Strauss stars before India hit back
Andrew Strauss hit a defiant century to help England make a solid start to the opening Test before India demonstrated their quality with a four-wicket fightback in the final session.
The 31-year-old left-hander overcame a disrupted preparation for the Test series by hitting his 13th Test century and helped forge a 118-run opening stand with Alastair Cook after England won the toss and batted first at the Chepauk Stadium.
But after making such a promising start, England failed to build on it with India showing the skills which helped beat Australia last month by claiming four late wickets to restrict the tourists to 229 for five by the close of the first day.
