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England's top order belied their low expectations as they reached 164 for 1 at tea on the opening day in Chennai. Andrew Strauss led the way with a measured innings to move within seven runs of his 13th Test century, forming a first-wicket stand of 118 with Alastair Cook. The majority of the bowling was in the hands of India's two frontline spinners, but their attack as a whole was slightly below the high standard set against Australia. (India Vs England Test Match)
The England openers clearly heeded Kevin Pietersen's talk of 'no excuses' as they put aside all thoughts of their lack of practice and hectic preparation. Both were understandably rusty to begin with, but a flat pitch and a lack of movement allowed them to bed in. Progress was slow and steady, but the main priority for England is a huge first-innings total and it doesn't matter how long that takes.
The tone was set by the morning session which brought 63 runs in 27 overs and the rate increased in the middle session with 101 runs added, when Zaheer Khan was surprisingly absent from the attack. Cook was the only casualty, falling to an expansive slog-sweep against Harbhajan Singh as he attempted a rare moment of aggression. It was the sort of lapse in concentration the heat and humidity can cause, but was also an indication as to why Cook has only hit one six in his international career.
Strauss showed how to play the sweep, using it as a regular option especially against the legspin of Amit Mishra, who was the man England attempted to target. It was a smart tactic, Mishra is the least experienced of the frontline bowlers, and meant that runs were steadily ticking over from one end. Apart from one delivery by Harbhajan to Ian Bell, that spat and hit the gloves, there wasn't much encouragement for anyone, but that could change on a hastily prepared surface so now is the time to make the runs.
In the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks 15 days ago this series appeared unlikely to take place but at 9.00am Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Pietersen appeared for a toss that signified something more important than a normal cricket match. There were reminders of what had gone before - a minute's silence before play and black armbands on show - however, as both captains said before the match, minds had begun to switch back into game-mode.
Despite having only a little more than a week's notice for this match, the groundsman had put together a typical batting track. Harbhajan was in the action by the ninth over and within the first hour Dhoni was down to one slip and a gully. During the series against Australia, catches at cover and midwicket produced wickets and Dhoni was clearly hoping for similar results.
However, Strauss and Cook showed impressive resilience. The first boundary, a clip to fine leg by Strauss, came in the seventh over when Zaheer Khan drifted too straight. Both openers got away with miscued pulls into the leg side as they struggled for their timing - a sign of their lack of practice - but were not overly troubled by pace and combated Harbhajan's early overs.
Cook produced the shot of the morning, a straight drive against Zaheer which comfortably made the boundary despite the outfield being slow due to the recent rain. If anyone knows how to perform without much preparation it's Cook: in 2006, he was thrown in for a Test debut in Nagpur, just two days after arriving from the Caribbean.
