Ind vs Eng, 5th Test Day 1: Moeen, Root put England in strong position

Chennai: England made a solid start in the fifth and final Test against India at Chepauk here on Friday. Although England lost two quick wickets, Moeen Ali (120) and Joe Root (88) stood tall as England ended Day 1 at 284 for 4.

While Ravindra Jadeja scalped three wickets, England showed a lot of promise to put up a big total on board when play resumes on Day 2 on Saturday.

England did not enjoy brightest of starts after Ishant Sharma dismissed Keaton Jennings early in the first session. Jadeja joined the party after he removed Alastair Cook, who completed 11,000 runs in Tests, for the fifth time in the series.

While Root and Mooen did offer India a few chances, India could not latch onto them as KL Rahul failed to catch Ali's shot over short-mid-wicket and Root's edge sailed through the gap between first and third slip.

The duo put up a 146-run partnership before Root got out off Jadeja's bowling. Although on-field umpire did not give Root out, Kohli's decision to opt for DRS proved a wise call as the third-umpire spotted a spike on ultra-edge.

Jonny Bairstow then accompanied Moeen as the two added 86 runs. Jadeja once again came to India's rescue after he accounted for Bairstow's wicket. Rahul, who had earlier dropped Moeen, did not make any mistake this time around as India scalped their fourth wicket of the day.

England 263/4 from 83 overs:

WICKET! Ravindra Jadeja has not put a wrong as he scalps his 3rd wicket of the day. Jonny Bairstow is utterly livid after giving an easy catch to KL Rahul at short cover.

England 247/3 from 78 overs:

Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali look in no mood to make any mistakes. Bairstow, who has had a fabulous year, is doing everything he can to make it a fabulous year. Moeen, from the other end, is approaching his second hundred of the series.

England 182/3 from 60 overs:

Tea interval! England have batted brilliantly in this session as they score 114 runs. India, meanwhile, would be a happy bunch to see Root back in the pavilion.

England 167/3 from 55 overs:

WICKET! Root's a gonner! Virat Kohli goes for a review. There is a spike on an ultra-edge. Was it bat hitting the ground or ball hitting the bat? Not conclusive. But the third umpire thinks that the ball made a contact with the bat. Root is absolutely livid, Kohli is delighted. India get a big breakthrough.

England 163/2 from 52 overs:

Joe Root and Moeen Ali are attacking Indian bowlers at will. England, in a post-lunch session, have scored 95 runs with more than 30 minutes to go for the tea. India need wickets to peg back England.

England 68/2 from 29 overs:

Joe Root and Moeen Ali have steadied the England innings after two early wickets. However, Indian bowlers have once again a commendable job to keep England's run-rate down.

England 21/2 from 13 overs:

WICKET! Ravindra Jadeja has dismissed Alastair Cook for the fifth time in the series. The England skipper edged one to the slip and Virat Kohli does well to hold onto a low catch.

England 7/1 from 6 overs:

WICKET! Ishant Sharma has wasted hardly any time to scalp his first wicket on comeback. Keaton Jennings, who scored a ton on debut in Mumbai, has to go after he edges one to Parthiv Patel.

Chennai: England have won the toss and elected to bat in the fifth and final Test of the series, here on Friday.

The Alastair Cook-led unit have made two changes to their playing XI with Liam Dawson making his Test debut and Stuart Broad making a comeback to the side after recovering from an injury.

James Anderson, who was ruled out of the Chennai Test due to body soreness, and Chris Woakes miss out playing England's last game ahead of a big Christmas break.

India, on the other hand, have also made a multiple changes to their playing XI with Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma replacing Jayant Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the team.

Jayant, who scored a ton in the Mumbai Test, was rested after a hamstring niggle.

Cricket could act as a balm for cyclone-hit city as India take on England in the fifth and final Test here on Friday. Cyclone Vardah tormented the city but the nature decided to tone it down to give a relief to everyone in and around Chennai.

While discussions regarding to cricket, especially in such times, are on the backburner, the city that has loved cricket has done everything in its power to make sure the match goes ahead without any trouble. Although the practice facilities were badly damaged, England skipper, despite his side being lost the series, put things in perspective, saying, “Sometimes you have to remember what happened in the cyclone, people lost their lives.”

Coming back to cricket, Virat Kohli-led India will look to put their best foot forward in their pursuit of 4-0 series win. The skipper, who has amassed 640 runs in the series, will look to get past Sunil Gavaskar’s record of highest runs by an Indian in a series.

While R Ashwin, the local boy, who will be playing his second Test at Chepauk, will be eager to continue his brilliant form with the ball and enthral the locals in the company of his spin-bowling partners Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav.