Moeen and Root win the day for England

England 284 for 4 (Moeen 120*, Root 88, Bairstow 49, Jadeja 3-73) v IndiaScorecard and ball-by-ball details

Moeen Ali’s fifth Test century steered England past a shaky start and moved them to a solid 284 for 4 at the end of day one in Chennai. Moeen added 146 for the third wicket with Joe Root to rescue England after they had slumped to 21 for 2, and then put on 86 with Jonny Bairstow to strengthen their position, before the wicket of Bairstow brought India their only success of the final session. On a pitch that offered plenty of turn but only slow turn, Ravindra Jadeja’s extra pace brought him three wickets while the other two spinners went wicketless.

The wicket of Root half an hour before tea seemed to give India a bit of an opening but Bairstow and Moeen disabused them of any such notion, counterattacking at the start of the final session. Bairstow led the way, slog-sweeping the spinners at every opportunity, hitting Jadeja and Ashwin for sixes in successive overs, and looked in sizzling form before Jadeja did him in one short of a half-century, pulling his pace back cleverly to invite an uppish drive to short-extra cover.

The dismissal came in the 81st over, and India waited until the 86th to take the second new ball. By that time, Moeen had moved to his hundred. He went from 95 to 99 with the shot of his innings, skipping down the track to hit Amit Mishra inside-out, against the turn, through the covers, and reached the landmark next ball with a nudged single into the off side. He continued playing his shots against the new ball, driving Ishant Sharma for successive fours on the up, both in the air, once to the right of point, once to the right of cover.

Those two shots were emblematic of Moeen’s innings, which contained periods of unease and vulnerability, notably at the start, but also some gorgeous strokeplay, particularly through the off side.

He began scratchily, and looked particularly insecure …

continue reading in source www.espncricinfo.com