Republic Day in India was very much labour day for England’s cricketers, the tourists toiling in Hyderabad as their hosts took a vice-like grip on this first Test. Batter error was the chief source of wickets for Ben Stokes and his side in what was an ominous sign of things to come on this toughest of away tours.
By stumps, the drinkers among them could not even look forward to a cold beer, with the sale of alcohol banned on national holidays in India. Instead, it was back to the team hotel for an evening on the softies, well earned for their three sessions of perspiration, even if inspiration had been lacking in the main. Even Joe Root attempting a flip of the bails at one stage à la Stuart Broad at the Oval last summer did not work.
All this appeared inevitable half an hour after lunch when KL Rahul rocked back and sent a half-tracker from Rehan Ahmed soaring back over the leg-spinner’s head for six. It had taken India into the lead only four wickets down, with a bumper crowd of 28,000 in attendance. When the last of them filtered out at the close, India had reached 421 for seven to sit 175 runs ahead; the kind of advantage this team seldom let slip.
Rahul, in the No 4 spot vacated by the absent Virat Kohli, had looked nailed on for his ninth Test century, the elegant right-hander having milked England’s bowlers on a day when every over seemed to contain at least one easy release shot. In the end he had to settle for 86, walking off with eyes rolled back in their sockets after heaving a drag down from Tom Hartley into the hands of Ahmed at deep midwicket.
Instead, from 288 for five, it was Ravindra Jadeja who turned the screw, delivering a commanding 81 not out from 155 balls that kept India on track. As well as unfurling his trademark sword celebration upon reaching 50, the left-hander twice made good use of the review system. He also put a high price on his wicket, as shown when a mix-up with Ravichandran Ashwin saw him beat his partner to the line for a slightly farcical run out.
While the seventh-wicket partnership was fleeting, Jadeja had already put on 68 with the wicketkeeper, Srikar Bharat, and India’s batting depth was then underscored by an unbroken 63-run stand with Axar Patel. There were two wickets apiece for Root and Hartley, even if the latter was manhandled late on for the second day running as the wiry Patel signed off proceedings by carving two fours and a six.
Things actually started brightly for England, Stokes finally opting for Root’s off-breaks to the left-handed Yashasvi Jaiswal and seeing the previous evening’s tormentor fall to only the fourth ball of the day. Jaiswal had lofted the second for four to reach 80 but then miscued an attempted repeat for a smart caught-and-bowled above Root’s head.
Two balls later came England’s main sliding-doors moment of the day, Root teasing the edge of Rahul’s bat and a sharp chance evading Ben Foakes. It was given as byes by the umpire Chris Gaffaney meaning a wicket was not guaranteed had it stuck. England had also devoured their reviews like Hungry Hippos the night before, although a forceful appeal and a guilty look from Rahul might have convinced the New Zealander otherwise.
There was a second wicket in a session of 103 runs and no maidens, and a first for Hartley, too, with the subdued Shubman Gill (23) cuffing a full ball to midwicket. But even with Hartley’s fortunes improving after his mauling from Jaiswal the night before, the die felt cast, Rahul and Shreyas Iyer batting through to the afternoon until the latter, on 35, slog-swept a googly from Ahmed to Hartley on the rope.
After much speculation about the surface, 667 runs across the first two days have shown it has not been the snake pit some predicted. The most lavish turn came when there was still moisture on the first morning, with good batting conditions thereafter. That said, one fancies India’s spinners would have fared better on day two.
As it was, Stokes was hamstrung by a lack of threat if, as he always claims, containment is never the aim. There was also the question of Jack Leach’s fitness, the left-armer looking stiff on his return from a lower-back stress fracture and sending down just 16 overs on the day. Two sets of four were his longest spells, a knee jarred in the outfield on day one hampering his contribution.
Ahmed managed to beat the bat on occasion – expecting control from a 19-year-old wrist-spinner is fanciful – and Mark Wood typically gave his all as the one seamer in this strange-looking side. Hartley’s control also improved, the left-armer relaxed enough to be filling out a crossword on the boundary’s edge before the start of the second session.
But the fact that Root was the most used bowler rather summed things up, his 24 overs including 16 off the reel either side of tea – a spell that brought the wicket of Bharat lbw for 41 when he missed out on a sweep. Disappointment for Bharat, admittedly, but a Republic Day of outright dominance for India overall.
• This article was amended on 28 January 2024 because an earlier version referred to the umpire Chris Gaffaney as Australian. He is a New Zealander.
