India v England: first Test, day one – live!

44th over: England 100-2 (Sibley 39, Root 22) Sibley goes down the track! And clips Shahbaz for four, to bring up the hundred. England would surely have settled for this at the start of play.

43rd over: England 96-2 (Sibley 35, Root 22) Root, facing the off-spinner Washington Sundar, plays a textbook reverse-sweep for four. Sundar is so new to Test cricket that he doesn’t have a nickname yet. “Ayyy,” says Pant behind the stumps, “Washington Sundar!”

42nd over: England 92-2 (Sibley 35, Root 18) Shahbaz Nadeem continues with his slow left-arm, and Root late-cuts for a single.

Thanks Daniel and morning everyone. As Richie Benaud used to say on Channel 4…

41st over: England 91-2 (Sibley 35, Root 17) Right, it’s time. Washington Sundar comes on and this is a release period for England; Root recognises that and flows into a drive for four, then tries to sweep a full one; it doesn’t work, but he imparts poke to ball and they run one; that’s drinks, at the end of a terrific mini-session. Ishant and Ashwin bowled beautifully, but the batsmen saw them off well.

“I’ve discovered a marvellous way to amuse myself when awake in the wee small hours,” emails Kim Thonger. “I read the OBO silently to myself, so as not to wake Mrs T., (and here’s the science bit), in the voice of Johnny Rose from Schitt’s Creek. Oh the joy it brings. This also works well in a Walter Matthau voice, since Eugene Levy is basically his reincarnation. I may try a Kenneth Williams or Mr Spock voice tonight. Variation is important. Got to keep the batsman guessing.”

I like this game. In recent years, I’ve taken to singing in synagogue in the voices of various stars of popular music; Liam Gallagher, Bob Dylan and Thom Yorke when I’m feeling generous, Ian Brown when I’m not.

Anyhow, I’ll leave you all with that lovely thought; here’s Tim de Lisle to caress you through the rest of the day.

40th over: England 86-2 (Sibley 35, Root 12) Nadeem replaces Ishant and I wonder if England will look to milk him; not quite yet. Root plays away five dots, then dabs into the off side and hares away for one, the throw coming in hard and flat but not sharply enough to seriously bother Sibley.

“Morning Daniel, morning everyone,” chirps Guy Hornsby. “This is surreal stuff, seeing cricket back on terrestrial TV. I was 31 last time round, there was no Facebook or Twitter and I still thought I might bowl second change for England. Two of those things have changed. Speaking of TV, I can’t but recommend all your choices from the 30th over. It’s A Sin was heartbreakingly brilliant. I’ve also very much enjoyed The Serpent and The Pembrokeshire Murders on the Beeb and ITV respectively. Both chilling true crime, with the brilliant Tahar Rahim (from A Prophet) and latterly a wizened and sinister Keith Allen. If you wanted a metaphor of what’s changed since 2005, look at Allen’s face as you think of Vindaloo.”

39th over: England 85-2 (Sibley 35, Root 11) England need that, “that” being a booming front-foot drive past mid on for four from Sibley. He’s batting beautifully, he really is – not in an aesthetic sense, but in a focusing every aspect of who he is and what we all are to make the very best of himself sense. Great stuff.

38th over: England 81-2 (Sibley 31, Root 11) Ishant is into this, and a leg-cutter has Root rummaging outside off, playing with half a bat … but with soft hands too, and the ball drops shy of slip. This is fantastic bowling – he’s found his length now, on about a length to threaten the stumps – and fantastic cricket. India know that they’re on top and if they can convert superiority into scalps, they’re set, while England know that if they can strong-stand, they’ll gradually wrest control. Maiden, the third on the spin.

37th over: England 81-2 (Sibley 31, Root 11) Things are changing. England were in almost total control through the morning session, but the ball is moving about now and runs are hard to come by. The batsmen need to dig in, because it’ll get easier after tea … if they can hang about till then. Maiden.

