India v England, 1st Test Day 1: 5 Talking Points

Prior to the start of the first Test, many had not given England much of a chance. However, the way they played was something absolutely stunning, something that no one and perhaps not even the Indians did not expect. Joe Root was the star of the show in spite of the batting paradise, the 25-year old England batsman was the star of the show with some impressive batting as he went on to smash a wonderful century. Moreover, Moeen Ali was stranded on 99 at the close of play, something that would give him more confidence to come out and bat the following day. While there were many talking points on the day, here are five of the most prominent talking points.

1. Indians rue dropped catches

While Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed looked as though they were having a few problems out in the middle, the fielding was abysmal, to say the least. Alastair Cook was the first to be dropped in the slips when Ajinkya Rahane could not hold onto a fast moving cut from the England skipper. Haseeb Hameed was then handed another lifeline when Murali Vijay put down a dilly at second slip, something that got him fielding the rest of day along the fence. The third to go down in the morning was when skipper Kohli too exhibited a few seconds of butter fingers when Hameed has dropped yet again. These wickets fell eventually, but, the fact of the matter remained that the Indians were not confident on the morning.

2. Hameed, Duckett, and Ansari make the side

Three players making their maiden call to arms, so to speak were Haseeb Hameed, Ben Duckett, and Zafar Ansari. While these three players had made good strides in the tour of Bangladesh, they were facing a completely different proposition when it came to performing on Indian wickets, something none of them had the experience for. On the first day’s play, only Hameed and Duckett were the ones to get a chance. While Duckett was not able to make much of an impact with the bat, it was clear that Hameed looked at considerable ease. It remains to be seen how Zafar Ansari makes use of the Indian conditions.

3. Joe Root stands tall yet again

Each time Joe Root gets a start, he makes it a big one. Moreover, he looks invincible each time he goes out to bat. This time, he looked nothing lesser than invincible. Root played the Indian spinners with incredible acumen. He smashed the ball around the park making it impossible for the likes of Ashwin and Jadeja to snap up his wicket. What’s better, Joe Root also managed to be a passive aggressive. His score of 124 included 11 boundaries and a six. He was dismissed by Umesh Yadav in perhaps one of the most bizarre manners when the Indian pacer caught him and attempted a jiggle.

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4. Mohammad Shami begins to suffer from niggles

In recent times, Mohammad Shami has been the shining light as far as the Indians have been concerned in the bowling department at least. However, the Indian pacer has not had the easiest of times recently with some terrible injuries. Once again, a niggle prevailed as Shami hobbled off with a bad hamstring as he could not make things happen. This made things much worse for the Indians as they had just three bowlers. However, Shami made his way back to bowl a few more overs, none of which paid any dividends.

5. Moeen Ali ensures that England concludes the day on top

Moeen Ali has a tremendous record against India. This record only got better following the close of the first day’s play at Rajkot against India. Ali initially impressed with some impressive batting when he stuck around with Joe Root and batted for the most part playing the role of the second fiddle. However, once Joe Root was dismissed, Moeen took it up a notch when he smashed the spinners to different parts, aptly cashing in the final session of the day. He remained unbeaten on 99 at the close of play.

Also read – India v England, 1st Test, Day 1 Review: Root and Ali put England in firm position