Bazball seems to be deep down in the trenches once again, as India picked away at the England top-order with ease, scalping five wickets within the first session of the first day of the 4th Test, as both teams go into lunch with the score at 112-5.
With the absence of strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj took to the England openers with the new ball, menacing Zak Crawley with variation galore and a maiden over to set the tone for the session.
Debutant Akash Deep would also come into the attack with his consistent blistering pace, and continue piling on the pressure.
But, it would be in the fourth over that the match would turn lively.
FOLLOW LIVE HERE: IND vs ENG, 4th Test Day 1 Live Score
In his second over with the ball, Akash Deep bowled an absolute peach, which nipped back from a length around off to leave Crawley beaten, as the ball crashed onto the stumps as it burst past Crawley’s inside edge removing the off stump clean.
The celebrations for the Bengal bowler ensued instantly, but had to be cut short as the dreaded no-ball siren went off next, signalling that the pacer had overstepped and hence could not be awarded the wicket.
Hence, his wicket had to be rescinded and the pacer still remains on the hunt for his maiden wicket for India.
Crawley would soon recover from the scare and take on the Indians soon, as in the upcoming overs, Bazball came into full effect with the Englishman whacking Siraj for boundaries at will.
It was the 7th over of the match that proved to be a wake-up call for India as Crawley smashed Siraj for three consecutive boundaries and a six in the very next ball, notching up 19 runs in the over to once again shift the momentum towards England.
But, his success would prove to be short-lived as debutant Akash Deep came in with a vengeance in his fifth over, dismissing both the likes of Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, for a duck, in the same over, to claim his first handful of scalps in international cricket and to dampen English spirits.
His onslaught would not be over with yet, as in his next over, Akash Deep finally bowled Crawley with yet another identical peach of a delivery that left Crawley completely bamboozled as the ball cut the right-hander in half and went on to hit the top of off-stump – a pacers delight, to sink England at 57-3.
In dire need of stability, England sent in veteran batters Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow to the crease. The duo survived a few scares but managed to stay alive till the end of the session, defending and picking their spots against the Indian bowling attack.
FOLLOW LIVE HERE: IND vs ENG, 4th Test Day 1 Live Score
The duo, both of whom has struggled to find their footing with the bat in this series, helped England stabilise their innings by putting up a fifty partnership when their team needed it the most and helping England cross the 100-run mark within the session.
Bairstow particularly seemed to be in great rhythm, settling in with ease and taking on the likes of Siraj and Ashwin as he smacked them both for boundaries with ease.
But, it was then time for veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to take on the England batter to dismiss him for a plumb LBW, thereby scalping his 100th wicket against England in Test cricket along the way.
And the cherry on top to end the session was delivered by Ravindra Jadeja, who dismissed England skipper Ben Stokes, who himself walked off before umpire Kumar Dharmasena could raise his finger for a plumb LBW.
At Lunch of Day 1: ENG 112/5 in 24.1 overs (Joe Root 16* | Akash Deep 3/24 in 7 overs)
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