The Prague Post - Jaiswal salutes 'special' hundred as Vaughan 'staggered' to see England bowl first

The tourists enjoyed an ideal start to the five-match series, reaching stumps on the opening day in the dominant position of 359-3 as opener Jaiswal (101) and new captain Shubman Gill (127 not out) took a toll of England's attack.

Gill said at the toss he would have fielded first had the coin come down in his favour.

However, the decision to insert India by home captain Ben Stokes was branded as "staggering" by former England skipper Michael Vaughan -- who spent his entire senior career at Headingley, the headquarters of Yorkshire.

Not that 23-year-old left-hander Jaiswal, who last year scored a mammoth 712 runs in a home series win over England, was complaining.

"It was very special, it meant a lot to me," he said. "I just wanted to get in and do something for my team, for my country and for myself after the work I have put it. I loved it."

Reflecting on Gill's hundred -- his first innings at this level since succeeding Rohit Sharma as Test captain, Jaiswal said: "He played amazingly. He was very composed and calm all the time."

The last six Tests at Headingley have been won by the team fielding first, but Vaughan was adamant Stokes should have batted.

"I'm an old-school traditionalist here at Leeds: when the sun is shining, with dry weather, you bat," he said.

"I was staggered when he (Stokes) said he was going to bowl," added Vaughan, commentating on the match for the BBC.

"Traditions are out the window. You look at the England side and their strength is in the batting.

"There is inexperience in the bowling at the moment, but Ben clearly had a gut feeling, and sometimes that has worked."

Moreover, Vaughan warned there was no guarantee England be on level terms at the end of their first innings given India's attack is led by outstanding fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.

"We won't know for sure until we see Jasprit Bumrah bowl on it (the pitch)," added Vaughan. "He can bowl you out with anything.

"Until I see that, I will hold my judgment on how flat this pitch is."

England bowling consultant Tim Southee admitted it had been a tough day at the office for the home attack, with the recently retired New Zealand paceman saying: "When you win the toss and bowl you expect to make early inroads, but the Indian openers negotiated that first hour or so pretty well."

He added: "You look at the surface and make the decision based on what you think will give you the best chance.

"Not all the time do you get it right. But credit to the Indian batsmen, in particular Jaiswal and Gill, they played a couple of great hands."

U.Pospisil--TPP