India dominated the first session at Old Trafford with 78/0 at the lunch break.
India began their game against England on the first day of the 4th Test at Old Trafford, Manchester with a solid opening partnership between KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who went on to share an unbroken stand. The Indian openers showed skill and a lot of patience as they played on a cloudy morning and gave their team a comfortable lead of 78/0 at Lunch without the loss of any wicket.
Rahul ended the first innings by scoring 40 not out, and Jaiswal was with him at 36 not out. They made runs and were not out frustrating the bowlers of England on the match’s surface, which gave some fortune to bowlers early on
Toss and Team News – Stokes Wins Again
England captain Ben Stokes has won the toss for the fourth time in a row and decided to field first under the cloudy sky. England made a single change, with Liam Dawson replacing Shoaib Bashir.
India, however, brought in three new players to their playing XI:
Sai Sudharsan was at No.3 instead of Karun Nair
Shardul Thakur came in for Nitish Reddy
Anshul Khamboj made his Test debut, replacing Akash Deep
First Hour – Surviving the New Ball
On a fair-paced and lively track, England’s pace bowlers, led by Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer, went after the opening pair. The first over of the match saw Woakes twice getting the outside edge of Jaiswal’s bat but both fells failed to carry to the slip cordon. The first of those edges resulted in a boundary – Jaiswal’s initial runs of the innings.
KL Rahul was quick to attack, pulling Woakes for a four, and then playing a splendid cut shot through point. Despite all the excellence Archer displayed in handling the other end, Woakes saw both Indian openers milking him for boundaries.
Woakes and Jaiswal were locked in a fierce battle where the former continuously bowled the ball outside the bat and also defected Jaiswal’s bat handle with a vicious delivery. Nevertheless, Jaiswal countered with conviction which he demonstrated by hitting Woakes beyond mid-off for four. While this was on, Rahul never for once stopped scoring slowly; in one instance pulling a perfectly placed boundary past the point.
Drinks to Lunch – India Pilots Further
The first drinks break saw Brydon Carse replace Archer and the former bowled a prolonged spell. Rahul instantly played some delightful shots with some very clever placements sending the ball across the offside. Stokes had a short over and managed to hit Rahul on the pad, but there was no on-field call from the umpire, so England didn’t ask for a review.
Jaiswal was cautious but still took his chances to let the ball fly past the slip cordon for runs. However, the stand-out moment came when he slog-swept Ben Stokes for a handsome six that showed us his overall growing belief in his abilities at the wicket.
The Indian openers strongly denied the England bowling attack any headway. Although he made a comeback at a time when the sun was setting, Archer still had no chance of breaking the duo. On the first day at lunch, India was sitting at a comfortable 78/0 and this put England in the back seat.
India vs England 4th Test Day 1 – Lunch Scorecard
India: 78/0
KL Rahul: 40* (Not out)
Yashasvi Jaiswal: 36* (Not out)