“Good morning from Cameroon!” hollers Anna Halford. “Was able to luxuriate in being one hour ahead and start watching/OBO-ing at the leisurely hour of 5am, but then the dog needed a walk. Went out at 36-0, came back at 67-2. That’s it, he’s not getting a morning walk on match days any more.”

36th over: England 81-2 (Sibley 31, Root 11) Sibley nurdles Ishant off his hip for one – an Ishant no ball, as it turns out – which brings Root onto strike. And have a look! Served a short, wide one, he unloads the syootcase and almost drags on! Oh Joseph! But what’s this?! Ishant pins Root on stumps and pad, eliciting a loud appeal … but that was high and going down, so they don’t review when the umpire says no.

“TMS’s producer says their audio feed is available ‘overseas’ on the BBC Sport website., informs Smylers. “Your earlier correspondents asking after it may have been hampered by their Cricket Social coverage only starting at 6.30, two-and-a-half hours after play began. Currently I’m sticking with the Channel 4 audio just for the novelty value. In a nice touch, I see they’re following the cricket with an episode of The Simpsons, like in the old days: it was switching on for The Simpsons at 6.00, but finding instead an overrunning Test match, that got me into cricket in the first place.”

Look at that three-act structure! Setup, conflict, resolution right there! If Matt Groening is reading, I think the OBO might just get its own meta episode.

35th over: England 79-2 (Sibley 30, Root 11) Kohli is wise to Sibley now and the field is heavily leg-side, but none of it matters when Ashwin goes around and sends a beauty drifting and ripping away from the outside edge. Suddenly batting looks a touch demanding, so Sibley stretches down the track and half-bats one past short leg; that’s it for the over, and it feels like we’ve entered a passage within a passage within a passage. England badly need to make sense of it.

34th over: England 77-2 (Sibley 29, Root 11) England win the first mini-battle: Bumrah departs without breaking through, bringing Ishant back into the attack. Sibley takes one into the on side – of course he does – the only run off the over. This is fascinating, compelling, revitalising “Test-match cricket”.

“Do the Star Cricket presenters have a dress code?”: wonders Tom van der Gucht. “I’ve just been watching (I think it was Nick Knight) and they were all in matching pastel blue shirts. What’s the Guardian OBO dress code? I always envision you all in a similar way to how IT coding genius mavericks are always portrayed in films – Like Alan Cummings in Goldeneye, Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park or any of the guys in The Social Network: breezy, relaxed, slightly bohemian…”

Exactly that – I’m in a smoking jacket at the moment. On which point the Star uniform is somewhat twee, but C4 left Alastair Cook to his own devices and he’s come dressed as Hazza Hill.

33rd over: England 77-2 (Sibley 28, Root 11) Ashwin tosses one out there and Root’s bat follows it as though magnetised … but not until it’s almost past him, and the pair share a giggle. The next ball is a tester too – Ashwin is thinking his brain off out there, even if he doesn’t have as many MATES as Tim Paine – and this one incites an edge that drops. Maiden, and a very well bowled one too.

32nd over: England 77-2 (Sibley 28, Root 11) Root retreats to flick Bumrah’s first ball away for two through square leg; he’s settling nicely, and though the field is very leggy, he flicks three more through midwicket. He’s such a master of tempo, timing and angle..

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more offended by a shot than the Rory Burns Reverse,” says Tom Stoker.

I think we’re neologising here:

“What do you think about the government?”

“Ach, complete load of roryburnsreverse.”

31st over: England 72-2 (Sibley 28, Root 6) Ashwin is in for a fair old stint here, but Sibley turns him away nicely through square leg and they run two. These are the only runs off the over, and this has been another decent start to a session from England … and yes, I am rocking and chuckling to myself as I type that.

