Geoffrey Boycott
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

When the wickets are not coming you should just block the runs up. There are other ways to get wickets.

Joe Root has got a white towel poking from the waistband at the front of his trousers, taking a leaf from the book of AB de Villiers. Apropos of nothing, Marcus Trescothick takes a handkerchief to the middle with him because he now bats in glasses and regularly has to de-mist them.

Miles in. Non-striker's end, Moeen past the back line when the ball made contact. Carry on.

Danger? Moeen Ali. Direct hit...

There's a smattering of England fans in Rajkot, nothing more. When it comes to touring destinations, western India doesn't really draw the crowds like the Caribbean or Sydney. Yadav has a bandage on his left arm and his shirt untucked, getting the ball through in the mid-80s. It ain't moving, though.

Andrew Samson
BBC Test Match Special statistician

Image source, AP

Joe Root has played seven Tests against India and has got a fifty in all seven of them.

50 for Joe Rootpublished at 07:20 Greenwich Mean Time 9 November 2016

07:20 GMT 9 November 2016

Eng 138-3

Image source, AP

Well batted, Joe Root. A 24th Test half-century for the England VC, reached with a push down the ground off R Ashwin. Only half a job (at least) done, though. Swift fifties don't win matches in this part of the world. He's driven well - four of his six fours have come through the covers - supplemented with umpteen nudges on the leg side.

Alastair Cook will break Michael Atherton's record for the number of times captaining England during this Test against India.

But is he England's best ever Test captain? We have put together a ranking selector for you to select your top five England Test skippers. Try it out here.

Just waking up? India shelled three catches in the first half an hour, but then took three wickets with spin. Haseeb Hameed, the 19-year-old, looked organised on debut before falling lbw to the wily R Ashwin. England were 102-3, but Joe Root and Moeen Ali have been solid after lunch. Shortish delivery from Umesh Yadav, which Moeen angles through gully for four, with the bearded one then flaying a wide one to the same boundary. 

Vic Marks
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

Image source, Reuters

You can tell it's a trustworthy surface at the moment. Root is pushing quite hard at these balls but he can trust the bounce.

I feel your pain Nick. I can't help but feel that there's a lot attention elsewhere at the moment. If you're managing to mix cricket with the US election, do let me know. Ashwin is tall, with thick shoulders. He throws his hands to his head when Root sweeps a straight one. If the Yorkshireman has missed that, he'd have been on the barbecue.

Mohammed Shami is round the wicket to Moeen, charging in while the schoolchildren in attendance make a right din. Shami has a wonderfully manicured beard, one you could set your watch to. The ball hasn't done a great deal since the break.

With just 10 overs left until England bat, Sri Lanka women are 121-4. The wickets have been shared between Heather Knight, Danielle Hazell, Beth Langston and Alex Hartley.

You can follow the live score here.

R Ashwin, by the way, has the best strike-rate of any spinner in Test cricket with more than 200 wickets - just over 49 balls per wicket. Today he's got wickets through the ball not turning, rather foxing England in the air. Moeen, using his feet more than any of his team-mates, keeps dancing to take a single down the ground.

Joe Root possesses a skill that many top batsmen have - the ability to sneak up on you. He has 30 or 40 on the scoreboard before you've time to make a brew, all relatively risk free. A push and run off the lively Shami takes him a touch closer to a 24th Test half-century. 

Andrew Samson
BBC Test Match Special statistician

The last time there was a five-match Test series in India was in 1986-87 against Pakistan.