BIRMINGHAM: It came as no surprise when England captain Ben Stokes opted to field after winning the toss. The pitch was one of the flattest but Stokes had chalked out a clear plan for his fast bowlers — they would not bowl the regular outswing bowling one expected in English conditions.
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It was an unconventional approach for the first session of a Test match in England. By the third over of the opening day, it became clear that England’s seamers had moved away from the conventional modes of dismissal in these conditions.
Instead of challenging the outside edge of batters — particularly KL Rahul and Shubman Gill — they focused on cramping them up to choke the free-scoring Indian batsmen. A leg gully and a catching fielder in front of the wicket was a giveaway to the ploy.
Rahul got off to a fluent start in the series by unleasing some free-flowing drives off full and wide outswingers in Leeds. On Wednesday, he was made to work for runs. Rahul could score just two off 26 balls in his stay, which lasted 8.4 overs. There were no drives on offer.
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Local boy Chris Woakes, who has built his career on taking the ball away from right handers, resorted to bringing the ball back into Rahul, Karun Nair and Gill. He led the way for Brydon Carse, accused of bowling too full and wide in Leeds, to follow suit and hit the hard lengths and bowl tighter lines.