The first of the five test matches between India and England has finally ended in a draw at Rajkot. This India vs England series which is famously called as the “Payback” series for India after they were humiliated by England in their own backyard in 2014, has by all possibilities got the best possible starts.

The first test match was a glimpse in many ways as to what is to follow in the series. The competitive attitude was noticeable between the two teams as none of them was ready to leave an inch of space for each other. The test match swung like a pendulum after every  session and the fight was end to end. 

Pitch

The pitch which grabbed all the attention throughout the five days has to be credited because the way it played. Batting was easy on the wicket for the first two days, as was evident by the ease with which batsmen from both the teams played.

As expected there was spin on offer for the spinners and by the time it came to the fourth and the fifth day, the cracks opened up but yet it was good enough to bat as the England openers proved in their second innings. Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed playing his debut match showed that if you have the patience and the skill to execute your application on the wicket , you can bat well and that was what exactly they did.

All in all the test match panned out well over the period of five days where both the teams got a feel of the situations and the conditions that is to follow in the remainder of the test series. It has to be said that this test match was in a way a very good preparation for the remainder of the series.

Lets now bring out the talking points from the test match , keeping both the teams in perspective.

India

DRS Makes Its Debut In India

Finally the BCCI agreed upon using the Decision Review System (DRS) for this series after former India Test skipper MS Dhoni was against using this newly invented method in cricket to help the umpires from making any howlers. As it turned out, India did use the DRS judiciously with Cheteshwar Pujara getting a life in the first innings when he was batting on 87. In the second innings however, Pujara did not use the DRS only to later realize that he could have probably used it as replay of his dismissal showed that the ball pitched outside the leg stump to his LBW appeal.

There were a few close DRS calls as well as some horrendous third umpire referrals by both captains. All in all, it looks like the Indians are still getting a hang over the implementation of the new system.  

Woeful Slip Catching

India’s fielding and especially slip catching was one of the highlights of the test match. They dropped straightforward chances of both the England openers in the first hour itself in the first day with pacer Umesh Yadav continuously inducing the edges. Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli all standing in the slips for India missed simple straightforward chances.

Wriddhiman Saha Disappointing Behind The Stumps

From missing catches to not choosing the correct option for a review, India’s first choice wicket keeper in Tests, Wriddhiman Saha did not have a good test match behind the stumps. He was rather slow on his footwork to the spinners, he also at times failed to read the spin giving a number of byes. 

Contribution Of Indian Lower Order

The Indian lower order yet again made a meaningful contribution with the bat to take India’s total to 488 in the first innings after India were 6 for 361 after Kohli’s dismissal. Saha (35) then added important runs with Ashwin (70) to form a partnership of 64 runs as the Indian tail wagged a little more to take India to the score of 488.

England

Adil Rashid’s Impressive Bowling

Adil Rashid was by far the best of the three spinners England played in the Test match. He finished with 7 wickets in the test match and did talk the ball in the second innings with his over spin and googlies. Going forward in the test series, Rashid is expected to be England’s key bowler. 

Haseeb Hamid’s Impressive Debut

After Alastair Cook and Joe Root, Haseeb Hamid is one of the recent English batsmen to make his debut in India. After falling cheaply in the first innings for 31 where he showed good application and temperament, he came back in the second innings and made the most of the opportunity.

His 82 in the second innings was a gritty performance where he showed immense patience and also skill. He played both attacking and defensive shots with ease and showed no nerves of a player making his debut. Certainly the England selectors will take a note of this young talent who is certainly one for the future.

Contribution Of England’s Lower Order

One of the reasons why England has been doing well in recent time in Test cricket is due to the contribution of their lower order. In this test match as well, the lower order of Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes contributed heavily in England’s massive first innings score. When England lost Joe Root on day 1 for 124 , the team score was 281 for 4. The trio then added 256 runs along with Zafar Ansari, the young leg spinner contributing an important 32 coming in at number 10.

Alastair Cook’s 30th Test Ton

Alastair Cook carried on his good run against India as he brought up his sixth  Test ton against India, the most by any England captain. This keeps him in good stead for the remainder of the series as he is their key player. This knock will ebb on to his captaincy as well and now that he has got a feel of the conditions one can only expect better performances from him in the upcoming matches.

For full scorecard, click here.

Picture Courtesy: FirstPost, HindustanTimes