Axar and Ashwin kept India on Top - Day 1

The series was 1-1 and all Cricket fans excited to watch the 3rd Test(Pink Ball Test) at Motera Cricket Stadium which was the World's largest Cricket stadium with a capacity of 1,32,000. Before the start of the match, the stadium named Narendra Modi Stadium and 2 stands as Reliance stand and Adani stand.

Similar to 1st test, England won the toss and elected to Bat. Four changes for England as Crawley, Bairstow, Archer, and Anderson in and two changes for India where Washington and Bumrah replacing Siraj and Kuldeep.

It's a special moment for Ishant Sharma playing his 100th Test match and also received a special cap from the President of India. He didn't take much time and stuck early in his 2nd over dismissing Sibley for 0. Four overs completed and Captain didn't see any movement in the pitch or from the ball. Captain soon intorduced spinner and given a spell to Axar in place of Ishant and he struck early in his first ball dismissing Bairstow for 0. That's a great move by Virat.

Stat:

India players playing 100 Tests for India

S Tendulkar - 200

R Dravid - 163

VVS Laxman - 134

A Kumble - 132

K Dev - 131

S Gavaskar - 125

D Vengsarkar - 116

S Ganguly - 113

H Singh, V Sehwag - 103

I Sharma - 100*

Joe Root doesn't seem positive from the 2nd test and difficult to find his rhythm. With difficulty, England added 47 run partnerships for 3rd wicket. Crawley scored 53 runs and high scorer for England in this innings. Root and Crawley were both dismissed before Tea and England were 81-4 for 27 overs.

Up to now, it's a good session for India and England trying to build a strong partnership to get back into the game. But after Tea, it's like a dream session for India. They bowled out England for 112 and made England all out in the next 21.4 overs. Captain and fans happy by the Performances of India in 1st innings. After tea, Ashwin has taken 2 and Axar has taken 4 wickets and taken his 2nd 5-er.

Ashwin is a magician, the way he bowled out Pope is a treat to watch and Axar found to be a potential replacement for India in place of Ravindra Jadeja in this series. He has shown variations such as Arm Ball, Stock ball, and bowled great line throughout the innings.

5-fer in his 1st Test Match
5-fer in his 2nd Test Match

What a start to Axar Patel Career#Cricket #INDvENG #PinkBallTest

— cricgo11 (@cricgo11) February 24, 2021

Stat:

Best Figures by Indian bowlers in D/N Tests:

38/6 - Axar Patel vs ENG

22/5 - Ishant Sharma vs BAN

53/5 - Umesh Yadav vs BAN

Bumrah went wicketless and India has not used the services of Washington Sundar in the innings. Virat said, "He choosen over Kuldeep to add batting strength down the order".

 Zak Crawley played with patience and scored 53(84) which includes 10 fours and the rest of the team scored 53(211).

Stat:

Lowest scores vs India in 1st innings of Test match:

Team	Score	Ground	Date
BAN	106	Kolkatta	2019
ENG	112	Ahmedabad	2021
PAK	116	Bengaluru	1987
SL	119	Ahmedabad	1994
AUS	131	Sydney	1978

England came with a lot of expectations with the new Pink ball handed over to James Anderson and Stuart Board. But their plan didn't go as they expected, the ball showed very slight movement along with the dew factor. Both bowled a great spell of 12 overs but Indian openers survived against them and it was Jofra Archer who has taken 1st wicket and dismissed Gill. Root understands the situation and soon introduced Jake Leach into the attack. As per the plan, they got Pujara for the duck.

Stats: Pujara was never dismissed in Ahmedabad before. His scores at Motera Stadium were 206*,41*,0. Pujara High score in Test score(206*) was scored at Ahmedabad vs England back in 2012.

Rohit Sharma carried his form the 2nd Test and scored 50. He along with Kohli posted 64 run stand, both were looking positive and Soon Virat Kohli was dismissed by Jake Leach. This was the second time Virat Kohli dismissed as bowled in this Series.

The wait continues for Virat Kohli as he scored his last Ton back in 2019 vs Bangladesh.

India was 99-3 at the end of the day and India was planning to score more as possible and try to all-out England before they get their lead.

See you all Cricket fans on Day2. write your thoughts on Axar Patel performances?

CricGo11