Broad gives England upper hand as rain threatens to mar final day

For England, this Ashes edition is going to be all about making statements. First ball of the series - bang; Zak Crawley cover drives it for four.

- Rasesh Mandani

MUMBAI: 393/8 with 20 minutes of play left on Day 1 Ben Stokes declares. Australian batters encounter unusual fields on Day 2 and 3. And then to bring the house down, what's the first thing Joe Root does on the morning of Day 4? He attempts a reverse scoop against Pat Cummins.

The Australian captain was running in with three slips and a gully, conventional for a premier fast bowler during the early hours of play in England. As promised, England responded by playing as if wanting to live up to a pre-series pact, unconventionally. Root couldn't connect. But it was a statement above any other, how he was going to bat, resuming from 28/2, his team only 35 in front and tasked to set up a winning fourth innings total for his bowlers to defend.

Root played two more reverse ramps in the next six balls he faced. This time he hit a six and a four. A six over the wicketkeeper's head off Scott Boland with slightly less control. And the four over slips was more clean. In between, he helped himself to a more routine boundary by clipping Boland past mid-wicket.