England surrender solid start with loss of Rory Burns and Dan Lawrence on stroke of lunch

Lunch: England 67 for two v India
Rory Burns looked assured until giving his wicket away on the stroke of lunch
Sportzpics for BCCI
Will Macpherson5 February 2021

England surrendered a steady start to their First Test against India in Chennai as they lost Rory Burns and Dan Lawrence on the stroke of lunch. 

Having put on 63 with opening partner Dom Sibley and looking increasingly assured, Burns gave his wicket away in horrible fashion. Burns attempted an ambitious reverse-sweep to R.Ashwin – who had recently switched to bowl over the wicket to the left-hander – only to loop a catch up to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. 

It will have been a particular frustration to Burns that he had settled against Ashwin. Pant had dropped a tough low catch down the legside in Bumrah's opening over but, on his return to the side after paternity leave, Burns looked better and better, as proved by a delightful drive through midwicket off Ashwin. But the wily off-spinner swapped to over the wicket, leaving point vacant, and Burns fell into his trap.

In the following over, Lawrence – promoted to No3 with Zak Crawley injured – was trapped plumb lbw by Bumrah, who found a hint of reverse swing early in the piece. Remarkably, this is Bumrah’s first Test at home, after 17 across five countries overseas.

That brought Joe Root to the crease on the occasion of his 100th Test and, despite being in terrific form, he made an uncertain start, getting a leading edge off Ashwin and almost being run out. Nevertheless, he made it to launch on four, with England 67 for two. 

It had all been going so well for England on a Chepauk pitch that looks flat. 

After Root won the toss, Burns and Sibley had provided England just the start they needed; it might not have been the sort of fare to stir their new terrestrial TV audience between 4 and 6am but England’s openers but they will not have minded one bit. 

Their opening partnership was the highest by an away team in India for 13 Tests, and greater than their four opening partnerships on the recent tour of Sri Lanka combined. 

Both teams are coming off the back of significant wins away from home, but both made major changes. India made five, with captain Virat Kohli the headline return at No4. 

But they completely remodelled the frontline bowling attack that helped them to that historic victory in Brisbane, with Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Ashwin all fit again. With Ravi Jadeja and Axar Patel injured, Shahbaz Nadeem was picked to provide a left-arm orthodox option. 

England made four, with Burns for Crawley, Ollie Pope for Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes for Sam Curran, and Jofra Archer for Mark Wood. There could have been even more changes; England resisted the temptation to bring in Stuart Broad for James Anderson or Moeen Ali for Dom Bess.

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