Understandably after last month's terror attacks in Mumbai, security is tight ahead of the start of the first Test in Chennai

England and India hold a minute's silence as a mark of respect to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks before play begins

England captain Kevin Pietersen and team-mate Steve Harmison applaud the crowd after the minute's silence

Paul Collingwood, aided by Pietersen, removes a security net to get a better view of the field from the England balcony

A sniper perched on a roof of one of the stands looks out over the sparsely populated ground

Andrew Strauss defies his lack of match practice with a steady knock as England start well after winning the toss

Alastair Cook, who made a century on his Test debut in India in 2006, also shows good form as England reach 63-0 at lunch

Strauss maintains his concentration and is the first batsman to post his 50 as England make India toil on a slow, flat wicket

Cook follows Strauss in reaching his 50 but then gets carried away and is caught after top-edging a slog off Harbhajan Singh

Ian Bell is out two balls after the tea interval as left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan traps him lbw with a lovely inswinging delivery

Strauss takes 191 balls and hits 14 fours to record a well-earned 13th Test century, much to the delight of his captain

Disappointment for Pietersen as he plays a rash shot and is caught and bowled by the lively Zaheer for just four

India's players celebrate claiming the scalp of Pietersen who returns to the pavilion with his side reduced to 180-3

India earn a lucky break as Paul Collingwood is harshly judged to have been caught at short-leg off Harbhajan by Bill Bowden

Strauss's fine innings eventually ends as he is caught and bowled by Amit Mishra for 123 with England stuttering to 221-5