Captain Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal displayed their prowess with the bat to put India in a dominant position at the end of the first day's play in the fifth and final Test against England at the HPCA Stadium.
India's formidable performance was built on the exceptional bowling display by Kuldeep Yadav, who claimed a sensational 5-72, and Ravichandran Ashwin's remarkable figures of 4-51 in his 100th Test match, which bamboozled the England batting lineup, restricting them to 218 all out in just 57.4 overs.
In response, Jaiswal played a composed innings, scoring 57 runs, while Rohit remained unbeaten on 52, guiding India to 135/1 in 30 overs by the close of play, trailing England by 83 runs.
During the post-tea session, Ashwin continued to trouble the English batsmen, claiming his third wicket as Ben Foakes fell after an attempted sweep resulted in him dislodging the stumps. James Anderson, too, fell victim to Ashwin's guile, mistiming a shot to mid-wicket while trying to slog, bringing an end to England's innings within 60 overs.
In their reply, Jaiswal started cautiously but soon found his attacking rhythm, hitting three sixes in a single over off Shoaib Bashir, while Rohit took charge with aggressive strokeplay, including four boundaries in the initial overs, and a notable six over fine leg off Mark Wood.
Jaiswal reached his fifty, becoming the quickest Indian to amass 1000 Test runs, but his innings was cut short at 57 as he fell victim to Bashir's bowling, being stumped easily. Shubman Gill showcased his batting skills with well-timed shots, while Rohit reached his half-century in 77 balls.
Gill ended the day's play on a high note, hitting consecutive sixes off Bashir and Tom Hartley, as India enjoyed a perfect day of Test cricket action despite losing the toss.
Brief Scores: England 218 in 57.4 overs (Zak Crawley 79; Kuldeep Yadav 5-72, Ravichandran Ashwin 4-51) lead India 135/1 in 30 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 57, Rohit Sharma 52 not out; Shoaib Bashir 1-64) by 82 runs
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