Twitter Reactions: India rule the roost at magnificent Motera courtesy Axar Patel and Rohit Sharma

Riding on Axar Patel’s stunning five-wicket haul and Rohit Sharma’s fifty, India have put themselves on the driver’s seat in the ongoing third Test against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. At the end of the first’s day play in the day-night Test, India were on 99 for 3. Rohit and Ajinkya Rahane would start the proceedings with the bat on day two.

After England were bowled out for just 112, India were off to a poor start as Shubman Gill was dismissed by Jofra Archer for just 11. And just one run later, Jack Leach dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara for a four-ball duck to leave India reeling at 34 for 2. But before England could make further inroads in the game, Rohit and Kohli steadied the ship.

The duo took the score past the 50-run mark and Rohit also reached his fifty. But just when it looked like Rohit and Kohli would see off the remaining overs, Leach dismissed the latter for 27 in the very last over of the day. Rohit then played out the remaining balls as he remained unbeaten on 57.

England fail to capitalize after winning the toss

Earlier in the day, England failed spectacularly with the bat after their skipper Joe Root won a good toss. However, it did not take the visitors long to regret their decision to bat first. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually all out for their lowest score in the ongoing series so far. Only four of their batsmen managed to touch the double-digit mark while only one of them managed to score more than 20 runs.

Playing his 100th Test, Ishant Sharma gave India a good start by dismissing Dom Sibley for a duck. It was followed by a 25-run stand between Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow before Axar Patel struck off his first very first delivery to send back the latter. Crawley and Root then steadied the ship. But just when it looked like they would guide England to a good position, Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed the England captain to break the 47-run stand.

And Root’s dismissal triggered a collapse as England lost their next seven wickets for just 38 runs. Crawley, who missed the first two Tests with an injury, top-scored for the visitors, scoring 53 while Root was the next top-scorer with 17 in the poor batting display. For India, Axar was the pick of the bowlers, taking 6 for 38 while Ashwin took 3 wickets.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the first day’s play: