Indian openers capitalize on chances to provide a solid start

On a cloudy Manchester morning, Indian openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave their team a strong start, guaranteeing England would go the entire session without taking any wickets.  On Day 1 of the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester, India advanced to 78/0 at lunchtime, with Rahul at 40 and Jaiswal at 36, both undefeated.

 For the fourth time in this series, England captain Ben Stokes asked India to bat first after winning the toss.  India made three changes: Sai Sudharsan replaced Karun Nair at No. 3, Shardul Thakur replaced Nitish Reddy, and Anshul Khamboj received his first Test cap in place of Akash Deep. The sole change for the hosts was Liam Dawson, who replaced Shoaib Bashir, as England had already stated. 

In the first over, Chris Woakes twice struck the outside edge of Jaiswal's bat, but both missed slips. The second one helped the left-hander get off the mark with a boundary.  Rahul's first four was a pull shot in front of Woakes' square.  Woakes was giving up boundaries while the Indian openers were unable to score easily off Jofra Archer. Jaiswal attempted a pull shot but was squared up and then beaten outside off.  Rahul's cover drive for three was Archer's first successful stroke, and the right-hander also smashed a boundary past point off Woakes. 

Before the first drinks break, Woakes and Jaiswal engaged in a good battle.  With a nasty nip-backer that kicked up off the surface, the seamer repeatedly pounded the bat and even broke Jaiswal's bat handle.  In response, Jaiswal drove past mid-off for four with assurance.  The Indian batsmen, on the other hand, successfully navigated Archer's opening spell, in which he gave up just 7 runs in 5 overs.  He was replaced by Brydon Carse, who was met by Rahul with a clean cover drive for two, but answered with a short, sharp spell.  Rahul helped India get through the first hour without suffering any losses as he chose the point zone for a couple and then a boundary in his subsequent over. 

After the interval, Woakes and Carse bowled one over before Ben Stokes came on and hit Rahul on the pad, but England chose not to request a review.  Carse beat Jaiswal on the cut, but he was still able to slice one out between third slip and gully for a four, raising India's score to fifty.  Late in the first session, Archer returned to action and bowled with Stokes, alternating between short and full deliveries.  Jaiswal was on the ground when he edged a short ball from Archer over slips, but he was able to cut one off Stokes for a boundary. As the openers ended a strong opening session for India, he also hit a six off an upper cut from Stokes.