Joe Root backs Alastair Cook to remain England captain

The trio of Ravichandran Ashwin (3/81), Ravindra Jadeja (2/62) and Jayant Yadav (2/21) shared bulk of the spoils to dismiss the visitors for 236 in their second innings. Team England just did not have the wherewithal to put up a fight in Mohali because they failed to make capital of a good toss to win. Jennings’s father Ray was South Africa coach for abrief six-month period in 2004/05 before Mickey Arthur took over and he had a spell working in the IPL with the Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Durham star Jennings, who averaged over 60 for Durham in the County Championship last season, is set to be Cook’s 11th opening partner since former skipper Andrew Strauss called it a day four years ago.

And his debut, more than a decade in the making, made for a memorable trip for the entire clan.

Flower added: “He looks like he’s got a really solid and, crucially, simple technical game”.

The South Africa-born batsman has put on hold the winter swotting he has done for accountancy exams over recent years, and will instead be counting on charismatic Durham and England match-winner Stokes to help make the introductions with a dressing-room full of global team-mates.

“The less complicated it is, the less can go wrong”.

“If he gave it up fairly soon, he would definitely carry on playing – without a doubt”, he said.

‘Sometimes a little bit of by-play between guys on either side who are passionate about their cricket and their team is good for the game, ‘ said the Australian. While Gambhir is no longer a regular in the Indian team, Kohli has been given the mantle of captaincy in the longest format and the change in him is drastic. “It’s just the way he is”.

But even though England’s batting depth is enviable – Jimmy Anderson was the only member of their XI in Mohali that didn’t have a first-class century to his name – Alastair Cook’s men have had middling results in 2016. “I am sure he is looking forward to his next Test”, added the Indian captain. “They’ve put their hand up, they’re happy with their roles, they’re not desperate for too many wickets. That is totally authentic, and it oozes out of him”.

Root, who is due to become a dad for the first time on January 5, says England have no chance of coming back from 2-0 down if they continue to bat poorly. Zafar Ansari was injured during the second test in Vishakapatnam and missed the Mohali test.

Even the Hampshire all-rounder himself admits he was taken aback.

“It was a lot to take in, and very exciting”, he said. Dawson has player for England Lions and is now playing for Rangpur Raiders in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Saf and Nuaman both had their cricketing skills honed by dad Ismail during their formative years but, although he was more than 10 years their junior, it was Haseeb who would catch the eye of the older players.

“I wouldn’t know what day it is at the moment – everything has been such a whirlwind”, he said.