"RIP Bazball, cause of death: Started using brain"- Top 10 funny memes from day 1 of 4th Test between India and England

England reached 302/7 at stumps on Day 1 of the fourth Test against India on Friday (February 23) in Ranchi. The hosts currently lead the five-match series by 2-1.

After opting to bat first, England were rocked in the first session, courtesy of a brilliant new ball spell from debutant Akash Deep. The Bengal pacer moved the ball at a high pace and caused constant trouble for the English batters.

Akash triggered a batting collapse in the opposition ranks by dismissing all their top three batters. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin supported him by scalping one wicket each to reduce England to 112/5 at the end of the first session.

Action enfolded at a sedate pace after the lunch break as the pitch slowed down and the ball became softer. Ben Foakes and Joe Root played watchfully and put on a 113-run partnership in 261 balls to stabilize things for the visiting side. It resulted in the first wicket-less session for them in the series.

Mohammed Siraj then bowled a fiery reverse swing spell after Tea break and got rid of Foakes and Tom Hartley to give an opening for India. However, Ollie Robinson (31*) and Joe Root (106*) stitched a partnership of 57* (89) to take England to 302/7 before the conclusion of play on day 1.

The engaging action that unfolded on Day 1 of the 4th Test enthralled cricket fans. They expressed their reactions by sharing hilarious memes on social media platforms.

Here are some of the best memes:

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"There was some help at the start"- Team India pacer Akash Deep after play on day 1 of 4th Test vs England

After stumps on day 1, debutant Akash Deep reflected on his bowling performance, saying:

"Wasn't tensed, there was a lot of discussions prior to the game with coaches and Rohit bhai, I've been playing a lot of games and the process was same. I'm not quite sure, whenever I've played a game, played like it was the last game of my life, kept it simple and tried to repeat the good things in all the games."

On adjusting his lengths according to the demands of international cricket, Akash continued:

"In domestic cricket, we pitch the ball up a bit and Bumrah also told me that, to pull the length back a bit as the batters chase the ball a bit, the plan was the same to concentrate on line and lengths."

He added:

"There was some help at the start, later the wicket has dried out a bit and the ball has gone soft too, as a bowling unit we need to stick to the lines and lengths, keep it tight and shouldn't do anything fancy."

Do you think England are ahead in the game after reaching a decent first innings total on day 1? Let us know your views in the comments section below.