 "How Ben Stokes' brilliance trapped Sai Sudharsan for a duck on Day 1 of Headingley Test")
B Sai Sudharsan didn’t quite get his Test career off to an ideal start, getting dismissed for a four-ball duck on Day 1 of the first Test between India and England in Headingley on Friday. Sudharsan was dismissed by England skipper Ben Stokes, who had opted to field earlier in the day, at the stroke of lunch as India ended the morning session at 92/2.
How Stokes planned Sudharsan’s dismissal at Headingley
England had toiled hard for the better part of two hours in the morning session, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul accelerating after a cautious start. And no sooner had Brydon Carse broken the partnership by having Rahul caught by Joe Root at slip with an outswinger than Stokes got a wicket of his own by getting rid of the debutant.
Stokes build pressure on Sudharsan, who received his Test cap from former India No 3 Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of toss, by having a leg slip and a leg gully in place from the outset. The idea, was to plant doubts in the 23-year-old’s mind with regards to playing a flick or a glance.
The Englishmen appealed against Sudharsan in the third delivery of the 26th over, either for LBW or caught-behind though the batter was visibly safe on both counts, after Stokes strangled him down the leg-side.
The all-rounder opted for a similar delivery in the very next ball, and this time an under-pressure Sudharsan ended up nicking the ball to keeper Jamie Smith for his maiden Test outing to end in a matter of minutes.
Earlier, Jaiswal and Rahul got India off to a positive start with a 91-run opening stand, in which both batters were batting in the 40s. Captain Shubman Gill, batting at No 4 for the first time, will be hoping to capitalise on the positive start with a strong third-wicket stand with Jaiswal after lunch.
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