New Delhi: Riding on a fantastic century by Joe Root and an unbeaten 99 by Moeen Ali, England carried home an early advantage as they reached 311/4 against a lackluster India bowling attack at stumps on the Day 1 of the first Test at Rajkot.
Joe Root, stamped his authority on the very first day of the tour, becoming the first visiting batsman to score a century in India after Michael Clarke’s 130 at Chennai in 2013. Root notched up 124 off 180 balls. His Partner Moeen Ali was unbeaten on 99, on his way to his fourth Test hundred at the end of day 1.
Earlier, winning the toss on a wicket that had greenish tinge on it, England captain Alastair Cook chose to bat first. His decision could have turned out be a horrendous one as early as the first over of the day, only if Ajinkya Rahane had got hold of an outside edge of Cook at third slip. Indian seamers looked lively, extracting a lot of pace and bounce from the wicket. But the fielders were in mood to support their colleagues by holding on to their catches. Virat Kolhi was the next to drop Cook off Umesh Yadav. The England captain appeared to have settled in nicely after that but was eventually adjudged leg before for 21 off Ravindra Jadeja, while replay showed the ball would have missed his leg stump. Cook did not opt for a review and in came England’s best batsman of the current year, Joe Root. He started to build a partnership with debutant Haseeb Hameed, before the 19 year old was trapped in front by Ashwin.
Root looked a class apart right from ball one. He was in control while driving Ashwin through the covers; he judged Jadeja’s length to perfection and used the crease to good effect against Mishra. Making batting look ridiculously easy, Root went to score his 11th Test hundred. Root hit 11 fours and one six, displaying a wide range of strokes to pile on the misery of the Indian bowlers.
When Virat Kolhi was at his wits end, Root was controversially given out caught and bowled off Umesh Yadav at the 81st over the England innings by the TV umpire. Root had refused to leave the crease, claiming the catch was not completed.
Moeen Ali, though looked on course to bring his fourth Test hundred and his first ever in India when he ended the day unbeaten at 99, with Ben Stokes (16) at the other end.
Indian bowlers on the other hand looked far from impressive, Ashwin picked up two wickets while Jadeja and Umesh returned with wicket a piece. Apart from the early burst of Shami and Umesh with the new ball, the Indian bowling lacked the ability to penetrate. The spinners, Jadeja and Mishra in particular slipped in a lot of full tosses to Joe Root, giving him easy opportunities to pick up boundaries.
As a result, England is comfortably placed at 311/4 at the end of Day 1, eyeing a massive first innings total.