Key events
There’s a break in play. I think Bairstow has something in his eye, or maybe a problem with a contact lens. Does he wear lenses? It’s not important, never mind.
19th over: England 76-3 (Root 4, Bairstow 14) Root has made a pretty watchful start, trying to get used to the pitch. He was totally out of nick during the World Cup. No clues yet as to what kind of form he’s in now.
18th over: England 74-3 (Root 3, Bairstow 13) Ashwin is lethal in home conditions, and he’s getting better. Since the start of the decade he has 85 Test wickets at an average of 14.59. He doesn’t play much overseas any more, and he wasn’t involved when Root and Bairstow batted magnificently to help England hammer India at Edgbaston in 2022.
Bairstow is beaten twice and misses a sweep during another menacing over from Ashwin. He has figures of 5-0-8-2.
It’s sill the morning session, you know. There’s already been more incident than in the entire six-Test series of 1981-82.
17th over: England 72-3 (Root 2, Bairstow 12) Bairstow, who knows this stadium well from the IPL, skids back to force Jadeja to the cover boundary. That’s a good shot. He gets four more later in the over, cutting very late behind square. It was a risky shot but well executed.
Jonny’s bristling, of course he is, and he races into double figures with a classy cover drive for three. There is roughly 0.00 per cent chance of England going on the defensive, collapse or no collapse.
16th over: England 61-3 (Root 2, Bairstow 1) Here comes Jonny Bairstow to calm everything down.
WICKET! England 60-3 (Crawley c Siraj b Ashwin 20)
This is chaos. England have lost three wickets for five runs in 21 balls. That was an extremely good catch from Siraj, who had to swoop forward at mid-off to take it two-handed just above the ground.
THIRD UMPIRE REVIEW FOR A CATCH AGAINST CRAWLEY
Crawley charged Ashwin and drove to mid-off, where Siraj took a low catch and raised his right hand in celebration. They’re going to check whether it carried; I think it did.
15th over: England 60-2 (Crawley 20, Root 2) That was the last ball of the over.
“Lovely to have Test cricket back again, even if it probably won’t go well for England this series,” says Will Vignoles. “I fully expect India to win, and win comfortably, but their defensiveness about their pitches seems like a potential weakness. On a flat deck you’d expect them to pat England’s attack on the head for days, but by preparing turners it makes it much more of a lottery, as in 2012. Cut to amend getting skittled and Rohit blasting a triple I suppose.”
I think the defeat in Chennai in 2021 spooked them, and they know how dangerous this England team can be on flat pitches. Personally I think these pitches give them a better chance of crushing England, though there is already the risk of being O’Keefed. Sounds daft but England might already have a half-decent score on this pitch.
Root is not out It did hit the pad – but only after brushing the bottom-edge. It was close, though, with only a very small spike on UltraEdge.
They’re still waiting for UltraEdge to load. I’m pretty sure Root hit the ball, so let’s all just NOT EFFING PANIC OKAY.
India review for LBW against Root!
It’s all happening. Root premeditates a sweep at Jadeja, with the ball rolling away for a couple of runs. Jadeja is insistent it hit the pad rather than the bat, and Rohit eventually goes upstairs.
WICKET! England 58-2 (Pope c Rohit b Jadeja 1)
Ollie Pope’s jittery innings comes to an end. He pushes with stiff wrists at a good delivery from Jadeja and edges low to slip, where Rohit Sharma takes a lovely catch.
14th over: England 58-1 (Crawley 20, Pope 1) Ashwin gets one to pop at Crawley, who pushes it not far wide of short leg at catchable height. Pope, who has started his innings on the frantic side of busy, gets off the mark with a single down the ground. This pitch is already doing plenty for the spinners.
After an unutterably tedious first hour, it’s time for drinks.
13th over: England 56-1 (Crawley 19, Pope 0) I fear a little for Pope in this series. He almost falls to Jadeja for a duck, trying to whip to leg and getting a leading edge that plops short of cover.
“This is not a question, but just sharing some experience of cricket watching I’ve been having recently,” writes Saurya Chakraborty. “I’m watching this match in Seattle with my soon to be five-year-old son, who has really picked up his interest in cricket since watching me go through a smorgasbord of emotions in the WC final. He watches every ball intently, and aske a hundred questions (why was that four, not a six? Why does he play that shot? Why is he called ‘Duckett’ etc? ) But after every over, he pointedly asks me the same series of questions. Is the batter happy? Is the bowler happy ? Is England happy? is India happy?
