CHENNAI: Joe Root scored a century in his 100th Test match to lead England to 263-3 at stumps on the first day of the series opener against India here at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.

After reaching his 20th Test ton, Root went on to 128 not out in 197 deliveries. He struck 14 fours and a six. Dom Sibley scored 87 as the pair added 200 runs for the third wicket.

“It is a special hundred, but there’s a huge amount of cricket to be played,” Root said. “Hopefully this will contribute to a good first-innings total. India made us work hard for the runs.”

Root continued, “I think we’ve got to look to try and get as many as we can, 600, 700 if we can, really try and make the most of the first innings while it’s good.

“Those footholes are starting to wear quite quickly. So, if we can bat the whole of tomorrow and maybe into day three then things could speed up quite quickly for us and you never know what can happen from that point onwards, but ultimately we’ve got to try and back up today.”

The 30-year-old Root became the ninth batter to score a hundred in his 100th Test, joining compatriots Colin Cowdrey and Alec Stewart.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, Root reached his fifty early in the third session. He was watchful against India’s main bowlers but opened up to play attractive shots as the session went deeper.

Using optimal footwork and sweep shots to good effect, Root accelerated after tea and dominated the Indian bowling attack on its home soil.

England crossed 200 in the 74th over. Root and Sibley added 100 off 234 balls.

The Indian bowlers toiled hard but the Chepauk pitch didn’t offer much assistance as Root reached his third successive Test hundred off 164 deliveries.

At the other end, Sibley occupied the crease for 286 deliveries before India struck late when Jasprit Bumrah (2-40) trapped Sibley lbw with a pinpoint yorker. A tired Sibley unsuccessfully reviewed the decision.

England were 67-2 at lunch, and 140-2 at tea.

The pitch at an empty M.A. Chidambaram Stadium has a sprinkling of grass on it, but it is mostly to bind the surface together than to help out the fast bowlers.

“It is a strong first day for us. The pitch played well, although it had an unusual look. It is on the slower side. I was trying to get used to the surface early on and then with time I found it a bit easier,” Root said. “It was a bit of a shame to lose Dom at the end. We wanted to take our partnership as deep as we could.”

Sibley and Rory Burns (33) had added 63 runs for the first wicket before India struck twice through Ravichandran Ashwin (1-68) and Bumrah to even out the first session.

England made four changes from its last Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Rory Burns replaced injured opener Zak Crawley and Jofra Archer came in for Mark Wood. Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope replaced Sam Curran and Jonny Bairstow, who have been rested for the first half of this series.

India made three changes from their last Test against Australia in Brisbane which capped a 2-1 series win. Skipper Virat Kohli returned to lead the side after a six-week paternity leave for the birth of his first child, a daughter.

The hosts went with three spinners. Washington Sundar retained his spot while left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem came in for pacer Shardul Thakur.

Nadeem was a late inclusion to the India squad after all-rounder Axar Patel complained of pain in his left knee late on Thursday.

Veteran pace bowler Ishant Sharma also returned to the side after missing the Australian series due to injury and rehabilitation.

It is the first time international cricket has returned to India since the coronavirus pandemic began nearly a year ago.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND (1st Innings):

R. Burns c Pant b Ashwin 33

D. Sibley lbw b Bumrah 87

D. Lawrence lbw b Bumrah 0

J. Root not out 128

EXTRAS (LB-4, NB-11) 15

TOTAL (for three wkts, 89.3 overs) 263

FALL OF WKTS: 1-63, 2-63, 3-263

TO BAT: B. Stokes, O. Pope, J. Buttler, D. Bess, J. Archer, J. Leach, J.Anderson

BOWLING (to-date): Sharma 15-3-27-0 (4nb); Bumrah 18.3-2-40-2 (3nb); Ashwin, 24-2-68-1; Nadeem 20-3-69-0 (4nb); Sundar 12-0-55-0

INDIA: V. Kohli (captain), R. Sharma, S. Gill, C. Pujara, A. Rahane, R. Pant, W. Sundar, R. Ashwin, I. Sharma, J. Bumrah, S. Nadeem

UMPIRES: Anil Chaudhary, Nitin Menon (both India)

TV UMPIRE: Chettithody Shamshuddin (India)

MATCH REFEREE: Javagal Srinath (India)

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2021