India dominated Day 1 of the fourth and final Test match of the series against England, at Motera, Ahmedabad. Bowlers ruled the day yet again as they bundled England out for a paltry 205 before ending the day at 24/1. They would have liked to finish the day without losing a wicket. However, they are still in a commanding position despite losing Shubman Gill. At the crease are Cheteshwar Pujara (15) and Rohit Sharma (8), two of their most experienced batsmen.
Much of how Day 2 pans out could depend on how India bat in the first hour of play. James Anderson looked at his best in the five overs he bowled towards the end of Day 1. Things may become tricky for India if he manages to make some early inroads in the morning session. The pitch still looks good to bat on, but it will start offering more assistance to the spinners as the match keeps progressing.
England do not have a big first-innings score to fall back on, which means the spinners cannot afford to bowl too many loose balls. They will have to bowl long spells, and wait patiently for opportunities until the deck starts offering assistance later in the afternoon.
As far as India is considered, Rohit will have a major role to play yet again. With 304 runs, he is India’s highest scorer in this series. His knocks of 161 and 66 were the highest scores in the last two matches, on tracks where most others had failed. Pujara, on the other hand, will be keen to score big: he is coming off a streak of 15, 21, 7, 0. He will have to be careful against the left-arm spin of Jack Leach, who has claimed his wicket twice in this series.
Though Virat Kohli has looked good in this series, his shot selections and modes of dismissal have raised a few eyebrows. Ajinkya Rahane, whose 85 runs have come at a dismal average of 17, needs runs under his belt as well. However, the form of lower-order batsmen like Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin and Washington Sundar will give India much-needed confidence in the batting department.
India, however, need to ensure that their batting doesn’t collapse the way it did in their first innings of the previous Test match. England bowlers will be looking to put them under pressure with a disciplined approach. They are playing an extra spinner in Dom Bess, who was wayward in the first Test; he needs to ensure that he complements Leach well from the other end.
Rohit and Ashwin have already spoken about the importance of using their feet and playing with attacking intent on turning tracks like this. Pujara and Rohit both put that to practice on Day 1, and it is likely to be their approach on Day 2 as well. India may take a reasonable lead if they execute their plans properly. However, an aggressive batting approach will keep the English bowlers in the game as well.