"Same thing in the whole series, England had a real bad 45 minutes" - Alastair Cook laments visitors' collapse on Day 1 of 5th India Test
Former England captain Alastair Cook rued the side's horrific collapse in the second session of the opening day of the final Test in Dharamsala.
After winning a seemingly vital toss and opting to bat first, the visitors raced to 100/1 at the stroke of lunch. However, the middle-order again succumbed to the Indian spinners, losing their next seven wickets for just 75 runs to fall to 175/8.
England eventually got bowled out for a below-par 218 on a batting-friendly condition at the start of the final session of play.
Speaking to TNT Sports at stumps on Day 1, Cook felt the day reflected England's batting throughout the series.
"It’s the same thing in the whole series: England had a real bad 45 minutes. They did in the last Test match, they’ve done in this Test as well. Now, it’s an uphill battle to get back in the game. All the buildup to this wicket had been, ‘It’s all about the seam’…’There’s going to be swing movement’. Actually, England would’ve felt like they had done the hard work," said Cook.
He added:
"Whether they mentally relaxed a bit, thinking, ‘Well, we’ve got through Bumrah and the swinging bowl. It’s not going to spin.’ And it didn’t actually spin that much in the start. The wicket has definitely spun more than everyone was actually telling us back here and the players did."
The Indian spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja picked up all ten English wickets. While the former finished with a fourth five-wicket haul, Ashwin grabbed four in his 100th Test.
Meanwhile, Jadeja prized the all-important wicket of Joe Root to complete the demolition.
India cruise ahead with a dominant batting performance
Team India ensured the bowlers' efforts did not go to waste by putting on a batting clinic in the final session of Day 1.
Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his incredible form with another quick-fire half-century before being dismissed for 57. Skipper Rohit Sharma looked at his fluent best, finishing the day unbeaten on 52. He is given company by one of the stars of India's fourth Test win, Shubman Gill and the duo took the side to 135/1 in 30 overs.
The hosts have already sealed the series with their five-wicket win in the previous Test in Ranchi and will look to put the finishing touches with a 4-1 series outcome. They are also on top of the World Test Championship (WTC) table, while England sits at a lowly eighth place.