Virat Kohli marked his 50th Test match with an unbeaten 151, whilst Cheteshwar Pujara picked up his second century of the series, as India dominated Day One in Visakhapatnam.
The pair put on 226 for the third wicket, taking their side from 22-2 to 248-3, with Kohli picking up his 14th Test hundred and Pujara his 10th.
On his return to the side, James Anderson was the pick of the England bowlers, taking 3-44 from his 16 overs, whilst Nottinghamshire’s Stuart Broad took the only other wicket as India reached stumps on 317-4.
Anderson said: “The pitch was pretty flat. There was a bit of uneven bounce at times but, as a batsman, if you can get yourself set, you can bat for a long time.
“We weren’t sure whether the new ball would have been better in the morning but we felt a few overs with the new ball was a good option and we were lucky to get a wicket.
“When we lose the toss and we’re in the field, we always try to stay under three an over, but we didn’t bowl as well as we would have liked and they got 30 too many today.
“Four down is not the worst result for us and we will come back tomorrow and hopefully have a good day.”
It was a simple decision for Kohli to bat first after winning the toss but his decision may have been questioned had his side not recovered from being 22-2 early on.
First, Broad removed Lokesh Rahul (0) in his first over, enticing the outside edge for Ben Stokes to take a diving catch at third slip. Rahul’s opening partner, Murali Vijay, followed shortly after when a short ball from the returning Anderson bounced up off the bat for Stokes to claim and remove Vijay for 20.
The rest of the morning session was largely uneventful as Kohli and Pujara manoeuvred the England attack well to take lunch on 92-2.
Shortly after the interval, the India captain moved through to his 13th Test match fifty, but only his second against England, from 87 balls, before his partner secured a half-century of his own off 113 deliveries.
On 56, Kohli then offered his first chance to the tourists. He attempted to pull Stokes, but could only send a top-edge in the direction of Adil Rashid at fine-leg, who juggled and then dropped diving forward.
In a unique turn of events, tea was called when a stray dog found its way onto the outfield in the middle of an over. After giving up on trying to remove the dog, the umpires took the players off with India in complete control on 210-2 and both batsmen in the 90s.
Pujara brought up his third successive century in as many Tests with a pulled six off Rashid, having moved from 50 to three-figures in 71 balls. His skipper also had his century soon after, picking up his 14th hundred in the format from just 154 balls.
An ill-judged cut was the eventual downfall of Pujara, who could only knick Anderson to the ‘keeper to fall on 119, but the loss of his partner, with whom he had put on 226 runs, did not faze the imperious Kohli.
He was joined by Ajinkya Rahane who added 23 late on, and aided his skipper in reaching a near-faultless 150. The new ball did for Rahane though, when Anderson had him caught behind in the first over with the new cherry.
At the close, India were 317-4 with Kohli unbeaten on 151.
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