Yashasvi Jaiswal dominated England's spinners and propelled India into a commanding position on the opening day of the inaugural Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
At the close of play on the first day, India were at 119/1, trailing England by 127 runs. Shubman Gill and Jaiwswal were not out at 76* and 14* respectively. England's innings ended at 246, with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja putting pressure on the English batsmen.
Jaiswal showcased England a glimpse of their own aggressive playing style, scoring runs quickly and turning the tables on the visiting team. He confidently stepped forward and hit Rehan Ahmed for a six, epitomizing his outstanding performance with the bat throughout the day.
India made a strong start as Jaiswal aggressively faced debutant spinner Tom Hartley, hitting two sixes and helping India reach a score of 19/0 by the end of the second over.
Jaiswal maintained his dominance over Hartley, and Rohit also joined in, reaching 50 for India in just 39 deliveries with a single. He brought up his half-century with a sublime shot to find the boundary.
In the following over, Hartley came close to inducing an outside edge from Rohit, but the Indian captain managed to stay in. Following this close call, Rohit (24) attempted to calm the nerves by going for a big hit off Leach's delivery. However, he mistimed the shot, and the ball was caught by England captain Ben Stokes.
Rohit's wicket in this match was his 5th time getting out to Leach in seven innings. His batting average against the English slow left-arm orthodox spinner is only 19.
Throughout the remainder of the day, Shubman Gill and Jaiswal maintained dominance, ensuring steady progress on the scoreboard while preventing any additional wicket loss.
Earlier today, England chose to bat first after winning the toss, but the spin combination of Ashwin and Jadeja restricted their scoring opportunities.
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, England's opening pair, got their team off to a strong start with a partnership of 55 runs. Crawley scored 20 runs from 40 balls, hitting three fours, while Duckett contributed 35 runs from 39 balls, including seven fours.
Ashwin achieved the initial breakthrough of the match by getting Duckett out in the 12th over.
The second wicket fell when Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Ollie Pope, who had scored 1 run from 11 balls, in the 15th over. The third wicket followed in the 16th over as Ashwin got rid of the English opener Crawley.
Stokes was the sole impressive batsman for the visiting team, scoring 70 runs and enabling his side to surpass the 200-run milestone. Nonetheless, the 32-year-old was unable to form a partnership that could significantly impact the game.
Following the lunch break, England managed to score just 108 runs. The Indian bowling attack consistently took wickets and effectively restrained the 'Bazball' performance.
England finished their initial batting with a total of 246 runs, as Ashwin and Jadeja each took three wickets, granting India a strong advantage in the match.
Scores at a glance: England 246 (Ben Stokes 70, Ben Duckett 35; Ravichandran Ashwin 3-68) vs India 119/1 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 76*, Rohit Sharma 24; Jack Leach 1-23).
