England debutant Shoaib Bashir enjoyed a memorable start to his Test career before a fine century from Yashasvi Jaiswal put India in charge on day one in Visakhapatnam.
Bashir, fast-tracked into the team after just six first-class appearances, was just four overs into his first international spell when he grabbed the big wicket of Rohit Sharma.
The 20-year-old off-spinner, whose entry into the country was held up by visa complications, clenched both fists and roared in celebration when the home captain turned him straight into Ollie Pope’s hands at leg-slip.
But it was hard work for the tourists after losing the toss on a good batting pitch, with Jaiswal striking a fluent 125 not out as they reached 225 for three at tea.
He judged conditions expertly and picked his moments to attack England’s inexperienced spin attack, bringing up his hundred in grand fashion as he skipped down the track and launched Tom Hartley for six.
With no real encouragement from the surface chances were hard to come by, and Ben Foakes proved his value behind the stumps to make sure two of them counted. He dived in front of slip to catch Shubman Gill just before the lunch break, giving James Anderson a timely breakthrough on his return to the side, and was even more alert in the afternoon session.
Hartley, the seven-wicket hero of Hyderabad, was the beneficiary of Foakes’ brilliant glovework but the 24-year-old left-armer struggled in the face of Jaiswal’s controlled aggression.
Anderson, replacing Mark Wood as the solitary seamer, gave up just six runs from his initial five-over spell but England were soon relying on spin at both ends. Joe Root shared the new ball but gave way to Bashir as Ben Stokes got his latest newcomer into the game early.
Despite having only 10 first-class wickets to his name, he started confidently and settled into a steady groove. Sharma had been unusually quiet in making 14 from 41 balls but when he flicked Bashir round the corner to Pope it was a major first scalp for the youngster.
With Jaiswal putting away anything loose, India were still able to get the best of the first session and it felt a surprise when Anderson returned to take Gill’s outside edge 10 minutes before the break.
Jaiswal resumed on 51 and dialled up the intensity in the afternoon, lifting Root for six over extra-cover with an effortless back-foot drive. Hartley overpitched a handful of times and was punished mercilessly by the opener, who punched the ball emphatically down the ground to leave the fielders no chance.
He had one scare on 73, Root getting finger tips to an edge off Hartley, but moved fluently towards his hundred before reaching three figures with a handsome six down the ground.
