Leeds, June 20 India were well on their way to outrightly win the first session’s play, but KL Rahul and B. Sai Sudharsan falling in six balls at the stroke of lunch meant the visitors’ reached 92/2 in 25.4 overs on Day One of the first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series at Headingley here on Friday.
For an hour and 54 minutes, India were running away with this session, all thanks to Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal sticking to the basics of batting well in England – being patient, leaving the balls well, and cashing on real loose deliveries, resulting in some superbly-middled drives, to share a brilliant 91-run opening stand.
But with Rahul and debutant Sudharsan falling softly for 42 and zero respectively, India squandered their well-earned advantage, allowing England to go into the lunch break with some happiness despite the hosts being made to toil hard for 90% of the time in the session. Though Jaiswal is unbeaten on 42 not out, he and new skipper Shubman Gill have a good resurrecting job to do.
Pushed into batting first, Jaiswal got India’s first boundary of the series by prodding forward and defending with soft hands to take a boundary through gully off Chris Woakes. He grew in confidence with every drive, either going through mid-off or in the arc between cover and backward-point.
On the other hand, after getting a boundary off a thick outside edge, Rahul began showing his sublime cover-driving skills – pressing forward and then leaning into the drive off Chris Woakes for four. England’s desperation for a wicket was so huge that they burnt a review when Josh Tongue trapped Jaiswal, who was hit earlier on the ribs by Carse, lbw with an inswinger, but replays showed the ball pitching outside leg-stump.
England not attacking stumps much meant they didn’t have the precision to stop Jaiswal and Rahul from playing the glorious straight and cover drives, though a few attempted drives did fly over the slip cordon. Apart from slashing and driving off Stokes on consecutive balls, Rahul was picture-perfect in his cover drive – front foot towards the pitch of the ball, getting down on one knee, and playing with a high elbow.
But with Carse finding some late movement, Rahul had to stand up to defend against him and then shouldered arms against a full and wide delivery. But against a full and wide outswinger, Rahul couldn’t resist the temptation and went for a drive, but nicked to the first slip, leaving the batter livid.
One brought two for England as Sudharsan faced instant baptism by fire – surviving an lbw appeal first ball, edging his second delivery past the slips, and coming close to flicking down the leg-side on the third ball.
But on the very next ball, the nervy Sudharsan again flicked down the leg-side but was caught by the keeper leaping to his right and departing for a four-ball duck off Stokes, as those two dismissals totally changed the session’s outlook from all things India to shared one.
Brief scores:
India 92/2 in 25.4 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 42 not out, KL Rahul 42; Ben Stokes 1-20, Brydon Carse 1-23) against England
--IANS
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