Watch: Ben Foakes’ vigil at the crease was ended by a smart piece of reverse-swing bowling from Mohammad Siraj and a clever field placement from India captain Rohit Sharma.
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
Foakes came in with England in trouble, having lost five wickets in the first session. He and Joe Root eschewed England’s usual attacking approach, playing out a wicketless session between lunch and tea but scoring at a little more than two runs per over.
Foakes in particular was cautious, and had hit just two boundaries on his way to 31 off 117 balls – a strike rate of 26.50 – when Ashwin came on to bowl the 67th over. Foakes’ counterattack took everyone by surprise, as he doubled his fours tally and hit his first six in the space of four balls.
He moved to within three runs of his half-century, but Siraj, who had been expensive in the morning session, bowling six wicketless overs for 43 runs, cut short his riposte. Siraj instantly found reverse-swing, and it was the tail in that did for Foakes, whose attempted drive to a fuller ball was mistimed, and travelled in the air on the leg-side.
Anticipating that the movement could have Foakes playing uppishly, Rohit had Ravindra Jadeja stationed at mid-wicket, and he took a good low catch.
