LEEDS, England — India wasted a solid start against England by reaching lunch 92-2 on the first day of the five-test series opener at Headingley on Friday.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was 42 not out but lost his first two partners in the last seven minutes before lunch.
India was moments away from an excellent session until opener Lokesh Rahul on 42 edged to the slips against the run of play, and his replacement, debutant Sai Sudharsan, also edged behind before scoring in the last act before the interval.
Those wickets brought England back into a session in which it made India bat first but was struggling to find the right lines and lengths, often overpitching or bowling wide.
Jaiswal and Rahul were comfortably handling an erratic England bowling attack. The sunny and muggy conditions were ideal for batting.
England made the choice to bowl first hoping for some early movement off a green-tinged pitch, backed up by recent history: The last six test winners at Headingley all bowled first.
But there was more movement off the air than off the pitch. And in the first hour only 35% of deliveries were on a good line and length, the second lowest percentage since 2019 by England in the first session on day one in a home test.
Jaiswal and Rahul picked off loose deliveries with exquisite drives.
