Ranchi, Feb 23 (UNI) Pacer Akash Deep had a dream debut, knocking off top three batsmen as England reached 112/5 at lunch against India on Day 1 of the fourth Test here on Friday.
The pitch gave help to both seamers and spinners, ending up in many LBW shouts and reviews, a lot of which went India's way.
Amidst this, England kept on scoring runs at a brisk pace via Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow on a deck that appears to break as the game progresses.
Before Captain Rohit Sharma employed spinner Ravindra Jadeja, Akash packed a punch by forcing left-handed Ben Duckett to nick one to Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps.
Crawley was bowled twice almost identically after surviving with Akash overstepping. The prodigious incoming ball proved too hot for him to handle as he watched his top of the off-stump disturbed after scoring 42 in as many balls.
Akash also had Ollie Pope, the centurion in the Visakhapatnam Test, by trapping him in front of the wicket, leaving England in a lurch.
Nevertheless, Bairstow went on a rampage to push India on the backfoot by stitching up a very crucial 52-run partnership for the fourth wicket alongside a cautious-looking Joe Root.
Just when they looked ominous, Bairstow went to sweep Ravichandran Ashwin and was out LBW on review.
Jadeja capped off the first session by trapping England Captain Ben Stokes.
Brief Scores: England 112/5 (Zak Crawley 42; Akash Deep 3-24) vs India.
UNI BDN SY