They had thrown open the gates at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium for its inauguration as the 111th Test venue and while the resulting crowd looked a third of the 25,000 capacity, the majority of those to take advantage of the offer got exactly what they came for.
The unbeaten 151 from their superstar captain, Virat Kohli, and a dominant start for India also made it the day the travelling England supporters feared would be coming their way at some point during this series, while also fitting what has become something of a tried and tested template for success by the home side during their recent march towards the top of the Test rankings.
When Alastair Cook saw the coin go against him first thing, and following some none-too-subtle hints from Kohli regarding the surface he desired in the lead-up, it felt ominous. India rack up imposing first-day scores for fun at home and thus the biggest surprise, bar the early removal of both openers, came when a dog twice invaded proceedings and relieved itself at deep point.
By dodging the chasing, shoe‑throwing ground staff and forcing the umpires to call an early tea, the mongrel booked its place in Wisden’s index of unusual occurrences. It also left Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara in the 90s at the interval, having dominated from the moment they came together five overs into the morning session and with India on a mini-Benaud score of 22 for two.
Neither were affected, with Pujara’s century coming after the resumption – a heaved six off Adil Rashid over midwicket made it 10 in Test cricket for the in-form No3 – before Kohli, playing his 50th Test, slotted Jimmy Anderson for a couple through the dog’s recently marked territory to bring up the 14th of his career.
Unlike his partner, however, Kohli was restrained in his celebration, with the bat that had driven England to distraction gracefully lifted to all corners of the ground in acceptance of the crowd’s ovation but with the helmet remaining very much on.
The message was clear from India’s brooding captain: this was not the climax to his stay at the crease, rather a mere staging post in what he fully intended to be a monster score.
Such determination had been evident from the outset when he was greeted at the crease by Anderson, the bowler with his number on five previous occasions. England’s returning spearhead was towards the end of his opening spell, however, and with Stuart Broad off the field because of a wrist injury it did not take long before this generation’s finest one-day batsman began unfurling boundaries.
England’s spinners, without the comfort of runs on the board, struggled to exert the same control witnessed previously as Kohli’s dancing feet and fast hands dispensed boundaries with consummate ease. Even when the seamers were given 7-2 or 8-1 fields with which to bowl wide and dry, a slight break of the wrists on impact with the ball meant it was manipulated through the gaps with precision.
While one chance was offered on 56, with Rashid dropping a tumbling effort at fine leg during a short-ball assault from Ben Stokes, and some of the running with Pujara in their epic stand of 226 at times skittish, it was a day when only hubris looked likely to bring about Kohli’s demise.
Confidence is something the 28‑year‑old is not short of but before this series he had averaged only 20 from the past nine encounters with England and his only previous hundred against them, in Nagpur on the last tour, did little to further India’s cause during what was a turgid, series-losing draw.
When asked about these past struggles in the buildup, Kohli seemed scarcely concerned, giving thanks to Cook’s side for making him work harder in the interim through the smile of a man who knew something special was just around the corner.
The signs were there in Rajkot, with his unbeaten 49 in the second innings shutting down hopes of a victory charge by the tourists on the final day with the efficiency of a Japanese sinkhole filler.
But here among the verdant rolling hills of Andhra Pradesh, where only the occasional flicker of a sea breeze offered relief from the heat, England finally saw Kohli at his best in Test cricket.
