[Watch] Axar Patel cleans up Jonny Bairstow with an absolute peach during Day 1 of India vs England 1st Test
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel produced a massive breakthrough for India in the second session of Day 1 of the first Test against England as he sent Jonny Bairstow packing with an absolute beauty.
Bairstow looked decisive in reading the line and length of the Indian spinners and added crucial 61 runs with Joe Root, looking largely comfortable.
It needed something special for India to break the partnership and that's exactly what Axar Patel provided. A typical left-arm spinner's dismissal from around the wicket, the ball pitched around middle and leg and turned just enough to beat Jonny Bairstow's defense and hit the top of the off stump.
Here's a video of the dismissal:
Axar Patel already had the wood over Jonny Bairstow in the longest format. He had dismissed the right-hander twice during England's previous Test tour to India in 2021, making this one the third instance.
India apply more pressure after Jonny Bairstow's dismissal
At 60/3, India were right on top and it looked like they would run through the England batting. But Root and Bairstow then dug deep and added 48 more runs in the session without losing any further wickets.
The visitors would have been delighted with the score being 108/3 at Lunch, especially with the pitch already starting to play tricks. However, India came right back in the game with a couple of quick wickets, sending both the set batters back into the shed.
England needed Joe Root to stay on after Bairstow's dismissal, but the former skipper fell while trying to play yet another sweep shot off Jadeja 's bowling. The ball just bounced enough to take a top edge and Jasprit Bumrah did the rest by completing a simple catch at short fine leg.
Having lost the toss, the hosts will be delighted that they have not allowed the visitors to get away with quick scoring. The good thing for England is that they have skipper Ben Stokes at the crease. They will hope that Ben Foakes and others stick around and help England get past the 200-run mark and more.