England "disappointed not to still be batting" after below-par display on blameless pitch

Once again, Axar Patel caused the most damage for the hosts, taking four more wickets, while Ravichandran Ashwin claimed three of his own as the pitch began to spin as the day wore on

Ben Stokes admitted that England were “disappointed not to still be batting” after being bowled out on the first day of the final Test on a blameless surface in Ahmedabad.

After winning a valuable toss, Stokes top-scored with 55, while Jonny Bairstow made 28, Ollie Pope struck 29 and Dan Lawrence – picked to bat at No.7 – hit 46. However, none of them were able to last long enough to make a match-defining contribution.

Every time a partnership showed signs of promise, it was soon broken: there were stands of 48 for the fourth wicket, 43 for the fifth, 45 for the sixth.

“We’re more than capable of scoring more than 300 runs on a wicket like that out here,” said England’s vice-captain. “Frustrating but we can’t dwell on it too much, and it was nice to get a wicket at the end of the day.”

Stacking the batting, Axar Patel's flying start and a blameless surface... INDIA V ENGLAND TALKING POINTS

Once again, Axar Patel caused the most damage for the hosts, taking four more wickets, while Ravichandran Ashwin claimed three of his own as the pitch began to spin as the day wore on.

Initially, the challenge had been most difficult against seamers Mohammed Siraj and Ishant Sharma, who found early movement off the pitch and plenty of bounce. Siraj accounted for Bairstow and Joe Root with almost identical deliveries that nipped in to trap the Yorkshire pair.

As for Stokes’ own dismissal, he added: “I was very frustrated that I spent two and a half hours trying to avoid getting out to a straight ball but then ending up getting out to a straight ball.”

^{Dan Lawrence made 46, batting at No.7}

Other than Stokes, who hit England’s two sixes, Lawrence was the only batsman able to take on India’s spinners, before he was ultimately stumped while attempting to charge Patel.

Stokes was full of praise for the Essex man, who was fulfilling an unusual role down the order. “[Head coach Chis Silverwood] actually said to me outside that when he told him he was playing, he said: ‘I know it’s not where you want to be batting,’ and his reply was: ‘I don’t care where I’m batting, I’m playing.’

“To have that attitude at a young age, the keenness to want to play, even though it’s an alien position to him, is such a good trait to have. It was refreshing seeing him play the way that has got him into this team, especially after not having made the runs he wanted in India so far. I think we’ve seen the small glimpse of the talent that Dan Lawrence has. I remember when I first saw him at Southampton I was very impressed. We’ve seen a glimpse of what he can offer.”

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Coming into the Test, Lawrence had made just 53 runs in four innings in India, while none of Dom Sibley, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes, Jonny Bairstow or Zak Crawley are averaging in excess of 21 since the series began.

Stokes, though, had some reassuring words for his inexperienced colleagues. He said: “I’ve played 70-odd games and I’ve told others in the team that these are the hardest conditions I’ve faced as a batsman, and I’ve played all around the world. It’s a case of finding it your own way.

“It’s not about coming together as a group and saying this is what we need to do next, it’s about how can we go away as individuals and when we come back here next time, have we progressed as an individual and a group of batsmen.

“Everyone plays in different ways. I have got a gameplan out here, which is completely different to Joe Root’s, which is completely different to Dom Sibley’s. But if the outcome of those gameplans is that we score runs, happy days.”

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