India extended their dominance over England in the opening Test in Hyderabad, having accumulated 421 for 7 at stumps on Day Two. The hosts are already in front by a sizeable 175 runs. KL Rahul (86) and Ravindra Jadeja (81 not out) were the star performers.
Incidentally, England had begun the morning session on a bright note, with Joe Root pouching a sharp return catch to dismiss the overnight batter, Yahasvi Jaiswal, for 80. Rahul then joined forces to stitch a stand of 36 with Subhman Gill. It was quite clear that of the two batters, Rahul was judging the length far better, which in turn helped him play shots off both feet.
The way Rahul drove against the turn while facing left-arm spinner Tom Hartley was one of the highlights of his innings. Another feature of his batting was the sweep shot. Even after Gill was dismissed, Rahul played with a touch of freedom as he and Shreyas Iyer strung together a timely partnership of 64. Iyer fell against the run of play, losing his wicket to leggie Rehan Ahmed. However, India continued to pile on the runs, with Jadeja and Rahul putting on another useful partnership.
Rahul missed out on a well-deserved hundred and was dismissed by Hartley. Just that, KS Bharat also made a decent contribution, compiling a handy innings of 41. There was a little bit of respite for England as Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin fell within the space of just two runs. Jadeja and Axar Patel, however, completely shut the door on England’s chances by guiding India to close of play.
Axar was intent on essaying slog-sweeps. Meanwhile, Jadeja, who got a couple of decisions reversed, showed sound defence and twinned it with pulls and drives. There wasn’t much to write about England’s motley assortment of spinners. On the given day, Root, England’s batting mainstay, came across as their best spinner. Jack Leach was steady and took a wicket.
Hartley got a few to bite off the surface but his control was poor. Ahmed also was expensive. In India, leg-spinners from visiting sides generally struggle. It again points to the fact that England picked one spinner too many.
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