India v England 4th Test, Day 1 - 5 Talking Points

A debutant scoring century, the No.1 bowler getting his team back in the game and the pitch starting to turn sounds a perfect setting for an exciting Test match and that it what it promises to be. At the end of Day 1 of the fourth Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, England will feel they are still vulnerable and will at least need another 100 runs here on to challenge the Indians.

Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings had a solid opening stand and Cook fell four short of a century as he failed to score a hundred-run stand with his 14th opening partner. Jennings played quite a few sweep shots and negotiated the spinners well. His century, Moeen Ali’s fifty had placed England in a very good position at one stage but Ravi Ashwin got his team back with quick strikes. England ended the day at 288 runs in their account for the loss of 5 wickets with Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler at the crease on 25 and 18.

1. Century on debut:

The Durham opener was with the England Lions team playing in the United Aram Emirates an injury to Haseeb Hameed earned him his maiden Test call-up and he would have wanted to make the most of it. Jennings made the most of his subcontinent experience and though tentative at the start got going pretty soon. He played some attractive and interesting shots while dealing with the Indian spin trio. He didn’t really look in trouble as he opted for the aggressive approach and kept scoring boundaries.

Jennings hit a reverse sweep off Jayant Yadav for a boundary to get to his century and didn’t lose his concentration after getting there either. He was eventually dismissed by a beauty from Ashwin, as he drew him forward and induced an edge for Cheteshwar Pujara to take a low, diving catch at gully. Despite the fact that he was brought in just as a replacement the 24-year-old has done a world of good to his reputation with this knock.

2. England take the first two sessions:

Having won the toss England wanted to capitalize on it, something they failed to do in the last Test. India were without Mohammad Shami and the pair of Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar though created chances couldn’t get them the breakthrough. Skipper Virat Kohli soon decided to introduce spin, but on a fresh, first day track bowling with the new ball even Ravi Ashwin couldn’t do much. Cook and Jennings were going well and were in a position where it looked like they will go into Lunch unbeaten.

To make something happen Kohli turned to Ravindra Jadeja and he had Cook immediately. The English skipper came down the track, missed the ball and Parthiv Patel behind the wickets did the rest. But despite that, they went into Lunch at 117/1. The second session proved to be even better for England as Jennings first had a partnership with Joe Root and then with Moeen Ali. The debutant also got to his century and looked good for more. They ended the second session with 196 runs on the board for the loss of 2 wickets.

3. Umpire hit on the head:

On-field umpire Paul Reiffel was hit on the back of his head by a casual throw from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The square-leg umpire found himself in the way of a throw from the fielder in the deep who was trying to pass the ball to Cheteshwar Pujara who stood a few yards ahead of the umpire. It wasn’t a full-fledged throw and that reduced the damage but Reiffel was certainly in pain and was taken off the ground. He was taken also to the hospital for scans. Third umpire Marais Erasmus replaced him in the middle.

4. Butterfingers:

The Indian team didn’t have the best of the days on the field; they lost quite a few wicket-taking opportunities during the day’s play dropping catches. Opener Jennings was the first to be dropped, Umesh Yadav had him in an awkward position and the ball flew to Karun Nair at gully but he couldn’t hold on to the tough chance. Jennings went on to score a century and this chance definitely cost the hosts a big deal. India certainly missed their most reliable slip fielder Ajinkya Rahane as skipper Virat Kohli standing in his position grassed a couple of catches as well. There were also balls that fell just short of the close-in fielders

5. Ashwin gets India back in the game:

While not a lot was going in their favor with two set batsmen at the crease, Ravichandran Ashwin got three wickets in quick succession to turn the tide for his team. First he didn’t let Joe Root settle and had him caught at slip by the skipper. He was absolutely brilliant in the post-Tea spell when the Moeen Ali-Keaton Jennings partnership started looking dangerous he accounted for Ali who went for a slog sweep but the ball went up in the air and landed in Nair’s pouch. Ashwin then produced a beauty to induce an edge off Jennings to end his stay at the crease.

Jonny Bairstow who has been the most consistent batsman for England wasn’t allowed to settle by the Indian ace and was caught in the deep by Umesh Yadav. Ben Stokes was also lucky to stay there as Ashwin really troubled him but the ball missed the outside edge on multiple occasions. With the wicket starting to turn now Ashwin’s figures of 30-3-4-75 certainly made the difference.