Although there were significant question marks over Team India's batting following Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's retirements, the next generation of batters responded with aplomb on day 1 against England in Leeds. Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal led the way with centuries as Team India firmly held the upper hand at stumps, reaching 359/3.
Jaiswal and KL Rahul took full toll of the favourable batting conditions at Headingley by stitching a 91-run opening stand. Although the home side hit back with back-to-back wickets, including dismissing debutant B Sai Sudharsan for a duck, India followed it up with two century-run partnerships. England did remove Jaiswal for 101 but Rishabh Pant, who now has Shubman Gill's company, has reached 50, pointing to ominous signs for the opposition.
Stokes was perhaps the best bowler for England on what was a disappointing day for the home side, picking up two wickets. The three frontline seamers in Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue must pull their weight for England to stem the flow of runs.
"We were just trying to make sure that we play session by session" - Yashasvi Jaiswal
At the post-day presser, Jaiswal stated that all India did was to punish all the loose balls that came their way. The southpaw said, as quoted by India Today:
"We have spoken a lot in the middle and we were just trying to make sure that we play session by session and try as many (runs) as we can get. Especially when there is a loose ball, we try to make sure that we put it in the right places."
The 23-year-old also claimed that he enjoyed batting alongside and under Gill, given his composure in the middle.
"We really enjoyed together. There was amazing camaraderie between us. So, it was amazing to bat with him and he batted really well. The way he has been very calm and composed... I loved batting with him and enjoying under him as well."
