Tollywood actor Mahesh Babu was highly impressed with the way the England cricket team started the Ashes 2023 against Australia.
Joe Root ended his Ashes century-drought as England reached 393 for 8 before captain Ben Stokes declared on the opening day of the first Test at Edgbaston on Friday.
Despite a shaky start, with England falling to 176-5 after losing two wickets quickly, former captain Root remained unbeaten on 118, marking his first Ashes hundred in eight years and 17 Tests.
Stokes decided to declare, giving his side 20 minutes in the field against Australia before stumps.
Mahesh Babu was in awe of England's bold decision to declare their innings.
He took to Twitter and wrote, "393-8 d... Am I reading this right... Wow... Just wow... Witnessing a new era of Cricket... Bazball."
In the previous Ashes campaign four years ago, Australia's David Warner struggled, averaging only 9.50 in 10 innings and being dismissed seven times by England bowler Stuart Broad.
However, despite Broad bowling at the start of the match, Warner survived and remained unbeaten on eight as Australia reached 14 without loss at stumps.
Root received excellent support from his Yorkshire teammate Jonny Bairstow, who scored a quickfire 78 off just as many balls during their 121-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
Nathan Lyon of Australia faced taunts from sections of the capacity 25,000 crowd but still managed to take 4-149.
He now stands just nine wickets away from reaching 500 wickets in Test matches, an impressive feat for an off-spinner who bowled 29 overs on the first day of the Test, which is a higher number than usual.
