Alastair Cook is reveling in this situation. I honestly don't think he could be more happy if he was driving his tractor round the M25. He isn't sweating, obviously, and sticks his tongue out every time he makes contact with the ball. A short ball from Jayant is cut to the boundary.

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

Kohli needs to turn to his seamers soon. The balls don't stay hard for that long over here. When the ball starts reversing you need it quite hard. Virat needs to turn to them if he wants to get something out of this ball. 

Virat Kohli decides that Jadeja can have four catchers for Cook. Slip, leg slip, short leg and silly point. The skipper has more company than a man handing out £20 notes. Still, the catchers aren't in the game when Cook is playing with baby-soft hands. When do India start getting annoyed?

Scott in Belfast

Jayant Yadav, the offie on debut, has quite a long run-up, kicking his knees up like a man jumping over small hurdles. There's only a slip and gully, with India somehow thinking they need two men out on the leg-side boundary for Hameed.. Those fielders may as well sit in the front row. I'm more involved in the game than they are.

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

India will be worried about Cook's record in India. He's starting to get locked into a rhythm of play. When he's in that rhythm, everyone knows how hard it is to get him out. Kohli will be desperate to make sure Cook doesn't get too settled.

To further Michael Vaughan's point, the ball did misbehave slightly when the fast bowlers were on, but India's spinners haven't got nearly the amount of assistance they might have done. India belatedly surround Cook, but the skipper looks happier to work the ball around. There are just under 20 minutes to go until tea. 

Image source, Reuters

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

I'm finding it hard to believe how well this pitch has held after lunch. I thought it would end up spinning square and bouncing but it's not being as unpredictable as this morning. Rashid was getting a lot of success but as of yet India haven't had any luck. 

A little victory for England. Ashwin is withdrawn and replaced by fellow offie Jayant Yadav. It's probably worth a mini fist-pump. There's 20,000 inside the ground, but noise levels have reduced. It's like getting men behind the ball in the first half of a football match to keep the home fans quiet. I wonder if anyone has counted the number of forward defensives played so far in this innings. We must be into three figures.

Rob Walton: Saw Jason Donovan in Joseph a few years ago. Baggy green, please. (Do I need to ask or is it a given?) 

Carl Carritt: I own a didgeridoo, although I bought it in Newquay. Do I qualify for Australia?

India have hands on heads when Hameed leaves. The ball passes the off stump by a whisker, but it might as well be 1,000 miles. When Cook takes strike, he has three leg-side catchers for company, but is still able to shuffle across and work for a single. This is glorious defensive batting, genuinely more fun than someone crashing it over the ropes.

Billy Ric, Liverpool

Can you imagine explaining this to a non-believer? How do you convince someone that sport can be so interesting when the scoreboard is static? I say static, only for Cook to rock back and pull an Ashwin short ball for four. 

Ian Anderson: I've got a few INXS albums. Pretty sure that'll get me into the middle order.

Colin Enlander: My best man moved to Australia 10 years ago and I speak to him on Facebook so I'm virtually in Australia - I keep wicket

Old-fashioned is right. We could be in 1916, not 2016. It's wonderful stuff. Quite frankly, India needn't bother with the run-saving fielders. Anyone more than 20 yards from the bat is wasted and can afford to nip off for a brew. Jadeja goes through his tricks, trying to befuddle Hameed with sleight of hand and speed through the air. No dice. Captivating.

Image source, Reuters

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

It's good old-fashioned Test cricket. Cook and Hameed are both digging in and have done really well so far. Not a great deal has happened for the spinners yet but just one wicket could turn the tables and cause a collapse - similar to what we saw in England's first innings.

To be honest, I'm surprised that so many actually want to play for Australia. Wouldn't you rather getting in a better side? Like Bangladesh? Pads and helmets appear from the India dressing room, but the home side aren't over-attacking. Only a slip and short leg for Hameed as Ashwin waddles in. England have scored six runs in 11 overs. Great stuff.

Ted

Martin in Manchester

Careful, skipper. The early storm may have been negotiated, but one mistake could see the whole pack of cards come tumbling down. An attempted cut at Jadeja is missed. Cross-batted shots are fraught with danger. Not only is the edge in play, but also the chop on to the stumps. Play straight.

Dan

Mark Allgoe