The first Test between India and England kicked off in Hyderabad on Thursday against the backdrop of debates over surface conditions for the game. Indian pitches have traditionally favoured spin, and there was no surprise when England announced their playing XI for the match the night before; the side opted to go with three spinners in addition to part-timer Joe Root, while Mark Wood remained the only pacer in the lineup. India, too, during the toss, confirmed three spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel.
In an early picture of the pitch posted by former England captain Mike Atherton, about two hours before the scheduled start of the game, dry patches signified plenty of assistance to spinners. However, during the pitch report, Kevin Pietersen mentioned some grass in the middle part of the pitch. In fact, he stated that it was a three-part surface with significantly lesser dryness closer to the crease. Overall, however, the consensus remained that it would assist turn in abundance, and the spinners would come into play very soon.
"It has very dry edges close to the bat. It's a lot more dry on this side. Here, it's going to turn. In the middle of the surface, the second part, there's an even grass covering, but it's dry underneath. Dry patches in the middle of the wicket. To the other side of the wicket, there's less dry patch closer to the bat," Pietersen had said in the pitch report.
{{/usCountry}}"It has very dry edges close to the bat. It's a lot more dry on this side. Here, it's going to turn. In the middle of the surface, the second part, there's an even grass covering, but it's dry underneath. Dry patches in the middle of the wicket. To the other side of the wicket, there's less dry patch closer to the bat," Pietersen had said in the pitch report.
{{/usCountry}}Indeed, with the selection that both sides made in their XI, it looked set to be a spinner's paradise. India's Rohit Sharma, who was asked to bowl first, began with frontline pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who immediately found the bounce off the surface. The carry was tremendous in the initial few overs from Bumrah and Siraj, as wicket-keeper KS Bharat carried most length deliveries on his shoulder length.
As soon as the spinners arrived, troubles began for England batters as Ben Duckett was the first to depart, trapped in the middle of the stumps by Ravichandran Ashwin. Another brilliant turn away from Ollie Pope induced an outside edge as Ravindra Jadeja also picked his first a couple of overs later. Zak Crawley, too, departed soon enough as England, who were cruising at 53/0 before the arrival of spinners, lost their opening three wickets within the next 7 runs.