A flawless and rapid half-century by Yashasvi Jaiswal, a rearguard 70 from Ben Stokes, Ravichandran Ashwin unfurling his wide range of skills and a timid performance by England with the bat and the ball. Broadly, these were the highlights of the opening day of the first Test. Buried under the works of individual brilliance and collective failures was an amazing passage of play. It came right after lunch. England were not going great guns, yet looked alright at 108 for three at the break. Runs were coming freely and the scoring rate was just under four after 28 overs. There were 16 boundaries stuck in that period. At that rate, they would have made nearly 350 in 90 overs.
For 17 overs in the first hour of the second session, there was not a single boundary struck. Just 34 runs came in that period and England lost the plot by losing three more wickets. It may not remain the turning point of this Test, but it was a defining phase of play on the first day. Not all cricketing highlights have to be about runs, wickets or catches. At times, dogged execution of plans can be as exciting as acts of a more spectacular nature.
To understand the relevance of that hour fully, one can compare it with the rest of the day. In the remaining 70.3 overs bowled across the two innings, 331 runs were made. That’s a run rate of about 4.7. There were 40 boundaries and seven sixes. It shows that batters from both sides fancied their chances. By choking England with spin from both ends, Rohit Sharma broke their momentum, other than their back.
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The fast bowlers were not on the money in their opening spells. England’s left-right opening combination of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley didn’t allow them to settle down to a rhythm. There were loose deliveries on either side of the wicket. Introduction of spin in the ninth over forced the batters to take more risks, but they were getting away with it despite losing three wickets. It was imperative for India to change the tempo of the game.
Ravindra Jadeja with Axar Patel initially, and Ashwin after that, put the brakes on the scoring by tightening up their act. Perhaps, in the first session, they had got carried away somewhat by the assistance they were getting from the pitch. They looked too eager to make things happen. They were visibly calmer after the break and didn’t try a lot of things.
The eagerness of the England batters to break the shackles helped the Indian cause. There were far more sweep shots attempted than the situation or the bowling warranted. At the same time, the discipline and patience shown by the bowlers were unmistakable. Captain Rohit and the rest of the think-tank deserve credit for changing the plan at the right time. Another hour of brisk scoring could have tilted the balance.
It may remain a footnote on a day that saw the pendulum swing and India ending up in a comparatively advantageous position. But, in its quiet way, that period of general inaction might have set a template: Attack alright, but defend when you have to. There is more to cricket than Bazball for sure.