30th over: England 70-2 (Sibley 26, Root 6) It’s just occurred to me that during the Sri Lanka series, we were swapping telly tips, and I neglected to mention Giri/Haji. It’s on Netflix and if you’ve not seen it, I urge you to get involved. And since then, we’ve been given It’s A Sin, a furious, devastating, heartbreaking portrayal of what it was to be gay and in London during the 80s and the Aids epidemic. Finally, if you’ve not seen I May Destroy You, do not be duped by the Golden Globes; it’s a life-changing piece of work that you must get on as soon as possible. Anyhow, Root plays out this latest Bumrah over that yields a no ball wide from a bouncer that reared up well behind Root’s shoulder.

29th over: England 69-2 (Sibley 26, Root 6) Unsurprisingly it’s Ashwin at the other end, fidgeting in from close to the stumps. I’m not sure Root will be able to dominate him as he did Sri Lanka’s spinners, but the flatness of the track is to his advantage and he comes down to drive a single to cover. It’s the only run from the over.

28th over: England 68-2 (Sibley 26, Root 5) This feels like an absolutely gigantic session in the series, words I hope to type many more times over the next month. Bumrah has the ball and is at least intimating reverse-swing because he’s covering it as he runs in, Root facing. He’ll have taken a few moments at lunch, I’m sure; he looked more nervous than usual at the toss, never mind when he came out to bat. But he looks better now, seeing away five dots before rising onto tippy toes to guide a single through point.

“Re cricket settling newborn twins,” says Rosanna Lynch, reporting a case that eluded me in my time as a lawyer. “Please tell Alice Schofield that (having been there myself) yes, it does, but also it doesn’t, because just as you get used to something working it stops (like England batting?). Also tell her, it gets easier I promise (the multiple babies, not sure about the cricket).”

I’m not sure Rory is called Rory anymore.; I hope little Dominic and Joe are doing well.

“Good morning from south west London,” says George Holmes, “and what a time to be alive! As a long-term lurker but uncapped emailer, it seems like the cricket being on my TV (*cough* via a legal broadcast) for the first time since 2005, when I was all of nine years-old and already falling madly in love with the game, is the perfect occasion to get in touch with the OBO.

I’ve done the necessary groundwork: taken the day off work, explained to my girlfriend that I’ll be keeping strange hours for the next four weeks in order to watch 22 blokes run around a field in India playing a game that could still end in a draw, and now we’re finally here! Channel 4 is on the TV, the OBO updating on my laptop (it wouldn’t be cricket without it) and England still haven’t lost a wicket (apologies, in advance, for that one). Let’s go!”

#WelcomeGeorge

“It’s early days and early overs,” says Abhijato Sensarma, “but the stoic nature of Test cricket has revealed itself to me once more. I have still not recovered from the adrenaline rush this nation experienced during the ‘Gabba Miracle’. I’ll be in the need for systematic desensitisation with help from the ever-reliable Sibley and Burns. A good opening partnership and the maturation of the ball is surely going to lay a base like no other for Root. But then, England are always one good ball away from falling prey to their umpteenth collapse for the ages…”

Point of order: rarely does it take a good ball.

“Perhaps it is just me in Canada and Archisman in the US,” says John Parkinson, “but I’m sure the 13, bona fide, US dollars and a couple of Canadian loonies that we could cobble together would more than compensate for some multinational conglomerate to extend the TMS coverage to the new world. Newsmax if you’re listening, consider it a constructive new direction to capture a more diverse audience. We’ll even throw in some maple syrup and logging rights to my back yard.”

In the meantime:

“Well, the cat, Poppie, since you ask, was enjoying the early morning cricket, early breakfast and some early sitting behind my head with a steady purr,” says Chris Purcell. “But that’s gone by the board now. She very much doesn’t favour reverse-sweeping in a test match, and now Lawrence’s gone. She’s stalked out in high dudgeon to her special cushion.”

A “special cushion” sounds like a useful addition to a changing room, for sitting on when you toss two hours’ worth of work reverse-sweeping just before lunch.

