On a day of frenetic action-packed Test cricket action in Mumbai England were driven by a century on debut by Keaton Jennings and ended the day on 288/5. However, the management would not be entirely thrilled with the final session in the day.
England went into Tea at 196/2 and looked set for a massive first innings total after Alastair Cook won a very crucial toss and elected to bat first. However, Ravichandran Ashwin found his groove in the final session and claimed the wickets of Keaton Jennings and Moeen Ali in one over to tilt the match back in the balance. Jennings was the star of the day as he compiled a flawless century and looked at ease both against seam and spin. His footwork was precise and nimble and the shot selection was exemplary.
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He was given good assistance by Moeen Ali who started in an iffy manner but composed himself and got to a half-century. However, Ashwin continued his wicket-taking form and removed both the left-handers and gave the hosts something to cheer about.
The Wankhede pitch has already started showing signs of assisting the spinners and the balls are disturbing the surface on a regular basis. Batting will only get difficult as the game goes on and thus a big first innings total is an absolute must. Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler remained unbeaten after the day’s play.
All in all, the first day was a brilliant advert for Test cricket and considering the pitch conditions it only promises to intrigue us further in the coming days. England would want to kick in and get close to 400 which will allow their spinners to make use of the favourable conditions.
Here is how the Cricketing world reacted after the day’s play:
Keaton Jennings after his superb debut century:
Couldn't be happier, couldn't be prouder. A life early on, got the beans going. Just chatting to my uncle, trying to approach like I would any other game. Woke up at 5 am this morning, thinking I missed the bus. No video, try to chat with other batters to see what it's like. After lunch, it started to turn. Virat's captaincy was superb, his bowling changes were spot on. The little changes he made were quite good. Just when we thought, we were on top, they fought back really well. I would say so if we come back tomorrow and put another 100 runs on the board.”
Other reactions from in and around the cricketing fraternity:
Michael Vaughan, former England captain
Kevin Pietersen promptly brings up the South Africa reference
Paul Collingwood, former England captain and current Durham skipper
James Taylor, former England batsman
Niall John O Brian, Ireland batsman
Sanjay Manjrekar, former Cricketer and commentator
Jonathan Agnew, Cricket analyst
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