Former England captain Michael Atherton has backed his side for a big total in the first innings of the second Test as the visitors look for a swift response. With Yashasvi Jaiswal leading the India batting unit with an unbeaten ton (at stumps on Day 1), the hosts will expect to score more than 400. However, Atherton reckons England have all the confidence to surpass that total after Ollie Pope’s innings in the opening Test.

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Atherton backs England for a big total

“While Jaiswal’s there, India will have designs on a score of 400, 450,” Atherton said on Sky Sports.

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“That’s never a bad first-innings score, but it’s not the kind of one that will frighten England,” he added.

“You always look at conditions and wonder how things will go. It’s certainly less of a troubling pitch than it was in Hyderabad in that first innings. England’s batters, having taken confidence from the way Ollie Pope and the others played [in the first Test], will be pretty confident of getting a score themselves,” Atherton said about England batters.

What happened on Day 1?

After winning the toss, India decided to bat first having made two changes to the side that lost in Hyderabad. Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened for the Indian side with Rajat Patidar and Mukesh Kumar coming in as two changes. While Rohit was dismissed early, it was his partner Jaiswal who was the difference-maker as he scored an unbeaten 179 with wickets falling at consistent intervals. 

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