“I used to brush of the questions, but the happiness question I have started deep attention to now. For some reason, I feel like England are now genuinely happy, even if they go through a mini collapse from time to time. My son is bound to outgrow this phase ( if genetics has its way, he will become a taciturn, stat obsessed pessimist like his father), but I absolutely love the perspective he has brought to my cricket-watching experience.”
That’s really sweet. I can’t remember watching such a happy England team, not even in 2005 or 2019. The next few weeks will test that, though.
12th over: England 55-1 (Crawley 18, Pope 0) That wicket was umpire’s call, which means England don’t lose a review. But worryingly for Duckett, he has fallen again to Ashwin – who now has another edible batter in his sights, Ollie Pope.
WICKET! England 55-1 (Duckett LBW b Ashwin 35)
After a couple of easy singles, Ashwin has a chat about the field with Rohit Sharma. India have gone on the defensive earlier than expected – but that will change now because Duckett has gone!
He pushed defensively outside the line of a delivery that went straight on to hit the flap of the pad. Duckett reviewed in the hope it was missing leg; it wasn’t.
11th over: England 53-0 (Crawley 17, Duckett 34) Duckett turns Jadeja thorugh the vacant leg-slip region for a single. We’re in the first hour of the series and batting already looks treacherous against the spinners.
Crawley takes a quick single to mid-on, then Duckett premeditates a scoop for four. That’s an excellent shot, which he follows with a vigorous sweep round the corner for four more. His seventh boundary brings up a fine fifty partnership with his new mate Crawley: they’ve had a bit of luck but have played with admirable intent and imagination.
10th over: England 42-0 (Crawley 16, Duckett 24) Now then, Ravichandran Ashwin to Ben Duckett, who he tormented – on less spin-friendly pitches – seven years ago. Duckett played tentatively on that occasion, paralysed by notions of how you’re supposed to bat in a Test match. Bugger that! Whatever happens in this series, there will be no more 16-ball ducks.
After a few defensive sighters, Duckett pulls out the reverse sweep. Theer’s a man out so he gets just a single.
9th over: England 41-0 (Crawley 16, Duckett 23) Erm, things are about to get interesting, probably a little too interesting for England. Ravindra Jadeja comes into the attack and finds some turn straight away, beating Crawley at least twice, possibly three times. It looked like a day-four pitch in that over.
8th over: England 41-0 (Crawley 16, Duckett 23) That’s a really good shot from Duckett, who gets up on his toes to drive Siraj to the cover boundary. Siraj moves round the wicket in response, so Duckett drives him to the right at mid-off for four more.
This has been a dream start for England. And now the nightmare begins it’s time for spin.
“Greetings from New York City,” writes Paul Harrison. “In bed in NYC having got Covid AGAIN. So, so, so over it. Brain fog is preventing my ability to find the overseas TMS link – has anyone shared? Thanks for the company, I feel a long awful night ahead.”
I’m not 100 per cent sure but I think it’s on talkSPORT rather than TMS. It’s definitely on Guerilla Cricket; I think our old friend Gary Naylor is part of the commentary team. Also, commiserations on getting Covid again; I still haven’t had it, which given the state of my immune system is a miracle on a par with England winning this series 5-0.
7th over: England 32-0 (Crawley 15, Duckett 15) Duckett continues to ride his luck, playing and missing at an outswinger from Bumrah. Just a leg-bye from the over. What is this, 1963-64? (Please click the link, and go straight to Bapu Nadkrani’s bowling figures.)
6th over: England 31-0 (Crawley 15, Duckett 15) Duckett, who is having a sticky patch, is beaten four times in five balls by Siraj. With one of the deliveries he pulled his bat inside the line at the last minute. I’m sure 99.94 per cent of openers would claim they weren’t playing at the ball; Duckett might be the 0.06. He prides himself on how few deliveries he leaves.
Sticky patch or not, Duckett remains full of intent. When Siraj ends an otherwise excellent over with a very wide half-volley, he lashes it through extra cover for four.
5th over: England 26-0 (Crawley 15, Duckett 11) Bumrah moves a fielder from third slip to cover, the first hint of compromise from India. He moves round the wicket to Duckett, who nails a back cut that is marvellously stopped by the diving Jadeja. That saved four runs.
