Jonny Bairstow impresses as England stutter on opening day of third Test against India

England endured a disappointing start to the third Test against India as their top order collapsed on the opening day in Mohali.

The tourists swiftly fell to 87-4 with Alastair Cook (27), Joe Root (15), Moeen Ali (16) and Haseeb Hameed (9) all departing after some reckless batting. Jonny Bairstow put in a defiant individual performance, however, hitting a fine 89 before his side finished the day 268-8.

England must now turn to the partnership of Adil Rashid and Gareth Batty to rescue some pride on day two, but India are now well placed to take control when they step up to the crease.

Trailing 1-0 in the series, England won the toss and were given a golden opportunity to apply pressure on the host. That plan failed miserably. Hameed, 19, was perhaps the only man to depart without any real blame after he was caught by a vicious bouncer from Umesh Yadav. The same could not be said for Root, however, who went for a wild swing only to be caught lbw by Mohammed Shami to bring his innings to a premature end.

Cook survived two dropped catches but his luck eventually ran out when he edged behind into wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel. Moeen, moved up to no. 4 following Ben Duckett's withdrawal from the team, also offered little resistance, hooking a tame effort straight into the waiting arms of Murali Vijay at fine leg to leave England trailing 92-4 at lunch.

The introduction of Bairstow finally managed to steady the ship for England. Showing the patience that abandoned those in the top order, the world's leading Test run scorer of 2016 set to work rebuilding the innings. Joined by Ben Stokes, the two racked up 57 between them.

After Stokes was stumped by Ravindra Jadeja, the recalled Jos Buttler marked his return with a 43 before he tamely edged into the waiting Virat Kohli. Bairstow, having rode his luck at times after two drops from Patel, was finally dismissed after he was caught lbw despite his review. Chris Woakes added 25 before Umesh Yadav dispatched him with a superb delivery in the penultimate over, leaving England with a demanding task ahead on Sunday.