1st Test, Day 1: India vs England 2016 - As it happened...

Rajkot: Joe Root and Moeen Ali put England in control on Day 1 of the first Test match being played at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. While Root slammed his 11th Test ton, Ali was unbeaten on 99 at stumps. Virat Kohli would want his spinners to bring the team back on track on Day 2.

Day 1: As it happened...

Over 93 | Score 311/4 | (Ali 99*, Stokes 19*)

STUMPS: Another session which went England's way. The visitors lost just one wicket and scored 102 runs. Moeen Ali is unbeaten on 99 while Strokes contributed 19 runs. The partnership for the fifth wicket is now worth 30 runs. That's all for today. Join us tomorrow for live updates of Day 2.

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Over 81 | Score 281/4 | (Ali 88*, Stokes 0*)

Umesh Yadav got India the much-needed breakthrough as Joe Root gave him a return catch off his own bowling. Yadav grabbed the catch and it slipped out of his hands as he was looking to throw it in air to celebrate. The decision was referred to the third umpire, who declared it out as Umesh had taken the catch cleanly in first attempt, after which it went out of his control. Brilliant knock comes to an end. It also ends the 179-run stand between these two. Ben Stokes is the next man in.

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Over 70 | Score 231/3 | (Root 102*, Ali 61*)

After a disappointing series in Bangladesh, Root proves once again why he is widely regarded as one of the modern day greats with his 11th Test century. It has been a brilliant innings under pressure and he has taken no time whatsoever to acclimatise to Indian conditions. The partnership is now worth 129 runs. Kohli needs one of his bowlers to strike soon.

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Over 64 | Score 209/3 | (Root 93*, Ali 48*)

TEA: 107 runs without a wicket, clearly England's session. Another bad news for India is that Mohammed Shami walked off the field to what looked like a hamstring niggle. Root is just seven runs short of his 11th Test century and has been very well supported by Ali. The partnership is now worth 107 runs and the match is evenly poised now.

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Over 55 | Score 176/3 | (Root 77*, Ali 32*)

This partnership for the fourth wicket has taken the pressure off England to an extent. Like he has done on numerous occasions in the past, Root is scoring runs at ease, and is nearing another ton. The partnership is now worth 74 runs.

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Over 43 | Score 138/3 | (Root 50*, Ali 21*)

Joe Root, England's key batsman for the series, has started off on a positive note by reaching fifty in his first innings of the series. Root has played the spinners brilliantly so far. He is being well supported by Moeen Ali, who is by no standards a poor batsman against spin. These two have added unbeaten 36 runs post lunch.

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Over 32.3 | Score 102/3 | (Root 35*)

LUNCH: Ashwin picked his second wicket when Duckett edged one towards slips where Rahane, who had ealier dropped a sitter off Cook, dived to his left to take superb low catch. Duckett had hit Ashwin for three boundaries in his previous over. With those three wickets, it has to be India's session. They go into lunch with momentum in their favour.

BM Duckett c Rahane b Ashwin 13 (17b)

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Over 30 | Score 90/2 | (Root 35*, Duckett 13*)

Hameed was the next batsman to be dismissed as Ashwin picked his first wicket of the match. The debutant was playing for turn but the ball spun away from him and hit him on the back leg. England did use the DRS this time, but the field umpire's decision stayed. Ben Duckett is the new man and England need him to stitch a partnership with Root, who is looking good.

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Over 16 | Score 51/1 | (Hameed 25*, Root 4*)

Jadeja got India their first breakthrough as he trapped Cook in front of the wicket. The ball pitched on middle-stump and spun sharply to hit the skipper on the pads. Had Cook reviewed the decision, he would have been saved as replays showed the ball was missing leg-stump. The wicket ends the 47-run stand for first wicket. Joe Root is the new man in and he got off the mark with a boundary.

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Over 15 | Score 47/0 | (Cook 21*, Hameed 25*)

After being given plenty of lifelines, both the English openers are now batting with ease. Hameed in particular, has played some elegant shots against the spinners. Kohli would want his spinners to get him a breakthrough at the earliest.

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Over 7 | Score 25/0 | (Cook 10*, Hameed 14*)

Indian fielders have been pathetic in the field so far. Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay have dropped three catches so far. Cook has been given two lifelines so far, while the debutant has been dropped once. Both Shami and Umesh Yadav have created plenty of opportunities so far.  

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Over 2 | Score 3/0 | (Cook 3*, Hameed 0*)

Alastair Cook and debutant Hameed opened the innings for England. Cook got a life in the first over itself when Rahane dropped him at gully. Shami produced an outside edge which went straight to Rahane at gully but was dropped. Rahane couldn't believe it, nor could his team-mates.

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Playing XIs:

England's XI: A Cook, H Hameed, J Root, B Duckett, M Ali, B Stokes, J Bairstow, C Woakes, A Rashid, Z Ansari, S Broad

India's XI: M Vijay, G Gambhir, C Pujara, V Kohli, A Rahane, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, H Pandya, W Saha, M Shami, U Yadav

TOSS: Alastair Cook won the toss and decided to bat first.

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Wishes have started to pour in for Virat Kohli and his men:

Good luck Team India for the England series I am sure you will play to your potential and achieve the desired result @BCCI #IndvsEng — VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) November 9, 2016

Good morning all. Welcome to our live updates for the first Test match between India and England. The players have left for the ground:

And we are off! It's #INDvENG and the action unfolds at the SCA stadium in Rajkot soon #TeamIndia @Paytm Test cricket pic.twitter.com/u2rkVzvr9d — BCCI (@BCCI) November 9, 2016

Amid chaos between the BCCI and the Lodha Panel, Supreme Court's approval to the Indian cricket board for spending 58.66 lakhs has given the much needed clearance to the Rajkot Test, which was surrounded by dark clouds until yesterday.

The first match of 5-match Test series between India and England takes place at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

Sitting comfortably top of the ICC Test rankings, Virat Kohli and Co. will be foolish to underestimate Alastair Cook and his boys, who pose a potent threat in this long Test series.

BCCI had only announced squad for the first two Test matches, retaining the veteran Gautam Gambhir and giving maiden call-up to Hardik Pandya in the 15-member squad.

Here's the full squad of both teams:-

India Squad

V Kohli (c), R Ashwin, G Gambhir, RA Jadeja, A Mishra, Mohammed Shami, KK Nair, HH Pandya, CA Pujara, AM Rahane, WP Saha (wk), I Sharma, M Vijay, J Yadav, UT Yadav

England Squad

AN Cook (c), MM Ali, JM Anderson, ZS Ansari, JM Bairstow (wk), JT Ball, GS Ballance, GJ Batty, SCJ Broad, JC Buttler†, BM Duckett, ST Finn, H Hameed, AU Rashid, JE Root, BA Stokes, CR Woakes

TV Schedule & Live Streaming:-

Telecast – Star Sports Network (both HD and SD)

Time – 9:30 AM IST

Live Streaming – Hotstar.com and Hotstar app

Venue:-

Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot (capacity 28,000)

India will be facing England after securing a stunning 3-0 whitewash over New Zealand with resounding wins of 197 runs, 178 runs and 321 runs respectively. Though expecting same form from the Men in Blue will be a little harsh, it wouldn't be the most surprising result if they actually go on to implement it.

It will be a toss up between Hardik Pandya and Karun Nair for India, while Amit Mishra can be seen in as third spinner in the Indian final XI.

For England, Haseeb Hameed will likely open for England alongside Alastair Cook.