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India v England, 4th Test Day One: Five Things We Learned

Honours even on day one at Mumbai, as India fightback to keep tabs on England, who reach 288-5 at stumps. Here’s what we learned…

MAN OF THE DAY – Keaton Jennings (112)

As great as 2016 has been for Keaton Jennings, it’s worth going back to 2015 for the full picture. At the time, Jennings was a stodgy opener: one who asked a lot of a spectator’s patience and, truth be told, a bit of an eyesore at the crease. At the end of that summer, he averaged 23.65 in 20 Championship innings – no hundred to his name – and Durham went into the 2016 season with a view to replacing him at the top of the order. What followed was a summer to remember. Something clicked within Jennings and he unfurled the most purple of patches: he hit seven Championship hundreds (in Division One) in a 1,548-run campaign. That led to an England Lions call up, who he captained the day after he received his call-up to the full side as Haseeb Hameed’s replacement, and a debut hundred against the UAE. A week later, he became the 19th English batsman to score a century on Test debut. He was dropped on nought by: Karun Nair at gully, diving to his right as Jennings’ hands wandered while his feet stayed still. He learned from the misjudgment, committing to every drive and shot square of the wicket, while also realigning his defense. His sweeps were a particular delight, moving to three figures with an excellently timed reverse off his 186th delivery, having negotiated the nineties in a calm, methodical manner. After England spent four years looking for Alastair Cook’s opening partner, they have found two in the space of a month.

NEW ORDER?

As Jennings raised his bat for his hundred, before the cameras panned to the England dressing room, they locked on to Haseeb Hameed and his family on their feet, applauding. And so thoughts turned to next summer. When both Jennings and Hameed are fit (touch wood) who plays? The answer could be both. With a vacancy at number four after James Vince and then Ben Duckett failed to nail down the position, there are . However, moving Joe Root from three to four will allow one of Hameed or Jennings to come in at first drop. Or, as some have suggested, perhaps even move Cook to three and alleviate the burden of opening to get as much as possible from him between now and the end of his career. It is a more nuclear option and probably one that will not come to pass. What is for sure is that, for the first time in a while, England have two new batsmen who look the part.

ASHWIN’S TEA

When they talk about the game moving along all of a sudden on the subcontinent, they mean when the ball is the hands of a player of Ravi Ashwin’s quality. With Jennings bringing up his hundred and Moeen Ali notching a ninth half-century, England were 230 for two in the final session, fluttering their eyelashes at a monster first innings score. The fall of both the England captain and Joe Root had not stopped the tourists adhering to the pro-active approach that Trevor Bayliss had called for before this Test. But when Ali swept Ashwin high into the leg side, India rallied. With the batsmen crossing, Ashwin took pace off the ball to force Jennings to push to gully. Two in three balls! Then, as Jonny Bairstow got comfortable dabbing sweeps around the corner, Ashwin went flatter on leg stump, forcing the in-form batsman to put more into the shot and hit it squarer. He was caught in the deep by Umesh Yadav on 14. Ashwin deserved a whole lot more, tying Ben Stokes in knots with ones ripping past the outside edge and the odd arm ball that neither Stokes nor Jos Buttler picked. Along with the wicket of Root, Ashwin has

FINALLY, A TURNER

For the first time on this tour of India, a pitch has turned on day one. In the lead-up to the series, there were rumours of nothing but rank turners to aid the host’s strengths and expose England’s lack of aptitude against spin. However, the surfaces have been anything but, exhibiting good bounce and carry, allowing seamers on both sides to influence the game. With Mohammad Shami, India’s most impressive quick, out with an injury, maybe it is no surprise that Mumbai has more in it for the spinners. Thankfully for England, they are batting first. But might they rue not playing an extra spinner in left-armer Liam Dawson? Nottinghamshire seamer Jake Ball got the nod to replace off-spinner Gareth Batty but, with the benefit of hindsight, it doesn’t look like there will be many overs to divvy up between England’s four quicks.

WHAT NEXT

Given the amount of turn on offer today, England won’t want to rely too much on their second innings. Stokes, after his iffy start, is settled but Buttler looks like he is guessing every ball. While he did well to make it through to the close, he was lucky that his erratic drives did not cost him. It is unlikely that he will face anything other than spin tomorrow and will have to find a way to survive and score runs at the same time. The last thing England need is their most destructive batsman blocking up one end. In terms of a score, 400 would be great, but 350 seems more likely.