The Indian bowling unit was left dejected in the first Test against England as the visitors' batsmen piled on a massive first-innings total on the scoreboard. The Joe Root-led side, after winning the toss, gathered a massive 585-run total at the MA Chidambaram stadium to push the hosts on the backfoot.
Skipper Root, leading from the front, slammed a double ton in his 100th Test while all-rounder Ben Stokes scored 82 and opener Dom Sibley contributed with 87.
For the Indian side, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and off-spinner Ravi Ashwin scalped three wickets while veteran Ishant Sharma and debutant left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem claimed two.
England were eventually bowled out on 578 on the third day. Meanwhile, Ashwin's frustration was evident on Day 3 as he toiled hard on a flat wicket for more than 50 overs to get three wickets under his belt. The touring party, led by Root's marathon knock, piled misery on Indian bowlers during the first two days of the Test.
The tweaker was also unhappy with Rishabh Pant, who missed a straightforward stumping to dismiss Jack Leach. Ashwin was dejected after watching Pant's futile effort with the gloves as Leach went on to score 14 off 57 balls.
Ahead of the first Test, skipper Virat Kohli had heaped praise on Pant, saying that the wicketkeeper-batsman had 'impact' performances in the recently-concluded Australia tour.
"He (Pant) has had impact performances in Australia recently. He is in good space. We want him to build on this along with him improving all aspects of the game, which will happen with more game time," Kohli had said
