India vs England: Jaiswal, spinners lead the way as 'Bazball' gets a reality check on Day 1 in Hyderabad

The opening day of the first Test between India and England in Hyderabad didn’t quite pan out the way the visiting team would have hoped.

The Ben Stokes-led side had arrived in Hyderabad from Abu Dhabi hoping to give the Indian team the toughest challenge that they’ve faced in recent years. Additionally, the immense success resulting from their innovative ‘Bazball’ approach to Test cricket further contributed to the hype around the Englishmen as a world-conquering team that could perhaps pull off a repeat of their emphatic 2012-13 victory over the Indians.

If the events of the opening day of the marquee five-Test series for the Anthony D’Mello Trophy are anything to go by, conquering India remains a difficult proposition for any team, ‘Bazball’ or not. Sure it’s only Day 1 of the first match of a five-Test series that is set to go on till March. But the manner with which the Indians performed, bundling England out for 246 and ending the way on 119/1, certainly suggests Stokes and Co are in for quite the bumpy ride in this series, even if they end up pulling off what will be termed an upset victory.

Indian spinners halt the ‘Bazball’ charge

It wasn’t the case throughout the day though. Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett got their side off to an excellent start with a 55-run opening stand and senior batters Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow later combined for an excellent 61-run stand that had the visitors staring at a sizeable first innings total.

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah started off with a tidy first over but Crawley had made his intentions crystal clear by dispatching Bumrah’s new-ball partner Mohammed Siraj for back-to-back boundaries off the local lad’s first deliveries of the day. Duckett would give Bumrah a similar treatment in the following over to give a clear indication of the fact that they were here to attack.

4⃣ Bowlers

4⃣ Dismissals