England v India 5th Test Day 1 : 5 talking points

From Southampton, the action moved back into the city of London for the fifth and final Test of the long India tour of England. Even though India has already lost the series to England, the fifth Test was much anticipated, considering it is Alastair Cook's final Test, and that India still have a shot at making the scoreline read a more respectable 3-2.

Here are the 5 talking points from the first day of the Test :

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1) Guard of Honor for Cook

England's longest serving recruit is hanging up his boots after this match's conclusion. Alastair Cook had announced his retirement from international cricket after the 4th Test.

When Joe Root decided to bat first after winning the toss, everybody anticipated what it would be like for Cook to walk out in his 161st and final Test of a career that has spanned 12 years.

Cook is England's leading run scorer in Test cricket, and Virat Kohli's India showed their reverence for the legend by greeting him with a guard of honor on the field. It was the moment of the day as photographers clicked away at the picturesque sight, and fans beamed at India's spirit of cricket.

Virat Kohli shook hands with Cook and patted him while Keaton Jennings took a step back for Cook to soak in the feeling of his farewell Test.

2) Virat's string of losses at the toss

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day One

'King' Virat Kohli might arguably be the best batsman in the world, but the Indian captain seems to have exhausted his luck at the tosses.

The skipper once again called the wrong side as Root won the toss and elected to bat first on a fine morning at the Oval. Root became the first captain to win all tosses in a 5-Test match series since Mark Taylor in Ashes 1998/99.

This was Kohli's 7th loss of the toss on the trot across all formats. He also became the third Indian captain after Lala Amarnath (v WI, 1948/49) and Kapil Dev (v WI, 1982/83) to lose all tosses in a 5-match Test series.

Hence, it comes as no surprise when Kohli said at the toss "I think I need heads on both the sides. That is the only way I'm winning."

3) England's run rate

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day One

England were excruciatingly slow in their innings, which allowed India to make a comeback into the Test and gain an upper hand over the hosts, even after England lost only 1 and 0 wickets in the first and second sessions respectively.

England's run rate was a painful 2.2 as they scored only 198 runs even after India completed bowling their quota of 90 overs. To put this into perspective, Moeen Ali, who is one of the most destructive batsmen in the England line-up made 50 (170) at a strike-rate of 29.

4) Root, Bairstow, Curran bag ducks

Joe Root gets out LBW to Bumrah.

England were sitting pretty at 123-1 at Tea on Day 1. But all hell broke loose after Alastair Cook chopped one onto the stumps and made the long walk back to the pavillion.

England suffered a dramatic collapse after that, as their best batsmen walked in and walked out ever so quickly. Ishant Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah did all the damage in the third session to leave England reeling at 198/7 at Stumps.

Root who came out at No. 4 was trapped LBW by Bumrah for 0 on his 3rd ball. Bairstow, walking in next, followed suit by nudging one to Pant and bagging a duck.

After Stokes was dismissed cheaply too, it looked like Curran would once again pull off one of his magic rescue missions, but Ishant had other plans. His out-swinger had Curran edging one to the keeper and walking off for a duck.

5) The third session and the turn-around

Ishant Sharma made the red nut talk.

At Tea, it looked as if India would be looking at a long day on the field even on Day 2 of the Test, as England were at a comfortable 123/1.

But a dramatic post-tea session made the dead rubber come alive for India. Cook's wicket started a domino-effect for England as they closed the day at 198/7.

India took 6 wickets for 48 runs in the last session of play, courtesy of fiery spells from Bumrah and Ishant aided by the handy left-arm off-spin of Jadeja. The England middle order's abysmal performance has left Buttler and Co. with a lot to do when they come out to bat tomorrow.