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Live Report - India vs England, 1st Test, Chennai, 1st day

Written by 
Published in Cricket
Thursday, 04 February 2021 20:46

Welcome to our live report of the first day of the first India-England Test from Chennai. Join us for updates, analysis and colour. You can find our traditional ball-by-ball commentary here

*Most recent entry will appear at the top, please refresh your page for the latest updates. All times are local.

10.10am: Ashwin on early

Bumrah's first spell last only three overs, as Kohli throws the ball to Ashwin on his home ground. As the table below illustrates, both of England's openers have had their issues against spinners in their Test careers to date, but perhaps the most concerning aspect of those figures for England fans is that they have played the vast majority of their games in conditions which do not suit spin.

Burns has had issues against offspin in particular, with Roston Chase dismissing him five times in 93 balls in Tests - and there is no doubt that Ashwin is a significantly better bowler. Sibley starts solidly enough against him, getting fully back to length balls, and steering him for four through the gully, but this will be a tough challenge.

Gaurav Sundararaman tells me that since Ashwin's debut, only four bowlers - Broad, Anderson, Boult and Philander - have taken more wickets than him with the first new ball (i.e. within the first 20 overs of an innings).

9.50am: Bumrah's first home spell

More than three years after his Test debut, Jasprit Bumrah is bowling in a Test in India for the first time, and there's a chance straightaway. His first ball at home is angled into the left-handed Burns from round the wicket, and Rishabh Pant puts down a tricky, one-handed catch, diving low to his right as Burns looks to work off his pads. That will add further scrutiny to Pant's keeping, with plenty of Indian fans suggesting in the build-up that he should play as a specialist batsman with Saha behind the stumps.

There's early evidence of India's planning for this series in the first four overs, with a leg gully briefly stationed for Dom Sibley (he has been caught strangled down the leg side regularly in his fledgling career) and the seamers opting to bowl round the wicket to Burns and hoping to shape the ball into him. A silly mid-on has come in at the start of Ishant's third over, with his left boot almost touching the strip.

9.25am: Root brings up his 100

England captain Joe Root has been presented with his 100th Test cap by vice-captain Ben Stokes ahead of play. For our extensive coverage of his milestone Test, click here, and don't forget to check out Polite Enquiries with the man himself.

9.00am: England win toss and bat

No hesitation in opting to make first use of this pitch for Joe Root, who is playing his 100th Test today. "I do enjoy playing in India. It's a big challenge and the boys will have to relish it," he says. Virat Kohli admits that he would have batted first, too, and calls it a "good cricketing wicket".

For India, the big news this morning is that Axar Patel - who looked set to partner R Ashwin as the second spinner - was ruled out 80 minutes before the toss with a knee injury suffered in yesterday's training session. They have decided to pick three spinners in Ashwin, Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Nadeem, with Jasprit Bumrah (playing his first-ever home Test) and Ishant Sharma forming a two-man pace attack.

Zak Crawley misses both Chennai Tests after suffering a freak wrist injury, so Dan Lawrence keeps his place and is carded to bat at No. 3. The other big calls: Dom Bess plays ahead of Moeen Ali, while Jimmy Anderson is preferred to Stuart Broad.

Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets at @mroller98

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