Lunchtime patter: “Endearingly amateur coverage, empty stadiums and Rory Burns’ demi-mullet have put me in an 80s frame of mind this morning,” tweets Charles Tinsley.

I’m not at all sure about that – I think it’s a bob.

That really was perfectly, beautifully, classically England. They spent roughly eleven twelfths of that session being excellent, then took their hard work and shoved it up their own nostrils. The afternoon activity is going to be intense.

27th over: England 67-2 (Sibley 26, Root 4) It might’ve been Ashwin’s hand that took the bails off but either way Root made it and that’s lunch. What a sesh that was!

27th over: England 67-2 (Sibley 26, Root 4) Things are extremely frenetic all of a sudden and Root, so serene in Sri Lanka, drives airily at Ashwin’s first ball, a leading edge looping the ball to cover as they run two. And have a look! What are they thinking! It’s the last over before lunch and Root turns to square leg, then decides he wants a tight single! So off they set, there’s a direct hit at the non-striker’s, and some whooping! I thought they got home, but let’s see!

26th over: England 64-2 (Sibley 26, Root 1) Back in the hutch, Rory Burns will be absolutely cursing himself because England were cotching until he decided to make art. Credit to Kohli, though; bringing back Bumrah was a smart move, and he now has his first home Test wicket.

One brings two! Lawrence hadn’t got his feet going yet, so Bumrah flings down a ball that’s full, straight, and nasty – there might even be a hint of reverse – and Lawrence is deader than death. I know this tune, turn it up.

26th over: England 63-1 (Sibley 26, Lawrence 0) Bumrah returns for a pre-lunch burst…

25th over: England 63-1 (Sibley 26, Lawrence 0) Gosh, that Burns dismissal doesn’t look any better on second, third and blooper-video viewings; it wasn’t even his bottom hand the ball hit, which tells you how far he was from the ball. Proper Gatting gear, that. Anyhow, Sibley sees away a maiden from Nadeem and you wonder if the flow of things has changed..

24th over: England 63-1 (Sibley 26, Lawrence 0) Goodness me, this is an event in Dan Lawrence’s life. Perhaps the most notable thing about his batting in Sri Lanka was his calmness, but he’ll be experiencing sensations out there, sensations most of us will never understand. He defends his first ball and that’s over.

He’s feeling himself too much! Ashwin goes around, Burns unfurls his famous reverse, and gloves high and behind. What was he thinking?! He batted beautifully for almost a session, then tossed his scalp onto the bonfire.

24th over: England 62-0 (Burns 33, Sibley 26) This is lovely from Burns, skipping down the track to drive Ashwin past mid on! He’s feeling himself alright!

23rd over: England 59-0 (Burns 29, Sibley 26) Sibley sees away five dots, then a no ball follows, then another, then a dot. These two batting through the session would be a terrific boost for England.

22nd over: England 57-0 (Burns 29, Sibley 26) A false shot, ish. Sibley flicks away uppishly, just wide of the man at leg gully there for precisely such eventuality. Such precision! A single follows, then Burns moves across to the off side, exposing his stumps to swat four through fine leg; that was the shot of a man feeling himself.

21st over: England 52-0 (Burns 25, Sibley 25) There are two men at short extra cover for Sibley; has anyone seem him bat this morning, never mind ever before? I don’t know. Anyhow, he plays away five dots from Nadeem, then turns to midwicket for one. Easy this.

20th over: England 51-0 (Burns 25, Sibley 24) Burns raises England’s fifty with a twizzle around the corner for two, the only runs off this latest Ashwin over. This is excellent from England, and now I feel like I’m in a Nolan film.

“Rumour has it that Christopher Nolan is already working on a cricket movie called Crickception,” says Abhijato Sensarma. “It talks of a match-up within a match-up within a match-up, with the objective of stealing an enigmatic title known as the ‘World Test Championship’. Most critics have already flailed it for being too confusing and convoluted; most critics were talking about the sport of cricket, not the movie.”

It sounds a lot more coherent than Tenet.