Grass grows under India’s feet and leads Virat Kohli up the garden path | Vic Marks

Home side often open a Test series with one of their ‘sporting’ wickets and catch the unaware tourists by surprise, but battle-hardened England were more than their match in Rajkot

The first Test ended in a draw, only a draw, yet England’s performance in Rajkot has provoked many superlatives. Should the gnarled old pros among us douse any elation despite the dire post-Dhaka prognostications? No, the superlatives were justified, though they guarantee nothing as England arrive at their beachside hotel in Visakhapatnam, where one assumes there can only be extra-thick sticks of rock.

A dip into the past suggests why. On England’s previous seven visits to India they have lost the first Test six times. The only exception has a parallel with their efforts in Rajkot.

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