Sai Sudharsan made the opportunity count in his comeback game with a fifty while Rishabh Pant suffered another injury as India played the old-fashioned way to reach 264 for four at stumps on day one of the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester on Wednesday.
At stumps, Ravindra Jadeja (19 batting off 37) and Shardul Thakur (19 batting off 36) were holding fort in fading light.
Put in to bat in overcast conditions, Indian openers KL Rahul (46 off 98 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (58 off 107) put on 94 runs for their highest stand of the series before Sudharsan (61 off 151) produced a dogged knock under pressure to justify his selection over Karun Nair.
Batting alongside Sudharsan, Pant (37 retired hurt off 48) had just started flexing his muscles before missing a reverse hit off a full ball from Chris Woakes.
The impact of the ball was on Pant’s right foot, leaving him in a lot of pain and eventually he had to be taken off the field in a golf cart.
There were also blood stains on the foot, enough to unsettle the Indian fans and the dressing room. Pant had come into this must-win game after recovering from a finger injury he suffered while keeping during the Lord’s Test.
The sun stayed away for the majority of the day but the slow nature of the pitch gave the batters enough time to tackle the extra pace of Jofra Archer.
While Sudharsan was at the crease, he looked comfortable and also had luck going his way, having been dropped down the leg side on 20 by keeper Jamie Smith off Ben Stokes.
He rode that luck to play a couple of pull shots off Archer before playing a crisp back foot punch off Stokes.
The England captain, however, kept dragging an odd ball down the leg side in his effort to induce an edge off Sudharsan’s bat before resorting to the short ball tactic.
Sudharsan was up to the task until he pulled one straight into the hands of Brydon Carse at fine leg.
The young Indian batter was watchful at the start of the innings, scoring only off balls pitched on middle and leg. He flicked Archer for his first four before cover driving Liam Dawson.
Until his injury, Pant played his usual way, successfully sweeping Archer before dispatching Carse for a six down the ground.
In the afternoon session, England removed a well set Rahul and Jaiswal before sending back Shubman Gill to leave India at 149 for three at tea.
Having failed to land a wicket in the morning session, England broke through shortly after lunch with Woakes finally rewarded for relentlessly bowling in the off-stump channel. He had Rahul caught at third slip with a ball that seamed away from length.
The second wicket of the session came via left-arm spinner Dawson, who took just seven balls to strike in his first Test in eight years.
Jaiswal played for the spin but the ball did not turn that match, taking a thick outside edge on way to the first slip.
India captain Gill (12) did not last long as he misjudged an incoming ball from Stokes to not offer a shot, trapping him in front.
In the morning session, Jaiswal survived a probing spell from Woakes while Rahul looked solid as ever to steer India to 78 for no loss at lunch.
No team opting to bowl first has ever won at Old Trafford but Stokes ignored that piece of statistics on an overcast morning.
The ball did seam around but lack of pace allowed the Indian openers to play the pull shot with relative ease.
Gill thought it was a good toss to lose and that seems to be the case considering the dry and slow nature of the surface.
Woakes made it most difficult for the batters, especially Jaiswal who was beaten on a number of occasions by the England pacer.
In the first over of the match bowled by Woakes, two edges of Jaiswal’s bat did not carry, signalling there was not enough carry off the pitch.
In his eight-over spell, Woakes was pulled twice with Rahul and Jaiswal dispatching him in front of the square.
A streaky drive from Rahul off Woakes brought the Indian opener’s 1000 runs in England, a testament to his stellar work at the top of the order even in this series.
Jaiswal, who was removed by Archer twice at Lord’s, made a conscious effort to leave balls. The southpaw was also forced to change his bat when a ball from Woakes seamed back sharply from round the wicket to hit high on his bat, breaking the handle.
The openers somehow managed to survive the first hour of play, taking India to 42 for no loss in 14 overs.
Despite backing Nair on the eve of the game, Gill dropped the number three batter for Sudharsan .
The other two were forced changes with uncapped Anshul Kamboj and Shardul Thakur making way for the injured Akash Deep and Nitish Reddy respectively.
