Team India marked their return to Test cricket with an action-packed showdown against England in Hyderabad. In the first Test of the series, English skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat on a pitch that offered considerable turn. The decision to play three frontline spinners from both sides hinted at the challenging conditions for the batsmen.
Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, India initially started the proceedings with pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. However, a strategic shift occurred after the ninth over as the spin twins, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, were introduced into the attack. Until that point, England had been cruising with an aggressive start to their innings, but the spin duo quickly turned the tables by taking three rapid wickets and disrupting the top order.
Notably, before the commencement of the Test, Ashwin and Jadeja were just one wicket behind the former Indian spin twins, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, who had a combined tally of 503 wickets. Interestingly, the third position on the list also featured Harbhajan Singh, alongside pacer Zaheer Khan, with 474 wickets.
In the broader context of international cricket, the renowned English pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad currently holds the record for the highest number of wickets, boasting 1039 dismissals to their name. Broad had retired from all forms of international cricket following the Ashes in 2023. The only other pair with over a thousand wickets in Test cricket is Australia’s Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, who achieved 1001 dismissals.
After a top-order collapse in the first session, England’s Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow attempted to rebuild the innings, guiding the team to 108/3 at Lunch. However, their efforts were short-lived as both batsmen were dismissed shortly after play resumed, with Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja claiming the crucial wickets. The ongoing Test match promises more thrilling moments as the teams vie for supremacy in the series opener.
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