As Joe Root scored the 20th Test century of his career in his 100th Test, India struggled to find their rhythm. England ended Day’s play at 263/3 with the resilient Dominic Sibley getting out just as the sun was settling down on the game. But, the trouble for the Indian bowlers won’t end there as the likes of Ben Stokes and in-form Jos Buttler would be walking in to bat on Day 2.
England will surely look to score as many runs as possible and post a huge first innings score. With Joe Root becoming the non-Asian batsman with the most number of Test runs in India since 2012, he is looking un-touchable on the field. Indian bowlers did not seem to trouble him much. Jos Buttler has come to India after a successful run in the Sri Lanka Test series while Ben Stokes has arrived after a good rest-period. Both these attacking batsmen would be itching to score the runs on a pitch that looks dead for spinners and fast-bowlers alike.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a >#INDvENG</a>, day two 🏏<br><br>Joe Root is batting on 128* with England at 263/3.<br><br>Who should Virat Kohli turn to for a breakthrough?<br><br>➡️ <a >https://t.co/gnj5x4GOos</a> <a >pic.twitter.com/Fll5tQkzfn</a></p>— ICC (@ICC) <a >February 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But things could change, here’s how?
If India manage to pick-up some early wickets, even a couple in the first session, India would easily wrap up England’s tail. The mind-set would also change if the Indian bowlers pick some quick wickets early on. Although with Ashwin operating from one end, he can try to exploit the rough patch which is present on the left handers off-side. He can trouble Stokes early on.
We can only hope for some tactical genius from skipper Kohli as the pitch has very less to offer for the bowlers.
Players who are yet to bat:
Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler, Dominic Bess, Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, James Anderson