England’s Joe Root hit a sparkling century and Moeen Ali was unbeaten on 99 as the tourists finished the opening day of the first Test against India in a strong position on 311-4.
 Root was out for 124 after putting on 179 for the fourth wicket with left-hander Moeen after England were 102-3 at lunch. Moeen was one run short of his fourth Test hundred at the close yesterday with Ben Stokes unbeaten on 19.
 England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first on a Rajkot pitch he regarded as a traditional Indian wicket that would assist the slower bowlers as the game progressed.
 A nervy Cook lived a charmed life against India’s new-ball pace duo of Mohamed Shami and Umesh Yadav when the left-hander was dropped twice in the first two overs behind the wicket.
 The opener seemed to have overcome his jittery start and moved to 21 by the end of the first hour’s play before he was adjudged out leg-before wicket to spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
 Cook was unfortunate to be given out off an incorrect decision from the umpire, with replays showing the ball missing leg-stump, and his new opening partner Haseeb Hameed offered little assistance by advising against asking for a review.
 It was the first time the Decision Review System (DRS) was being used for a bilateral series in India and England erred a second time when they eventually opted to use the technology. The 19-year-old Hameed, who became England’s youngest opener on his debut, wasted one of the two reviews available to his team when he failed to overturn a leg-before decision off Ravichandran Ashwin after compiling a composed knock of 31.
 Ben Duckett, who opened for England in last month’s series in Bangladesh, was pushed down the order to accommodate Hameed and made a brisk start by hitting Ashwin for three boundaries in four balls. But India’s spearhead gained revenge in his next over when Ajinkya Rahane stooped to complete a smart low catch at slip to send Duckett back to the pavilion for 13 and bring the players in for lunch.
 The 25-year-old Root hit 11 boundaries and a six in his 180-ball knock and looked largely untroubled until Yadav struck his pad in the penultimate over before tea with the batsman on 92.
 India captain Virat Kohli made his first use of DRS but failed to overturn the on-field umpire’s not out decision after replays showed the ball was clipping the leg-stump.
 Root, whose ton was his 11th in Tests and third against India, was finally out to Yadav though it needed confirmation from the television umpire after the paceman seemed to have lost control of the ball while celebrating the return catch. Moeen provided good support and hit nine fours in his unbeaten knock in the first Test of the five-match series.
 Root said England played fantastic cricket, after becoming the first overseas player to score a century in India since Australia’s Michael Clarke in 2013.
 “The way we played throughout the day was fantastic,” Root said after the day’s play. “We always thought that seam bowling would be useful early on, but the guys handled it well and that allowed the boys in the middle order to build partnerships. I look forward to watching Moeen bat all day tomorrow too. It’s pleasing, something to build on and a good position to be in.”
 Ali put in a focused performance, negotiating 192 balls during his 243-minute stay at the crease. The Root-Ali pair piled on the misery for India who were also set back by an injury to pace spearhead Shami.
 Earlier, a gripping opening session saw opener Hameed, 19, become the fifth youngest player to play for England. The youngster, dubbed ‘Baby Boycott’ for his unflappable style, made 31 during his 98 minutes at the crease before falling lbw to Ashwin (2-108).
 Hameed and Cook (21) both benefited from the largesse of India’s fielders who dropped some early chances. Cook was dropped off Shami on the third ball of the innings, while Hameed got a reprieve on 13 when Murali Vijay grassed his catch at first slip.
 The England skipper, who surpassed Michael Atherton’s record of 54 Tests as England captain, was adjudged leg-before to left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
 Hameed showed little sign of nerves against top-ranked India, hitting Shami for boundaries twice in an over and driving Ashwin for an elegant four in the covers.
 India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar conceded the sloppy fielding had cost his side dearly. “They (England batsmen) applied themselves really well and made full use of the conditions on offer,” he said.
 “It’s still day one and had we taken those catches, we could have taken six wickets and conceded 25-30 less runs. In the first session of day one of a Test match there’s something in the wicket. Whether you bat or bowl first, you need to make the first session count.
 “There were unfortunately a couple of dropped catches which did not allow us to make those early dents into their batting line-up... that set us back,” the former India all-rounder added.
 England had struggled with their opening stands last month in Bangladesh, where they drew a two-Test series 1-1. They had starts of 18, 26 and 10 in three innings before openers Cook and Ben Duckett compiled a 100-run partnership in the second innings in Dhaka.
 “We could have definitely started well in that first session,” said Bangar. “But full credit to them, they fully utilised the conditions on offer. Rajkot is known to be a batsman’s paradise and they fully utilised the conditions.”
 Bangar was hopeful the hosts will bounce back on the second day.
 “The game changes quickly,” Bangar added. “They are four down at the moment. A couple of quick wickets (and) we could make early inroads and wrap them up before a session and half. You never know.”