Joe Root hits 11th Test ton as England settle in against India
The visitors were reduced to 102 for three in the morning session before Root and Moeen Ali made a fourth-wicket stand in the opening Test.
Joe Root hit his 11th Test century as he and Moeen Ali led England's fightback against India on the opening afternoon of the first test in the five-match series between the sides on Wednesday in Rajkot.
England did not lose a single wicket in the second session and had reached 209 for three at tea after opting to bat first. Root, England's best batsman, was unbeaten on 93 and added 107 for the unbroken fourth wicket with the left-handed Moeen after his side were reduced to 102-3 at lunch.
Sluggish wicket
England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first on a 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 Mohammed 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 but his new opening partner Haseeb Hameed offered little assistance by advising against asking for a review.
DRS debut
The Rajkot match marks the first time the Decision Review System (DRS) is being used for a bilateral series in India and England erred a second time when they eventually opted to utilise the technology.
The 19-year-old Hameed, who became England's youngest debut opener, 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 the recent 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 nine boundaries in his knock and looked largely untroubled until Yadav struck him on 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 not out decision after replays showed the ball was clipping the leg stump.
Moeen provided good support and was two runs short of his ninth half-century in tests.
India added an extra spinner to their attack with Amit Mishra coming in for batsman Rohit Sharma but were hampered by an injury to paceman Shami, who left the field clutching his right leg shortly before tea.