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England strike back against India in first Test / Photo: Darren Staples - AFP
England strike back against India in first Test
England hit back with two wickets just before lunch on the opening day of the first Test after India threatened to make Ben Stokes pay for opting to bowl first at Headingley on Friday.
India slumped from 91-0 to 91-2 at the interval after opener KL Rahul fell for 42 before Sai Sudharsan made a duck on his Test debut.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was in fine form for India on 42 not out.
It had been India's morning until Rahul drove loosely at a wide delivery from Brydon Carse and edged to Joe Root at first slip.
Moments later, Sudharsan's glance off Stokes was well caught by diving wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.
Stokes' decision to bowl, which may have been influenced by the fact the last six Tests at Headingley have all been won by the team batting second, meant England did not have to face India's star paceman Jasprit Bumrah at the start of the match.
It also gave England a chance to strike an early blow against an India top order without experienced batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after the pair retired from Test cricket within days of each other last month.
Chris Woakes, sidelined by an ankle problem earlier in the season, returned to lead England's attack in place of the injured Gus Atkinson.
Fellow new-ball bowler Carse was given a home debut in the other change to the England side that beat Zimbabwe in a one-off Test in Nottingham recently.
Jaiswal and Rahul seized on anything loose as India made a stylish start to their quest for just a fourth Test series win in England after their triumphs in 1971, 1986 and 2007.
Jaiswal drove Josh Tongue down the ground before Rahul struck Woakes for a superb cover-driven boundary.
Stokes brought himself on in the hope of a breakthrough after England had squandered a review when Tongue tried to overturn an original not out lbw decision in left-hander Jaiswal's favour.
With the India openers approaching a century partnership, two wickets turned the tide back in England's favour.
Before play both teams and the match officials observed a minute's silence in memory of the victims of an Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that killed all but one of 242 people on board, with players also wearing black armbands as a mark of respect.
L.Mitchell--SMC
