Axar Patel picked up from where he left off at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad when England last played a Test against India in India as the slow left-arm orthodox bowler produced a jaffa to leave Jonny Bairstow gobsmacked on day 1 of the first Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.
After opting to bat first on a fresh deck, Bairstow and the former England captain Joe Root were looking to take the visitors to safer shores after losing the top three for just 60 in 15.1 overs.
The duo managed to stitch 61 together before Axar put brakes on Bairstow's defiance. Axar's first delivery of the 16th over brought an end to Bairstow's stay at the crease and stamped India's authority on the game.
The Gujarat-born went close to the return crease and angled the ball into Bairstow. The delivery landed on the middle stump at good length and turned viciously. Bairstow went for the angle and tried to play a forward defensive stroke but the sharp turn off the wicket bamboozled him and the ball cannoned into the top of the off-stump.
The England batter stood in utter disbelief for a few moments before making his way to the English dressing room.
Watch the video of Jonny Bairstow's dismissal:
England are tottering with the Indian bowlers on top and need an innings for the ages to post a healthy first innings total on the board.
India's playing XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Bench:
Rajat Patidar, Mukesh Kumar, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav
England's playing XI:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jack Leach
Bench:
Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Daniel Lawrence, Gus Atkinson
