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Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik feels Team India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja were not at their best on Day 1 of the first Test against England.
Karthik reckoned that while the spin trio enjoyed success, the favorable pitch helped them a lot, and so did a few English batters who threw away their wickets. Ashwin, Jadeja, and Axar picked up eight wickets combined out of the 10 English wickets.
Speaking to Cricbuzz after stumps on Day 1, Karthik stated:
"To be honest, all three didn't bowl at their best. I don't think it was their best day. It was more of England giving away a few wickets, and the pitch in itself being hard enough to bat. It wasn't one that you couldn't bat on, but it wasn't something that was too simple to bat on as well, quite challenging for team that is touring."
Karthik suggested that left-arm spinner Axar Patel was the pick of the Indian spinners on Day 1. He made life difficult for England's batters with his tidy bowling.
"Out of the three, if I had to pick, Axar Patel was very menacing," Karthik continued. "In the short time, he produced balls that batters would find really hard to play. If you had a bad defence, you could get away with the way Ashwin and Jadeja bowled to a decent extent, but if you're playing Axar Patel wrong, chances are you will get out."
England were bowled out for 246 runs after electing to bat first. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up three wickets each, while Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah shared two scalps apiece.
"It's not something that Jasprit Bumrah could've planned" - Dinesh Karthik Ben Stokes' dismissal
Ben Stokes fought a lonely battle for England, scoring 70 runs off 88 balls. His gutsy knock was ended by a spectacular delivery from Jasprit Bumrah. Stokes was completely undone by the away moment and was clean bowled.
Speaking about the dismissal, Karthik said:
"That is the ball of the day because it came in such an innocuous way, and to an extent, against the run of play, you don't realize how good a ball is. That was one of those that if a batsman had stood in the crease, he would have been opened up completely and gotten beaten because there is no chance if somebody bowls around the wicket into the middle and leg and the ball seams away hit the middle and off, it is impossible to play."
"Because he stepped out and went outside the line, the ball actually didn't get enough credit. It's not something that Jasprit Bumrah could've planned. It hit one of those cracks and moved," he added.
In response to England's 246-run total, India finished at 119/1 at stumps on Day 1. Yashasvi Jaiswal stole the show with a stunning unbeaten knock of 76.
