Twitter Reactions: England’s ‘terrible batting display’ keeps Team India on top on Day 1

Only the color of the ball changed from pink to red between the third and the fourth Test matches. The narrative remained the same, with the spinners once again reigning supreme at Ahmedabad. 8 out of the 11 wickets that fell on the first day of the fourth Test fell to the spinners.

And, it was the England willow wielders who felt the pain out in the middle, as Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin combined to gobble up 7 England wickets. Washington Sundar managed to scalp a solitary England batsman, while Siraj rewarded with a couple of wickets for bending his back relentlessly.

The England side managed to save some humiliation this time around though, by managing to cross the 200 run mark for the first time in 5 innings. The side was bowled out for just 205, and certainly, it is a total that Joe Root would not be happy with.

England top order crumbles yet again

The England top order yet again faltered, and it cost the visitors. The first 3 wickets fell with the scorecard reading just 30, as the Indian bowlers stamped their authority over the opposition. Dom Sibley’s miserable series continued as he was cleaned up by Axar Patel for just 2. His opening partner Zak Crawley followed him to the pavilion 2 overs later, as he holed out to mid-off in a bid to up the ante, giving Axar Patel his second wicket.

Joe Root was trapped in front of the stumps by Mohammad Siraj for 5. Even though Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow kept India at bay for 16 overs, they never really looked threatening. And, just when it seemed like the partnership would blossom, Bairstow was caught plumb in front of his wickets, giving Siraj his second and final wicket of the day.

Ben Stokes looked sedate in his 121 ball stay in the middle, but he perished against the run of play. A lack of footwork proved to be Stokes’ undoing, as the left-hander was adjudged LBW for 55, as Washington Sundar scalped his first and only wicket. Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence dazzled with the willow, but neither of them could kick on and get a big score. While Pope scored an 87-ball 29, Lawrence scored 46 off 74 deliveries. Their 45-run stand allowed England to just trickle past the 200 run mark.

Shubman Gill fails to make an impact

Shubman Gill’s struggles in the series continued as the 21-year-old was caught in front of the stumps off the third delivery that he faced. The right-hander departed without troubling the scorers, giving James Anderson his first wicket of the match.

However, no further damage was done as Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara played out 11.3 overs as India ended Day 1 with their scorecard reading 24/1. And needless to say, England have their backs against the wall going into Day 2. The visitors should certainly pull up their socks quickly for if they do not, the game would slip away even before they realize it.

Here are the best reactions from Twitter