Watch: Rohit Sharma takes a sharp catch at slips to dismiss Ollie Pope

England have slided from 55 for no loss to 60 for three in a matter of few overs as the visitors have been rocked early on day 1 of the first Test in Hyderabad.  Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper worked his bowling changes exactly that worked in India’s favour.

Zak Crawley (20) and Ben Duckett (35) added 55 for the first wicket as they played comfortably and looked at attack the Indian spinners. Duckett was the first wicket to fall in the 12th over from Ravichandran Ashwin. The veteran Indian spinner is inching closer to a few milestones on the very first day of the first Test.

Watch Rohit Sharma’s Spectacular Grab To Dismiss Ollie Pope

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Soon Ravindra Jadeja also struck as he dismissed Ollie Pope. He pitched the ball on the off stump as it took the edge of Pope’s bat and Rohit standing low at slips took a brilliant catch to give India the second wicket which fell in the 15th over. In the very first ball of the 16th over, Crawley chipped one straight to Mohammed Siraj who took a tumbling catch.

Earlier in the day, England won the toss and opted to bat first on Hyderabad. The visitors opted to field three spinners and decided to rest veteran pacer James Anderson. Mark Wood, is the only specialist pacer in the XI. Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed and debutant Tom Hartley are the three spinners in the side.

India too have opted to field three spinners in the XI. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are the three specialist spinners with Bumrah and Siraj as the two specialist pacers. India are already missing Mohammed Shami who is ruled out of the Test series wih an ankle injury.

Also Read: IND vs ENG weather report live today and pitch report of Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad- 1st Test, 2024

Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the batting with Shubman Gill slotted to bat at three. Shreyas Iyer should bat at four in the absence of Virat Kohli with KL Rahul at five KS Bharat at six, Ravindra Jadeja at seven Ashwin at eight followed by the bowlers.

“We would have batted as well. Looks dry. Whether we bowl or bat first, we have the skills and we got the guys to do the job for us. Hopefully we can turn out well. A good series, I am playing for the first time – five Test matches. The guys are excited. It’ll be challenging but we are up for it. We have played in these conditions before. We know what to expect and what we need to do, it’s all about executing your skills, backing yourself and being brave enough to take the opportunity. We’ve got three spinners and two seamers – Bumrah, Siraj, Axar, Ashwin and Jadeja. It was a tough one (to leave out Kuldeep Yadav), we thought a lot about it” said Rohit Sharma at the toss.

England skipper Ben Stokes took a brave decision and opted to bat first after winning the toss. They started positively, but the three quick wickets suddenly shifted the momentum in India’s favour. The quick wickets will now mean that the likes of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow the more experienced of the England batters in India will need to play a big role.

“We are gonna have a bat. It’s typical conditions in India, you are not quite sure what you are going to get. We will try to post a big score on the board. The preparation has been really good. We know the challenge that India presents, not only to us but every team that comes here. They are an incredibly successful side” said Stokes as he complimented the Indian side.

Also Read: “Even Shane Warne failed in India..”- Nasser Hussain on England spinners