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England's desired aggressive approach in alien conditions against world-class spinners was the talking point during the build-up of their five-match Test series against India. The visitors remained true to their word initially, taking on the pacers in the opening hour of play, but they were forced back into their shells once the spinners started operating from both ends.
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were brave against the new ball, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj finding it hard to bring in any sort of control. It was Ravichandran Ashwin, who provided the early breakthrough, and the others joined the proceedings soon.
The carnage extended into the second session, with Axar Patel dismissing Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes, while Jadeja took the crucial wicket of Joe Root. England, who were breezing with a run rate of over five in the opening hour, are now hovering around the 3.1 mark, with even skipper Ben Stokes forced to absorb the pressure rather than take the bowlers on.
The fans were quick to chime in with their early thoughts on Bazball's sustainability in Indian conditions. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:
England did not score a single boundary from 27.1 overs to 47.3 overs on Day 1
The visitors were arguably in a good spot at the end of the first session, having scored at a good rate and crossed the 100-run mark while losing only three wickets. However, Team India kept things tight in the second session as England lost their way, with wickets falling in quick succession not helping things.
England had to wait for over 20 overs after Bairstow's boundary of Jadeja to witness another boundary. The drought was over after Rehan Ahmed took on Ravichandran Ashwin in the 48th over of the day.
At the time of writing, Ben Stokes and company are tottering at 155/7, with Jasprit Bumrah claiming his first wicket of the innings after dismissing Rehan Ahmed with a clever off-cutter.
How many runs will the visitors score in the first innings of the first Test? Let us know what you think.
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