First day in Ranchi: England 302-7 v IndiaRoot makes 31st Test hundred with support from Foakes
Ben Stokes did not even wait for the umpire’s finger to go up, instead swivelling on his heels, walking off to the pavilion and, not for the first time on this tour, doing so with a wry smile visible behind the grille of his helmet.
The England captain had been struck plumb in front by Ravindra Jadeja for two, the kind of shin-hunting grubber that usually sees TV producers back home dig out the old footage of Carl Hooper snaring Nasser Hussain this way. England had ended a white-knuckle morning on 112 for five, the mottled pitch pointing to an innings that would be stuck in fast forward and unspool like an old cassette tape.