On a pitch that had little demons, England failed to raise their game as they were bundled out for 205 after winning the toss on Day 1 of the fourth Test against India. The Indian fast bowlers were on the money while the spinners got to purchase, albeit not as much as they did in the pink-ball Test last week. England, on the other hand, failed to come up with a way to counter the bowling on a day that strongly belonged to India. Here are some takeaways from the day:
Mohammad Siraj is here to stay
There is little doubt that fast bowling in the subcontinent is a challenge. Fast bowlers have traditionally struggled here, and the absence of Jasprit Bumrah should have been a massive loss for the Indians. However, Siraj ensured that Bumrah was barely missed. He first set up Joe Root with deliveries that seamed away before bringing one in to trap him in front. He returned to pick up Jonny Bairstow with a 146kmph delivery that angled in.
In the press conference at the end of the day, Siraj added that he focused on bowling inswingers against Bairstow. The ploy worked. According to Cricviz, he drew almost 40 percent false shots from the batters after an hour’s play. His ability to perform in Indian conditions – his First-Class average is 23.84 – bears testimony to that.
Dan Lawrence fights back
Walking out to bat at 121/5, Lawrence had the tough task of extending England’s score as much as possible against an old, softer ball. He looked comfortable against spin during his 74-ball stay at the crease, wherein he displayed a wide range of shots. He lofted over mid-on, whipped the ball through cover, went down the track against the fuller balls, and possibly hit the shot of the day when he smashed an overpitched ball from Ishant Sharma straight down the ground for four. He eventually perished playing a reckless shot as he looked to charge down against Axar Patel, but not before hitting eight fours in his knock of 46.
Rohit Sharma holds one end up
After the early dismissal of Shubman Gill, Rohit took the onus of ensuring that India ended the day with no further loss. Easily the best Indian batsman in this series, he combated the inward movement, got behind the line of the ball, blocked back-of-length deliveries, and used soft hands to combat the ones with a hint of spin. He faced 34 balls for his eight and will return to answer his critics who had questioned his temperament to succeed in Test cricket.