Rajkot Test: Root, Moeen put England in control against India on Day 1

Joe Root and Moeen Ali produced a calm and composed performance as England made a remarkable recovery from a shaky start to move to a respectable 311-4 at stumps on Day One of the opening Test against India at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Wednesday.

Opting to bat first, England failed to get a promising start as they were reeling at 76-2 after losing both skipper Alastair Cook (21) and his new opening partner Haseeb Hameed (31), who was also making his debut at a very early age of 19 years.

However, Root joined forces with Moeen to steady the ship as the duo punished India's much-vaunted bowling attack by sharing a solid 179-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

 

While Root smacked a blistering 124-run knock including 11 boundaries and a six, Moeen remained unbeaten at 99.

For India, Ravichandran Ashwin ended the day with two wickets while Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with a wicket each.

Moeen and Ben Stokes (19) will now resume England's innings when they come to bat on Thursday morning.