Joe Root was grit personified as he shelved all innovations to score his 31st Test hundred that pulled England out of a hole and helped the visitors finish the first day of the fourth Test here at 302/7.
Akash Deep made a memorable debut, knocking back Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley with 57 runs on the board before Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja chimed in for two more but Root built three vital partnerships - 52 off 57 balls with Jonny Bairstow, 113 off 261 with Ben Foakes and an unbeaten 57-run stand with Ollie Robinson to keep England in the Test and in the series. From 112/5 to 302/7, England can only hope to cross at least 350 on a pitch that has shown far less demons than its appearance had promised.
Any moisture that was present in the first hour of the day was exploited well by Deep as he made the ball dip dangerously into the right-handers. A no-ball denied Deep what could have been a show-stopping first Test wicket when he bowled Zak Crawley through the gates but he got him again in the 12th over with a similar ball that beat his inside edge. This was after Deep had already removed Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope in the space of three balls, pushing England towards the brink.
If Deep was the protagonist of the first session, the second and third belonged to Root, leading to an enthralling brand of cricket. For the first time, England didn't throw it all away.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Palestinian PM Resigns Citing 'New Reality' Of War In Gaza
The United States and other powers have called for a reformed Palestinian Authority to take charge of all Palestinian territories after the end of war
Future Perfect: The Kids Are All Right
Gill and Jurel hold out promise by simplifying a challenging chase to help India seal series
Akshay feels 'blessed' to have worked with OG Ramayan cast
Director Akshay K Agarwal shot a music video, Humare Ram Aaye Hai, with the cast of the 1987 TV show, Ramayanactors Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia and Sunil Lahri - in Ayodhya recently.
Musk's firm gets nod for Sat Net; joins Jio, Bharti
Starlink, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has been allowed to offer satellite broadband services in India, two officials aware of the development said.
A temple, 169 years in the making
Through decades of design and reworks, hurdles in engineering and construction, HT pieces together how the grandeur of the Ram Temple was reclaimed
'Political interference' forces Vihari to quit Andhra cricket
After Andhra bowed out of the Ranji Trophy at the quarter-final stage with a four-run defeat to Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Monday, senior batter Hanuma Vihari launched a scathing attack on the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), saying he will never turn up for the state again.
Shafali, Kapp lead Capitals to a 9-wicket win over Warriorz
A blazing fifty by Shafali Verma (64₹, 43 balls) helped Delhi Capitals make a mockery of a target of 120 and open their account in the second edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL).
Making 'unbelievable things believable', the Ayhika way
The India No. 7 was an inspired pick for the world team event and she repaid the faith, beating the Chinese world No.1
'Connected TVs to reach 45 mn by 2024-end in India'
With improvement in broadband penetration, Indian households are increasingly opting for connected or addressable TVs.
India chip strategy makes progress as $21 billion in proposals received
The Indian government, after years of watching from the sidelines of the chips race, now has to evaluate $21 billion of semiconductor proposals and divvy up taxpayer support between foreign chipmakers, local champions or some combination of the two.