CHENNAI: Looking at the scorecard, it isn't hard to guess whose day it was at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Joe Root, playing his 100th Test, stroked a delightful century to ensure England's decision to bat first on a flat pitch wasn't wasted. 263-3 at the end of Day 1 leaving Virat Kohli & Co with lot of work to do.
Before getting down to the business, it's time to take a few things into consideration. As Root said at the end of the day's play, they are looking to score 600-700. This indicates how flat the pitch is and how hard it is for the bowlers bowling with the SG ball, whose new pronounced seam is already under the microscope.
Though 263-3 is already a good enough platform for the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Ollie Pope, England still have work to do. During their previous tour of India in 2016, England, at close close on Day 1 on four of the five Tests, were 311/4, 288/5, 284/4 and 268/8 respectively. They ended up drawing one and losing three of those four matches, including two by an innings.
Those scores came on flat decks which deteriorated as the Test progressed. By the early looks of it, this pitch looks the same, particularly with the red-soil content bound to create roughs as the Test moves into Day 4 and 5.
That India responded to those scores with even bigger totals is why Root wants England to make this really big. Going by how he batted on Friday, there is a strong chance that India may have to be on the field for way longer than they would like.
Root at his best
There were signs that Root was falling behind in the Fab Four club including Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson. Much of that talk came from Root's conversion rate, which still remains the lowest among the four.
Among them, he is the only one who averages less than 50. Despite scoring four fifties in 2016, he made only one century. On his second full trip to India, he looks more confident than ever.
The 70s and 80s is the period where you often feel Root is going to throw it away. On Friday, there were no such signs. Having arrived in India on the back of two daddy hundreds in Sri Lanka (228 & 186), Root has only carried his form.
From the moment he came into bat, he looked in total command of what he was doing. Everything from body language to defending of the front foot to leaning into drives and sweeping with conviction, Root appeared as if he was there to make a big score. This was akin to the musical maestro Illayraaja composing a symphony bound to stand the test of times.
"It has been a really impressive start for us and we got to make it count. That is going to be the challenge for this tour, we need to bat long periods of time in these conditions. Playing the 100th Test was special. Coming in with some good form, I need to make sure I cash in," Root said.
"Over the course of my career I've not always gone to make really big scores, so for me to be going and doing that currently is really pleasing. I keep getting myself in positions to make big hundreds and I have got to keep taking them. We're going to win more games if I'm doing that. Hopefully I can kick on tomorrow (Saturday) personally but most importantly we can have a bat tomorrow and we can be in a strong position in this game," he added.
With runs for the taking, Root's innings was a template that his teammates could follow. Off the first 50 balls, he scored only 11 runs. A player who sweeps for fun, he didn't bring out the shot against Ravichandran Ashwin and Shahbaz Nadeem.
He waited till Washington Sundar came on. Once he started sweeping, runs flowed. It was a gradual shift, a batsman in command of what he was doing as the next 137 deliveries he faced fetched him 111 runs.