England vs India, 1st Test: Ashwin spins his magic as hosts finish at 285-9 on Day 1

Birmingham: England finished at 285-9 on day one after winning the toss and electing to bat in the first innings of the opening Test at Edgbaston.

R Ashwin got the first breakthrough with a peach of a delivery that bamboozled Alastair Cook. Joe Root and Keaton Jennings fought back to frustrate the visitors. However, soon after tea break, Mohammed Shami got India back on track with wickets of Keaton Jennings and David Malan in quick succession.

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow foughtback with a gritty hundred run stand but the script soon took a U-turn. A miscommunication from Jonny Bairstow led to the England skipper’s depature and soon after, Umesh Yadav removed the set right-hander.

Hopes were pinned on Jos Buttler but R Ashwin outfoxed him and later on Ben Stokes also fell into his trap. The Tamil Nadu spinner continued to spin a web around the opposition batsmen as the hosts kept losing wickets.

India could’ve wrapped it up had it not been for some dropped catches with James Anderson and Sam Curran at the crease.

England 283-9 after 85 overs:

LBW! Quicker one by Ashwin, drifts off the deck and that's plumb. Broad perishes.

England 283-8 after 84 overs:

LBW! Another one bites the dust. Ishant traps Rashid in front of the stumps who looks to play across the line. Kohli decides to go upstairs and the decision is spot on.

England 243-6 after 74 over:

WICKET! Another one gone. Flighted delivery, Stokes rocks back and plays a mindless shot, back to the bowler. Hangs in head in dejection.

England 224-6 after 67 overs:

LBW! Another big wicket for India as Jos Buttler departs. Tossed up, off-spinner turns inside and strikes the batsman on the knee roll. The umpire raises his finger. England in deep, deep trouble.

England 223-5 after 66 overs:

BOWLED! Umesh Yadav joins the party. And now both set batsmen - Root and Bairstow are back to the pavilion. Short ball outside off, Bairstow opts for the cut with no footwork whatsoever. Chops it on.

England 217-4 after 63 overs:

RUN OUT! Bairstow tucks it towards square leg and wants two. Root is not sure but Kohli collects it and makes a throw towards the non-strikers end, wasting no time. He is well short of his ground and Root throws away yet another hundred opportunity. Kohli kisses the air in celebration.

England 211-3 after 62 overs:

FIFTY! Bairstow brings up his half-century and it's come in quick time. With that, the hosts have also crossed the 200 mark!

England 163-3 after 54 overs:

What a session this has been for Team India. The pace attack started on a bright note keeping the England batsman in control before Mohammed Shami dismissed Keaton Jennings and David Malan in quick succession. Despite losing two quick wickets, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root have soaked some pressure. Can they continue till the end of the day?

England 129-3 after 44 overs:

FIFTY! 12th Test half-century against India for Joe Root. The England skipper has looked in good rhythm.

England 113-3 after 40 overs:

LBW! What a return spell this is proving to be for Shami. Round the wicket, skids off the deck and turns sharply into David Malan. The batsman opts for a review with a doubt for an inside edge but snicko confirms the opposite. Impact in line and hitting the wickets.

England 100-2 after 36 overs:

BOWLED! India will take that. Shami strikes on the first ball of his new spell as a poor back foot punch sees Jennings chop the ball on to the stumps.

Lunch:

While R Ashwin managed to dismiss Alastair Cook early, Keaton Jennings and England skipper Joe Root have stayed put to deny India another wicket before lunch on Day 1 of the first Test here on Wednesday.

India could have another wicket in the bag had Ajinkya Rahane not shelled a catch in the slips to let off Jennings off Ishant Sharma. The left-hander and Root have stitched an unbeaten 57-run partnership till lunch.

England 83/1 from 28 overs:

LUNCH! England's session even as India managed to remove Cook early. Root and the England management will be happy with the scorecard. India bowled short and England made sure they did not throw their wickets away.

England 53/1 from 16 overs:

FIFTY UP! While India have not leaked runs, England have managed to keep the scoreboard ticking. Root has looked solid while Jennings seems to have hold his own despite that dropped catch.

England 26/1 from 8.5 overs:

WICKET! What a beauty that was! R Ashwin, introduced into the attack in the seventh over, has cleaned up Alastair Cook. It pitched somewhere around the leg stump and crashed onto the off-stump. Cook misses, Ashwin ecstatic. Top top delivery that was.

England 21/0 from 5.3 overs:

DROPPED! Indian slip cordon... enough said. Ishant Sharma produces an edge off Keaton Jennings and Ajinkya Rahane, fourth slip, dropped one diving towards his right. 1st drop catch of the series.

Joe Root has won the toss and England have opted to bat in the first Test against India here on Wednesday. India, meanwhile, would not be too disappointed with the outcome of the toss as skipper Virat Kohli said that the team wanted to bowl first.

India have decided to pick Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul in the playing XI as the Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara misses out. The team only has one frontline spinner in the form of R Ashwin while Hardik Pandya will shoulder the pace-bowling responsibility alongside Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.

The stage is set and England and India will be eager to win the first bout of what could be a keenly-watched five-match Test series which kicks off at the Edgbaston with Virat Kohli’s men squaring off against Joe Root and co in the first Test here on Wednesday.

While India and England shared the spoils, winning the T20I and ODI series, respectively, the Test series will turn out to be the most intriguing affair, with England, who are playing their 1000th Test, hoping to do away with their below-par Test record in recent times and India wanting to prove why they are the number one Test team in the world.

There will also be a numerous battles within the battle as two of the modern-day batsmen, who are also captaining their teams, Root and Kohli, take the field. While Kohli has made it clear that he is not in England to prove a point to anybody and improve his rather poor Test record, he will be motivated to play a pivotal part in India’s success. Root, meanwhile, will be keen to take off from where he had left in the ODI series against India.

The England quicks though – mainly James Anderson and Stuart Broad – will be Kohli’s big test. The two, especially Anderson, had troubled Kohli in the past and while Anderson of 2014 was at his peak, he continues to be a big threat in the English conditions.

For India, despite Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, have the pace bowling firepower with Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami – two of whom are certainties to be picked in the playing XI, can trouble the English batsmen.

While England have announced their team a day prior to the Test, India have decided to keep cards close to their chest. While Murali Vijay and the middle-order of Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya are certain of their places, the spot of second opener and number three slot may offer a few surprises with Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara in the running to grab those two spots.

The other area which may attract some attention is the choice and number of spinners India will field in the first Test with the likes of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav in the ranks.

Squads:

England (playing XI): Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (captain), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

India: Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Rishabh Pant.

Match-timings:

The match is scheduled to start at 3.30 PM (IST).

Live telecast and live streaming:

The live telecast of the match will be available on Sony Six, Sony Ten 3 and Sony Ten 3 HD while the live streaming of the match will be available on Sony Liv.