Joe Root’s class and character, so conspicuous by their absence thus far in the Test series, teamed up with some lower-order grit to help England overcome misery inflicted by debutant paceman Akash Deep in the first hour and share honours on the opening day of the fourth Test at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi on Friday.
Akash Deep’s lively and memorable maiden spell in Test cricket — he picked up three wickets in the first six overs — would have overshadowed the cricket that followed but Root cast aside thoughts of Bazball. With clear and not muddled thinking, he embraced traditional batting that paid him dividends to lead England’s fightback to finish the day at 302 for seven.
Root (batting 106, 226 deliveries, nine fours) found an able ally in Ben Foakes (47, 126 balls, four fours, one six) through a defiant, 113-run sixth-wicket stand. With Tom Hartley and Ollie Robinson (batting 31, 60 balls, four fours and a six), he ensured that England would end the day in a happier position than they were, having been reduced to 112 for five before lunch.
The nature of Tests is such that a day is a long time and each gladiator in the attritional battle has the chance of making an impact on the mind of those watching it. Despite the vastly experienced spinners asking questions of and raising doubts in the minds of the batters, the paceman’s spell left its stamp in the first session.
Akash grabbed the opportunity to make his presence felt on debut, showing no signs of nerves and getting the ball to swing both ways to challenge the attacking England batters. He did not allow any negative thoughts of having bowled Zak Crawley off a no-ball to come in the way of his finding ways past the bat.
The left-handed Ben Duckett was sent on his way when he was forced to play at a delivery that left him enough to graze the outside edge on its way to wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel. Ollie Pope believed that by dancing down the track he could negate Akash’s threat but he was trapped in front with the Indians employing the DRS successfully.
Crawley (42, 42 balls, six fours and a six) played down the wrong line and was bowled off-stump to leave England at 57 for three inside 12 overs. Akash had dented the England batting enough for the other bowlers to try and capitalise on. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja picked up a wicket apiece before lunch and put India in the driver’s seat.
It is a testimony to his understanding of angles and batters that saw Ashwin, bowling from round the wicket, slip a delivery beneath Jonny Bairstow’s swishing blade and hold its line to earn him a leg-before dismissal on review. Bairstow found his touch and would have done himself and his team some good had he kept the sweep shot away from his armoury.
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— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) February 23, 2024
Ben Stokes’ dismissal to a leg-before verdict off Jadeja’s bowling threatened to set the tone for the rest of the game. The ball did not rise higher than over the England captain’s shoes and sneaked below his defensive bat to send him walking even before umpire Kumara Dharmasena could process the Indian appeal. But that grubber seemed more an exception than the rule.
After Root’s show of class and character combined with Foakes’ grit to stitch together a century stand, it was up to Mohammed Siraj to buy two wickets. Foakes was caught at short mid-wicket, while the left-handed Tom Hartley battled for half an hour before he was beaten and bowled off-stump.
With India due to bat last on a slow track that can offer spin bowlers greater support by way of variable bounce, Root’s return with a classical approach may have helped England regain some ground through two sessions. That seemed far from likely when Stokes walked back to the dressing room with a wry smile on his face and grim thoughts on his mind.
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