NEW DELHI: Indian spinners exploited the turning track to hinder England's 'Bazball' strategy in a gripping first session of the opening Test, reducing them to 108 for three at lunch on Thursday.
Joe Root (18*) and Jonny Bairstow (32*) held their ground for England after the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja orchestrated a challenging session for the visitors.
Scorecard: IND vs ENG 1st Test
England's openers, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, initially amassed 41 runs in the initial eight overs. However, Ashwin made a decisive impact, dismissing Duckett (35) with a delivery that skidded on, catching him in front of the wicket.
Jadeja followed suit by inducing turn and bounce, securing Ollie Pope's wicket with a catch at first slip by skipper Rohit Sharma.
Ashwin continued his dominance, claiming Crawley's wicket (27) in the next over as he tried to assert himself, resulting in a catch at mid-off by Mohammed Siraj.
England found themselves at 60 for three, but Root and Bairstow guided them through the remainder of the session.
Despite the challenging start, Duckett and Crawley provided a promising opening stand for England. Duckett's elegant off-drive off Jasprit Bumrah stood out as the shot of the morning.
However, the turning point came when India introduced their spinners, altering the complexion of the game and setting the stage for an intriguing contest in the subsequent sessions.
(With inputs from PTI)
