India vs England, Third Test: England lose four wickets
Opener Zak Crawley staged a comeback for England after the Indian bowlers struck initially on Day 1 of the Day/Night Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Fast bowler Ishant Sharma drew the first blood for India in the form of Dominic Sibley before Axar Patel and R Ashwin attacked.
Before the tea-break, India also got rid of Crawley and Root.
Here's the session report.
How did the session pan out?
The English openers started meticulously after Root elected to bat. However, Ishant broke the deadlock as he uprooted Sibley (0) in his second over. Axar also sent back Bairstow (0) on his very first delivery of the match. While Crawley and Root made a recovery for England, the visitors lost the duo eventually. At tea, England finished at 81/4.
Ishant makes his 100th Test memorable
Ishant picked up the first wicket of match in his 100th Test as he dismissed opener Sibley for a duck. The former is only the second Indian fast bowler after the great Kapil Dev to feature in 100 Tests. Interestingly, Dev also snapped up the first wicket of the match in his 100th Test (1989), having dismissed opener Aamer Malik for a duck.
Axar bowled in the right areas, Ashwin strikes again
All-rounder Axar has bowled in the right areas as of now. He snapped up the crucial wicket of Bairstow on his very first ball. This is the first time in Day/Night Test history that a spinner has taken a wicket in first seven overs of the match. Axar also sent back the dangerous Crawley at the stroke of Tea. Besides, off-spinner Ashwin dismissed Root.
Root, Crawley provide stability to England
Despite the departure of Sibley and Bairstow, opener Zak Crawley held one end. He charged on against the Indian bowlers, taking England past 50 runs. Crawley, who missed the first two Tests, slammed the fourth half-century of his Test career. He scored as many as 10 boundaries, having emerged as the rescuer. Crawley also shared a 47-run stand with Root before the duo departed.
India go with two fast bowlers in the pink-ball Test
In a surprising move, India entered the pink-ball Test with only two fast bowlers (Ishant and Bumrah). They didn't rope in Umesh Yadav, who was deemed fit to play the Test. Also, the Indian management opted for all-rounder Washington Sundar in place of Kuldeep Yadav. Notably, the left-arm wrist-spinner played in place of Sundar in the second Test.
