Root c Patel b Jadeja 88, M. Out of four English wickets

Sanjay) Chennai: Displaying immense patience, Moeen Ali crafted a serene hundred, his second of the series, to lift England out of the gloom after the visitors fluffed the start on day one of the fifth and final Test here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday. Rahul at straight cover. (Photo: E..L. Moeen Ali in action on Day One of the fifth Test match.Total (for 4 wkts, in 90 overs) 284. Root was adjudged caught-behind through a review — a thin inside edge as suggested by Snickometer — after Kohli decided to appeal against on-field umpire Marias Erasmus’ original decision of not out.After captain Cook left the ship wobbling, the onus of surviving through the choppy waters fell on the third-wicket pair of Root and Ali. The England skipper, who crossed the 11,000-mark on Thursday, couldn’t resist the temptation to poke a delivery outside the off-stump and give a low catch to Virat Kohli at first slip. The third (7-0-31-0) was his most expensive.FoW: 1-7, 2-21, 3-167, 4-253.

Ali who had struggled against Ashwin initially and went to lunch having scored just 7 off 44 balls found his feet after the break. Root c Patel b Jadeja 88, M. Out of four English wickets, three went to Ravindra Jadeja, while Ishant Sharma, who returned to the team after a break for his wedding, dismissed opener Keyton Jennings for 1. Rahul mistimed his jump at mid-on to drop him at zero — Ali shone with his dogged resilience and grew in confidence to script an unbeaten knock of 120 in 222 balls. Ashwin spin a web around the English batsmen. England who were in a spot of bother at 21/2 ended the day with their heads held high with a score of 284/4 in 90 overs.Hoisting three big sixes, Johny Bairstow counter-attacked to stitch a 86-run stand with Ali China wholesale Double expansion anchors for the fourth wicket, but he fell short of a fifty, playing a drive straight into the hands of K.After captain Cook left the ship wobbling, the onus of surviving through the choppy waters fell on the third-wicket pair of Root and Ali.The pair was cruising along until Jadeja ended the 146-run stand (from 251 balls) to give India the much-needed breakthrough just before tea.

Despite a reprieve early in his innings — K. Bairstow c Rahul b Jadeja 49, B. Cook c Kohli b Jadeja 10, K. Their initial target was Amit Mishra, who made it to the team after Jayant Yadav was sidelined with a hamstring niggle. Ali (batting) 120, J. Jennings c Patel b Sharma 1, J.L. Extras: (1w, 4b, 1lb, 5p) 11. Amidst chants of his name, the local star was introduced in the 17th over and his first spell lasted just two overs before changing ends for his second — 12-1-38-0.Bowling: Yadav 12-1-44-0 (1w), Ishant 12-5-25-1, Jadeja 28-3-73-3, Ashwin 24-1-76-0, Mishra 13-1-52-0, Nair 1-0-4-0. All he could muster was one maiden over and a few good deliveries that had beaten Ali’s outside edge. Stokes (batting) 5.Though the surface offered decent turn, Ashwin was not as threatening as he was expected to be on his home turf.K.ScoreboardEngland (1st innings): A.There was nothing much to celebrate for the local fans who turned up in huge numbers hoping to see their own R.

It was a rather mediocre day for Ashwin, the leading wicket-taker of the series at 27, who returned empty handed after bowling 24 overs for 76 runs. While Ali looked shaky, particularly against Ashwin, to begin with, the effervescent Root was at his majestic best. They not only managed to drop the anchor dutifully, but also kept the scoreboard ticking.The English batsmen used the sweep shot effectively and were not shy of dancing down the wicket against spinners. Joe Root produced a contrasting knock, a fluent 88, and Johny Bairstow missed a well-deserved fifty by a run as England enjoyed a productive day out.When Jadeja got the better of his ‘bunny’ Alastair Cook (10) for the fifth time in the series England were far from a convincing start after deciding to bat first on a surface that had some dampness