Root and Bairstow fall short forEngland

YORKSHIRE Day suddenly fell flat for England at Edgbaston as Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root’s high hopes were dashed against India.

England were on course for a substantial first-innings total while Root (80) and his fellow Yorkshireman Bairstow (70) were sharing a fourth-wicket stand of 104 in only 23 overs.

But just as the hosts threatened to dominate their 1,000th Test, Root was cut off in his prime – run out, once more short of a 14th Test century which has eluded him for the past year.

Ravi Ashwin finished with four for 60 as England folded to an underwhelming 285 for nine at stumps.

England would have been all out, in fact, had a tough caughtbehind chance been held when Sam Curran edged Mohammad Shami’s penultimate ball of day one.

For his trouble, the first of three wickets to fall for eight runs from 216 for three, Root’s misfortune was accompanied by a full-house ‘send-off’ from his opposite number Virat Kohli.

It was the India captain who produced the brilliant piece of fielding, with a direct-hit throw on the turn after Bairstow called an ambitious two barely to the edge of the square at midwicket.

Behind Root as he stormed off, Kohli then celebrated by blowing a kiss, mouthing some fruity advice, putting his finger to his lips and adding a ‘mic-drop’ mime - mocking Root’s gesture last month, after clinching the one-day international series at Headingley with a second successive hundred.

It seemed Bairstow owed his captain some extra runs, and he might have been well-advised to stay put for other reasons too but he got little further before he edged on trying to cut Umesh Yadav.

Then new England vice-captain Jos Buttler was lbw for a secondball duck, pushing forward to Ashwin - and after Ben Stokes poked a catch back at the offspinner, it was left to Curran and Adil Rashid to limit the damage.

It was a miserable passage of play for England in the hour after tea, on a day when they had long seemed sure to vindicate Root’s decision to bat first on a pitch of even pace and true bounce.

Root did at least bag one notable career milestone, displacing Alastair Cook as his country’s quickest to 6,000 Test runs when he reached 40 here.

England had prefaced their evening woe with an earlier stumble which left them 112 for three before Root and Bairstow joined forces in early afternoon.

Only Cook fell in the first session, his front-foot defence defeated by a perfect off-break from Ashwin.