However, Axar Patel delivered a ripper of a ball that bowled over Bairstow, and Joe Root lost his wicket attempting a sweep off a delivery from Jadeja. England found themselves at 125-5 after 36 overs. The Indian spin attack, with contributions from Jasprit Bumrah, continued to take wickets at regular intervals, leaving England struggling at 155-7 after 49 overs. Nevertheless, a commendable captain's innings by Ben Stokes guided England to a respectable total of 246 in 64.3 overs, as he scored a well-made 70 off just 88 balls before Bumrah bowled him over taking the last wicket of England’s innings.
In reply to England's total of 246, Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma began their innings aggressively, providing an impressive start by taking the score to 68 after the first 10 overs. Unfortunately, Rohit Sharma's innings was cut short when he fell to England's spinner Jack Leach, skying a back-of-length delivery and getting caught by Ben Stokes. However, Jaiswal continued his onslaught, propelling India's score to 119 with just one wicket down by the end of 23 overs at stumps on day 1.
India would look to maintain their aggressive batting momentum on a pitch that is not too bad for batting and they would aim to build a substantial total after surpassing England's lead. On the other hand, England will look to capitalise on the pitch's assistance to spinners, aiming to secure early wickets on day 2 to regain control of the match.