England dominated the proceedings on the opening day and finished at 26/3 after 89.3 overs. India got the wicket of Dom Sibley in the final over of the day. Earlier, openers Sibley and Rory Burns provided England a solid start with a 63-run partnership during which they did not appear to be in too much trouble. After negotiating the pace duo of Ishant Sharma and Bumrah they kept Ashwin and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem at bay, showing patience and also playing shots whenever offered the opportunity. The openers appeared to be making a steady progress before Burns unnecessarily went for a reverse sweep off Ashwin and saw the ball lob to 'keeper Rishab Pant for an easy catch.
Newcomer Dan Lawrence was sent back by Bumrah with a beauty which tailed in sharply catching the batsman plumb in-front. The second session went in England's favour as they didn't lose a single wicket in 30 overs. Both Root and Sibley took Indian bowlers with both hands whenever they were offered bad deliveries. In the third and final session root brought up his 20th test century in the company of Sibley who was equally impressive. In the end, it was Bumrah who gave India the much needed break, to lift their sagging spirits. However, on the whole, it's a day that's belonged to England and their captain Joe Root.
