<p>Under-fire opener Keaton Jennings and skipper Joe Root kept the Indian bowlers at bay as England made a strong start in the opening Test here on Wednesday.</p>.<p>Choosing to bat first on what appeared to be a good batting wicket at Edgbaston, England lost opener Alastair Cook to a peach from off-spinner R Ashwin in the ninth over but Root and Jennings then mixed caution with aggression as the hosts reached 83/1 at lunch on day one.</p>.<p>India, who chose to start with just one spinner in Ashwin despite talks surrounding the inclusion of chinaman Kuldeep Yadav in the build-up, made a fine beginning with Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma bowling a probing line.</p>.<p>Both pacers tested Cook and Jennings with a line just outside the off-stump and both the left-handed batsmen initially looked circumspect. Ishant induced a thick edge off Jennings in the sixth over but Ajinkya Rahane, diving to his right from fourth slip, grassed the chance to give the youngster a lifeline.</p>.<p>With their fine efforts not yielding any early breakthroughs, skipper Virat Kohli introduced Ashwin into the attack and the ace offie instantly made an impact. Giving the ball a fine loop and inducing both the openers onto the front foot repeatedly, he outfoxed Cook with a superb ball. The delivery pitched on the middle stump and just turned enough to beat Cook's defence before crashing onto his off-stump.</p>.<p>India got the opening they deserved but after that, a mix of poor bowling and fine batting saw the hosts take lunch with the upper hand. Umesh largely was the culprit as he gave away a boundary ball almost every over to ease the pressure applied by Mohammed Shami at the other end.</p>.<p>Shami, moving the ball both ways at high speed, often got the ball to fly past the edges of Jennings but was unlucky not to have a strike next to his name. Root, whom India have often found as a hard customer to tackle, oozed class from the time he stepped in, driving and cutting with elan.</p>.<p>Kohli tried a couple of overs from Hardik Pandya towards the closing stages of the session but Jennings and Root comfortably saw him off.</p>.<p>Brief scores (at lunch): England: 83/1 in 28 overs (Keaton Jennings 38 batting, Joe Root 31 batting) vs India.</p>
<p>Under-fire opener Keaton Jennings and skipper Joe Root kept the Indian bowlers at bay as England made a strong start in the opening Test here on Wednesday.</p>.<p>Choosing to bat first on what appeared to be a good batting wicket at Edgbaston, England lost opener Alastair Cook to a peach from off-spinner R Ashwin in the ninth over but Root and Jennings then mixed caution with aggression as the hosts reached 83/1 at lunch on day one.</p>.<p>India, who chose to start with just one spinner in Ashwin despite talks surrounding the inclusion of chinaman Kuldeep Yadav in the build-up, made a fine beginning with Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma bowling a probing line.</p>.<p>Both pacers tested Cook and Jennings with a line just outside the off-stump and both the left-handed batsmen initially looked circumspect. Ishant induced a thick edge off Jennings in the sixth over but Ajinkya Rahane, diving to his right from fourth slip, grassed the chance to give the youngster a lifeline.</p>.<p>With their fine efforts not yielding any early breakthroughs, skipper Virat Kohli introduced Ashwin into the attack and the ace offie instantly made an impact. Giving the ball a fine loop and inducing both the openers onto the front foot repeatedly, he outfoxed Cook with a superb ball. The delivery pitched on the middle stump and just turned enough to beat Cook's defence before crashing onto his off-stump.</p>.<p>India got the opening they deserved but after that, a mix of poor bowling and fine batting saw the hosts take lunch with the upper hand. Umesh largely was the culprit as he gave away a boundary ball almost every over to ease the pressure applied by Mohammed Shami at the other end.</p>.<p>Shami, moving the ball both ways at high speed, often got the ball to fly past the edges of Jennings but was unlucky not to have a strike next to his name. Root, whom India have often found as a hard customer to tackle, oozed class from the time he stepped in, driving and cutting with elan.</p>.<p>Kohli tried a couple of overs from Hardik Pandya towards the closing stages of the session but Jennings and Root comfortably saw him off.</p>.<p>Brief scores (at lunch): England: 83/1 in 28 overs (Keaton Jennings 38 batting, Joe Root 31 batting) vs India.</p>