3 talking points from Day 1 of the 1st IND vs ENG Test

An enthralling day of Test cricket came to an end at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad as India and England traded blows to kick off what is expected to be a tightly fought series. By the end of the day, though, the hosts managed to establish their control over the Test.

After England elected to bat first, India's bowlers combined to bowl the opposition out for 246 despite Ben Stokes' fighting effort. Yashasvi Jaiswal then took over with the bat as Rohit Sharma and Co. finished the day on 119/1, trailing by 127 runs with nine wickets in hand.

Here are three talking points from Day 1 of the first Test between India and England.

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#3 Bazball prompts Rohit Sharma to go on the defensive

Rohit Sharma often took catchers out to have fielders in the deep.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett set the tone for the England innings with a few sizzling boundaries off the quicks. Soon after that, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma went on the defensive, with several of his field placements coming under criticism.

After the hosts picked up three quick wickets, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root tried to steady the ship with a meaningful partnership. However, singles were easily available to the right-handed duo on both sides of the wicket. While having sweepers on either side was somewhat understandable, there was no reason to keep long-on and long-off back.

Even when a new batter came to the crease, Rohit didn't bring the field in. And when Ben Stokes was firing on all cylinders, the Indian captain spread the field entirely, only to keep it that way for the last few balls of the over and let his counterpart retain strike.

Bazball clearly forced Rohit to make some early calls, and they weren't necessarily very good ones.

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#2 Tom Hartley loses his radar on Test debut

Tom Hartley was taken for runs in his opening nine-over spell.

After India's spinners combined to pick up eight of the 10 wickets to fall, England were always going to be in the game throughout. However, Ben Stokes threw the new ball to debutant Tom Hartley, who couldn't find his rhythm at all.

Yashasvi Jaiswal played attacking cricket right from the very first ball of his innings, striking Mark Wood for a boundary through the leg-side. He was always going to be on the front foot against spin, and the left-hander thumped two sixes off Hartley's first over to make his intentions clear.

Hartley was never able to settle after that as he either dragged it down or overpitched, with Jaiswal being severe on both types of deliveries. Stokes tried to back his left-arm spinner by giving him an extended spell, but his nine overs ended up costing 63 runs.

Hartley's expensive spell turned out to be the difference between the two sides on Day 1 of the first Test.

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#1 England brought out an array of strategies against spin

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow put on a partnership after India took three quick wickets.

England seem to have come prepared this time, with clear strategies to counter the Indian spinners.

Jonny Bairstow refused to get his pads in the way and was more than happy to play everything off the backfoot. Meanwhile, Joe Root brought out the sweep whenever needed and tried to rely on his forward press to keep the ball out.

Ben Stokes was as assured as he usually is in defense. The England skipper, however, knew that blocking was only going to end one way and resorted to the reverse-sweep often.

As the series wears on, the contrasting approaches of the English batters will make for great viewing. India's spinners will need to adapt on the fly, and a couple of partnerships for the visitors could seriously ask questions of the home side.