Moeen Ali's fighting hundred helped England to 284/4 at stumps on Day 1 at Chepauk in Chennai in the fifth and final Test of the series. Being a dead rubber and with little pressure, England applied themselves a bit more and made use of the reprieve of Ali to own the day's play.
Root was the most fluent batsman on display as he swept the spinners comfortably, and his confidence enabled Ali to settle in at his own pace. Bairstow gave Ali good company after Root was caught behind off Jadeja, who was the best bowler on show today for India. He dismissed Bairstow as well towards the fag end of the day but England did not lose any more wickets.
India made two changes to the squad at Mumbai with Ishant Sharma replacing Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Jayant Yadav in place of Amit Mishra.
Here are the talking points from Day 1 at Chennai:
#5 Cook falls to Jadeja yet again
Alastair Cook, the England skipper, seems to have no clue to play Ravindra Jadeja. His dismissal off Jadeja today at Chepauk marked the fifth time Cook was dismissed by the tricky left arm spinner in this series in nine appearances.
Cook had negotiated the new ball and was looking settled at the crease when Jadeja angled one across the left hander. Cook, who has mentally lost the battle to Jadeja, aimed for a poke outside his off-stump only to edge to Kohli at first slip.
The England captain has had a terrible series since making his hundred at Rajkot; his performances are a mirror image of his performances in the previous tour to India where he racked up runs at will. He has averaged 12 against Ravindra Jadeja in this series. However, the England captain knocked off another landmark by crossing 11,000 Test runs.
#4 Moeen Ali makes reprieve count with an impressive hundred
Moeen Ali walked in at the dismissal of Alastair Cook and forged a sensible stand with Joe Root. The duo negotiated Ashwin and Jadeja with ease on a slow surface. But Ali was lucky to be at the wicket after being dropped by Lokesh Rahul on 0.
In Jadeja's next over after Cook's dismissal, Ali hit a flick in the air straight to short mid-wicket where Rahul had to leap a bit to catch the ball. However, the Indian opener was not alert enough and hardly jumped, allowing the ball to escape through his hands.
Ali made the reprieve count and flourished in the company of Root. The duo formed a 146-run stand that helped England to dominate proceedings till tea. After Root's dismissal, he had the company of the formidable Bairstow and raced to his 5th Test hundred.
#3 Joe Root makes 11th 50+ score in India
Root has looked like going on to score a century several times in this series but often fell after reaching his half-century. The solid no. 3 batsman was at it again dancing down the wicket to counter the spinners and rotating strike with confidence.
The right-hander also swept with more confidence and seemed to have learnt a thing or two, perhaps, by watching Kohli bat. While Moeen looked uncertain at the beginning, Root's calm influence rubbed on to Moeen as well and the duo made a compelling partnership.
The 88 was Root's 11th fifty plus score in India in 11 Tests. The sweep finally accounted for him as he caught a faint edge while trying to sweep a Jadeja delivery from outside off-stump. Kohli got the review right to send back Root 12 short of his hundred.
#2 Ishant's impressive comeback
Kohli made a confusing choice of dropping Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in favour of Ishant Sharma. While the Indian skipper has often openly commented on his preference for quicker bowlers, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who despite his mediocre pace has exceptional control, had done nothing wrong to be dropped.
Ishant Sharma, however, made his opportunity count with tight lines in an exceptional spell. In his first Test in this series, Sharma tested the openers with line and length and managed to eke out an edge from Jennings.
At the tea break, the lanky fast-bowler had terrific figures of 1/9 in 9 overs with 4 maidens. He has often been criticised for being short but today he brought the batsman forward and made them play a teasing line outside off-stump.
#1 Bairstow dismissed for 49
Jonny Bairstow has been England's best batsman on this tour and is the highest run scorer in Tests this year. He was 61 short of Michael Vaughan's record of most Test runs in a calendar year by an Englishman.
He walked in to bat at the dismissal of Root and once again looked very comfortable against the spinners, twice clearing the rope off Jadeja's bowling. He also launched a flighted delivery from Ashwin into the stands and seemed set for yet another half-century.
But on 49, he drove Jadeja uppishly to Rahul at short cover, who held on to the catch. He needs 12 more runs in the second innings to overcome Vaughan's milestone.
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