Mumbai: England dominated, struggled and then revived to end the first day’s play in Mumbai at 288 for loss of five wickets. The visiting team would be very happy with their batting performance as the pitch became more bowler friendly as the day progressed.
Things cold have been much worse for India but Ravichandran Ashwin saved India the blushes. The offspinner produced another magical spell at the Wankhede stadium to turn the tide of the final session in India’s favour.
England made a solid start to the fourth Test as openers Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings put up a 99-run stand. Jenning, who’s playing his first Test batted brilliantly to score a century on his debut.
Jennings and Moeen Ali mustered a 94-run stand for the third wicket before the Ashwin hit the England team. Ali was dismissed by the ace spinner shortly after he crossed the 50-run mark, he then went on to clinch the wickets of the centurion Jennings and Jonny Bairstow.
England innings, however, was steadied by Ben Stokes and Jos buttler. The pair will resume batting on Friday. From here on, every run is invaluable as the wicket is only going to deteriorate. Cook and Co. would be hoping to pile up as many runs as they can in the first innings and put India under pressure.
England: 288-5 from 94 overs
STUMPS! That's it for the first day. England have done well on the first day, it's only going to get difficult to bat on this wicket from here on. Ben Stokes is batting on 25, Jos Buttler is unbeaten on 18. Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for India, the offie picked four wickets on the first day for 75 runs.
England: 274-5 from 90 overs
India have completed the quota of 90 overs in the day but some 15 minutes are still left for the first day, so few more overs will be bowled. Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler are batting for England.
England: 249-5 from 80.2 overs
Out! Bairstow is dismissed by Ashwin. Another poor shot by an English batsman. After Ali, Bairstow tries to sweep Ashwin and ends up edging it to Umesh Yadav. Jos Buttler has come out to bat.
England: 230-3 from 70.4 overs
Wicket! Double blow for England. Ashwin just dismissed two set batsmen in the space of three deliveries. This could prove to be the turning point for India. Moeen Ali was caught by Karun Nair. Jennings was caught by Cheteshwar Pujara in the slips. Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow are the new batsmen at the crease.
England: 202-2 from 64 overs
And we are back. Jayant Yadav and Ashwin are operating for India. Jayant in the last over induced an outside edge off Moeen Ali's bat but it did not carry to the slip fielder Kohli.
England: 196-2 from 62 overs
TEA! England are in firm control of the game, as Keaton Jennings scores a century on his debut. The India bowlers have largely been unable to contain the england batsmen, with the some exception of Cook and Root.
England: 191-2 from 58.5 overs
Brilliant knock by Jennings! Brings up his first century in his first ever innings in Test cricket. The injured Haseeb Hameed has some real competition for the opener's slot now.
England: 181-2 from 55 overs
Moeen Ali and Keaton Jennings have been scoring a t a decent rate, putting England back in control, after the fall of Cook and Root's wickets. The debutant is edging closer to his century.
England: 166-2 from 48.2 overs
In a bizarre turn of events, umpire Paul Reiffel gets hit by a throw from Cheteshwar Pujara, who was fielding in the deep. Reiffel goes off the field after receiving some medical attention. Third umpire Marias Erasmus comes out on to the field, as a replacement.
England: 136-2 from 38.2 overs
WICKET! Ashwin picks up his first wicket of the match. Dismisses the dangerous Joe Root after lunch. Root was completely beaten by the flight of the ball, as he edged to Kohli at first slip. The India skipper did well to hold on to the ball, as he had already made a wrong-footed movement in the opposite direction of the ball.
England: 117-1 from 31 overs
LUNCH! England have made a resolute start to the first session of the fourth Test, with debutant Keaton Jennings leading the charge. While India managed to get the important wicket of Cook, England have largely been in control.
England: 99-1 from 24 overs
WICKET! The bowling change has worked. Jadeja picks up Cook's wicket with the third ball of his innings. Cook completely missed the big turn, as he danced down the track. Keeper Parthiv Patel fumbled the ball a little, but managed to gain control in time, to whip off the bails, before Cook got back to safety.
England: 92-0 from 24 overs
Keaton Jennings sweeps Ashwin to fine-leg, to score the first fifty of his international career.
England: 49-0 from 15 overs
DRINKS! England have made a steady star to the game, as captain Cook and debutant Jennoings take the score to 49 on the first day. Virat Kohli has tried different combinations in the first 15 overs, with pacers Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin all getting spells.
England: 23-0 from 6.3 overs
India take their first review of the match, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar goes up in appeal after one of his deliveries trapped Jennings in front of the wicket. However, the ball-tracking technology revealed that the ball impacted with the pad, outside the line of the off-stump. The original decision (not out) stands.
England: 22-0 from 6 overs
Captain Alastair Cook and debutant Keaton Jennings have made a decent start to the innings. Bhuvnashwar Kumar has been swinging the ball a little, and has troubled Jennings on a few occasions. However, the England openers have negotiated the India pacemen quite well till now.
Toss
England have won the toss and have decided to bat first.
Teams
India: Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Karun Nair, Ravichandran Ashwin, Parthiv Patel(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav
England: Alastair Cook(c), Keaton Jennings, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow(w), Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, James Anderson, Jake Ball
Mumbai: India and England are back after their mid-series break, as they prepare to resume their rivalries for the fourth of the five-match Test series, at the Wankhede stadium.
India have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, having won in Vizag and Mohali, after an initial draw in Rajkot.
While England cannot win the series anymore, they will be looking to at least tie the series 2-2 by winning the remaining two matches. Meanwhile, a draw will be enough for India to ensure that they win the series.
England will be rejuvenated by the mid-series break, when they went to Dubia to cool down. However, the loss of 19-year-old opener Haseeb Hameed due to a fractured finger will be a big blow for the Three Lions. Hameed has been replaced by Keaton Jennings in the squad.
India have also had their fair share of injuries, with the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, and Wriddhiman Saha being ruled out of the game.
It will be interesting to see how the Indians perform at the Wankhede, where they are playing for the first time since Sachin Tendulkar's retirement in November, 2013.
