England found no joy after Ben Stokes opted to bowl first in overcast conditions on a quiet first session of the fourth Rothesay Test against India.
Tensions between the teams had risen after a tetchy final couple of days at Lord’s, where England won to take a 2-1 series lead, but the dial was turned down a notch after England elected to bowl first.
Shubman Gill calling incorrectly was India’s 14th straight loss at the toss, with the odds of that happening 16,384 to one, but Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul enjoyed more fortune when play began at a murky Emirates Old Trafford.
India’s openers guided them to 78 without loss at lunch, with Jaiswal in particular riding his luck following Chris Woakes’ probing eight-over spell. Woakes repeatedly challenged the outside edge but the only breakthrough the veteran seamer managed was snapping the Indian’s bat handle.
Jaiswal started to find some fluency before the interval, and was on 36 not out after uppercutting Stokes for six, while Rahul was altogether more compact in compiling an unbeaten 40.
Jaiswal’s outside edge was found twice in the first over but neither carried to the slips and the second trickled past the cordon for a streaky four, leaving Woakes kicking the turf in frustration.
Woakes in particular gave Jaiswal a thorough working-over but the young left-hander showed good judgment outside his off-stump even if several deliveries whistled past his outside edge.
Jofra Archer leaked just seven runs in an opening five-over burst but was not as threatening as Woakes, who thudded into Jaiswal’s bat handle, breaking it and leading to the only sustained break in play.
Brydon Carse was wayward and was carved on a couple of occasions by Rahul, although when Jaiswal attempted to do likewise, an uppish edge flew past the outstretched hand of Zak Crawley at third slip.
Jaiswal was rushed by an Archer shorter ball and what seemed like an initial leave was ramped for four, leaving the bowler to smile wryly.
The batter, though, was at his brilliant best when flashing hard at Stokes as the ball flew over the deep backward point boundary to rubberstamp India’s excellent start.