Bumrah is trying to cramp Duckett for room from round the wicket – I’m surprised more people don’t try that – and he zips a good delivery past the inside edge that bounces over the stumps. One run from the over. What is this, 1981-82?
4th over: England 25-0 (Crawley 15, Duckett 10) A wide length ball from Siraj is blasted through to the covers by Crawley. That’s the fifth boundary in the first four overs.
It’s so easy to forget how extraordinary it is to see an England team start a Test series – the toughest series of all, Mission: As Near Impossible as Dammit – playing so aggressively. Even if they lose 5-0 (we might as well get that in early) it’s just so refreshing.
3rd over: England 19-0 (Crawley 9, Duckett 10) Duckett, aka The Man Who Didn’t Leave, chased another wide one from Bumrah and slices it uppishly through the covers for two.
A cracking yorker is dug out by Duckett, who slashes the next ball past point for his first boundary. He ends the over with a beautiful off-drive for four more.
This is great fun, with both teams trying to land haymakers from ball one. If the first 10 overs of Australia’s innings in the World Cup final was Hagler v Hearns, this isn’t far behind. Froch v Kessler maybe.
Duckett-Crawley stand now worth 19, which is higher than seven of their eight opening partnerships in the 2021 series.#INDvENG
— Yas Rana (@Yas_Wisden) January 25, 2024
2nd over: England 9-0 (Crawley 9, Duckett 0) A very eventful start from Mohammed Siraj, who concedes two boundaries in his first two balls and then beats the bat three times.
Crawley flicked the first ball, a straight half-volley, through midwicket, then followed up with a gorgeous on-drive. Siraj soon found his range, though, and Crawley played and missed at three of the last four deliveries. The first swung extravagantly from a fuller length.
There’s plenty in this for the quick bowlers – pace, bounce and swing.
1st over: England 1-0 (Crawley 1, Duckett 0) Crawley walloped the first ball of the Ashes for four. This time he starts with a couple of careful leaves outside off stump. After four outswingers, Bumrah bowls a hooping inswinger that Crawley flicks round the corner for a single.
Duckett chases his first ball, well wide of off stump, and is beaten.
The magnificent Jasprit Bumrah (140 Test wickets at 21.21, the average of an all-time great) will open the bowling to Zak Crawley. Three slips and a gully in place – and, as far as I can tell, no deep point.
We’re five minutes away from the first ball. Before the chaos, a moment of serenity.
Mark Ramprakash on England’s risk/reward balance
Ambassador…
Two Test matches will begin simultaneously in just under 20 minutes’ time. Australia are facing West Indies in a Brisbane day-nighter, and Jim Wallace is following that one.
And if you haven’t already, please read Jim’s piece on the remarkable story of Shamar Joseph.
Ali Martin’s series preview
2012-13 and all that
With each passing year, this victory becomes a little more awesome.
Team news
India prefer the stump-bothering orthodoxy of Axar Patel to the wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. The rest of the team is as expected, with the wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat effectively replacing Virat Kohli.
India Rohit (c), Jaiswal, Gill, Iyer, Rahul, Jadeja, Bharat (wk), Patel, Ashwin, Bumrah, Siraj.
England Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes (c), Foakes (wk), Rehan, Hartley, Wood, Leach.
The match will be played on a Carl Showalter of a pitch: kinda funny-lookin’. It has very dry patches at each end with a bit of grass in the middle. In short, it’s going to be spin, but it might not be the vile turner England anticipated. Not on the first morning, anyway.
England win the toss and bat
Buckle up, buttercup.
Tom Hartley will make his England debut today. Shoaib Bashir might have joined him but for a dispiriting game of silly buggers; he will at least be available for the second Test.
So, what are we all doing at the weekend?
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, over-by-over coverage of the first Test between India and England in Hyderabad. Look, we probably use this phrase too often, certainly for a relatively niche cultural reference that is over 20 years old. But I promise you: this really is the real quiz.
If England can win in India, they will never know fear again. This is the toughest challenge in Test cricket, arguably in Test history. India haven’t even drawn a series at home since England won here 11 years ago, and in that time their overall record is P46 W36 D7 L3.
It’s hard enough to beat India in a two-Test series, never mind five. But England’s young bold soldiers have arrived with a smile on their face and a Sinatra song in their heart. For the first time in living memory, they will enter a Test match with no bowlers whose stock ball is between 60-90 mph. They’re certainly not going to die wondering. Good luck everyone.
The match starts at 4am GMT, 9.30 in Hyderabad.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
