“The incident with the aircraft (crash) left the entire nation of India heartbroken, but from our side, our focus is on supporting them and how we can bring joy back to India,” vice-captain Rishabh Pant expressed to the media on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal set a strong tone for India as they began a lengthy tour, though England responded with late wickets, leaving the visitors at 92 for two at lunch on the first day of the opening Test.
Rahul (42) and Jaiswal (42 not out) made the English bowlers look ineffective until the former, along with debutant B Sai Sudharsan (0), fell in the closing moments of the first session.
Stokes’ choice to bowl first may have been influenced by the changed nature of the Headingley pitch, which has favored batters over the last decade, a characteristic evident in the first session of the match.
While there was some movement and swing for the pacers, the Indian openers handled the conditions well on a mostly sunny morning.
The England attack, lacking both James Anderson and Stuart Broad, seemed short on firepower to unsettle the Indian batters on a rather lifeless pitch.
The bowling unit, featuring Stokes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, and Chris Woakes, either over-pitched for Rahul and Jaiswal to capitalize with their drives or delivered balls on the pads for easy singles.
The England camp might have nostalgically recalled days when Anderson or Broad effectively contained opposing batters under such dry conditions with their impeccable line and length, but those times are now behind them, allowing Indian batters to seize scoring opportunities.
Jaiswal opened the morning with an elegant drive through mid-off off Woakes, while Rahul produced a series of exquisite drives through covers off Carse and Tongue, culminating in an impressive total of 16 fours in the first session.
Though Jaiswal had a couple of near misses and Rahul played a cheeky shot over the slips off Stokes, these were minor imperfections.
Jaiswal’s performance will especially please the Indian management, considering the left-hander struggled in the pre-tour matches for India A against the England Lions, often losing his wicket to deliveries outside off-stump.
In this match, Jaiswal displayed commendable restraint while addressing balls in the traditional corridor of uncertainty.
Rahul, who regained his opening position following the retirement of Rohit Sharma, was impressive, demonstrating solid judgment and technical skill until he unwisely attempted a loose drive off Carse, resulting in a slip catch for Joe Root.
Root (209) is now just one catch away from matching former Indian captain Rahul Dravid’s record of 210 catches in Test cricket.
(with pti inputs)
