India worn down by lack of wear and tear

The world became a strange place on Wednesday. The last thing you expected to happen came over, sat down and gave you a big fat kiss. A bit like Bugs Bunny; that wascally wabbit always comes out trumps.

Rajkot's events may not trouble the wider public, but from the moment the coin fell in England's favour, India were in unfamiliar territory. At least as far as recent memory goes. Virat Kohli has been able to win seven out of seven tosses since his first match in charge at home. Only once had he chosen to field, in the rained-out draw against South Africa in Bangalore a year ago. Every other time he and his men put runs on the board and won the game.

Here, Alastair Cook called heads. It came down as heads. England batted for the rest of the day. India became a set of Elmer Fudds for the rest of the day: clumsy to start with and unthreatening for large parts.

The dropped catches - three in the first half-hour - should be held against them. But they can't be faulted for effort. R Ashwin did get his offbreaks to drift and dip. Ravindra Jadeja did trap the batsman in his crease. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav did generate reverse swing. So what was missing? Why did they concede 311 runs and the first century scored by a visiting batsman since 2013?

Scoreboard pressure. India had to make do without it.

The Saurashtra Cricket Association was hosting its first Test. The schedule has been arranged in such a way that the fourth and fifth days fall on the weekend to encourage a large crowd to come over. So, measures were taken to avoid quick finishes or meandering run-fests, both of which are common when domestic teams play Ranji Trophy first-class matches here. The pitch was dressed up with patches of grass, and in between there were several bare patches. This led to some variable bounce, but crucially there was very little turn.

So the three spinners - Ashwin, local boy Jadeja and Mishra - had almost nothing to work with.

Since 2015, particularly at home, they have come on with a horde of close-in fielders. Slips, silly points, gullies, leg gullies, short legs. A veritable group of bandits ready to swindle the batsman of his confidence. Additionally, until now, India had batted first in six out of seven matches. That meant their bowlers were given a pitch which had been worn down by a lot of cricket, ranging from 68 to 169 overs.

As a result, there had been a lot more turn to exploit. There could be awkward bounce as well. Then, factor in Ashwin and Jadeja's talent for maximising natural variation. That's a heck of a lot for a batsman to handle.

The immediate thought in such a situation is: "Why not get off strike?" That's easier said than done. As former Test opener Aakash Chopra has articulated before, manoeuvring the ball into gaps on a turning pitch is very hard. Opening the face brings the slips into play. Closing the face invites the risk of being dismissed in any number of ways. Bowled by the dip, lbw while playing across the line. Caught off the leading edge.

"Okay, do something drastic then. Hit out. Upset their rhythm."

Seems simple enough, yes. But there's a psychological deterrent - in the back of your mind, you always know a false shot might not only be the end of you but of your team too. In the final innings in Indore, New Zealand went from 80 for 2 to 138 for 9 after Ross Taylor was bowled playing an awful sweep.

These are the devastating advantages of scoreboard pressure. And India had none of it in Rajkot.

So Kohli, having to manufacture some, operated with in-out fields. With the lack of turn, though, Joe Root and Moeen Ali were able to nudge the ball into the gaps and keep the score ticking along. Their 179-run partnership included only 14 fours and a six - essentially 62 runs in boundaries - all the rest came via singles and twos. They still maintained a run-rate of 3.70.

And when Kohli tried to bring men up to make the rotation of strike difficult, Root and Moeen deliberately went over the top and India's captain had to go on the defensive again. It was beautifully paced cricket, with a distinct lack of frills. Only late in the day, when Root was past his hundred and Moeen was approaching his own, did they break into the toy cupboard and pull out the reverse sweeps or advance on Jadeja, he who fires them in at 90kph, and smack him into the sightscreen.

In 62 overs of spin, India could manage only six maidens. That's less than 10%.

Having to bowl first, India wanted to be on the money, and preferably not the 500- or the 1000-rupee variety, which went defunct overnight and are to be replaced. There were encouraging signs. Cook's outside-edge was an affable guest star in a half-hour episode of When Shami And Umesh Bowl Well Together. Ashwin out-thought young Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett. India went to lunch happy despite the dropped catches.

But it was England who were ahead of the game, with no scoreboard pressure on them, and faced with a pitch on which their own seamers could prove to be the danger, thanks to reverse swing and a bare patch of uneven bounce on a good length. Root and Moeen tucked into every over of spin that was bowled. One of them will return on Thursday hungry for more.