The 21-year-old left-hander hit a gutsy 60 as an injury-hit England side struggled to 246-7 at stumps after choosing to bat first on an easy-paced pitch.

All-rounder Paul Collingwood was the only other batsman to pass 50, chalking up his third Test half-century with one six and seven fours. He was 53 not out at the close, with Matthew Hoggard yet to score.

A debutant, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, also starred for India. He bowled at a lively pace to dismiss Andrew Strauss (28) followed by Ashes hero and number four batsman Kevin Pietersen (15).

Left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan built on Sreesanth's effort with three wickets, including two late in the day.

"It's a great feeling and I think I owe something to this ground," said Sreesanth, who made his one-day debut also at this venue.

"I started enjoying from the first ball and Pietersen's was the wicket I dreamt of. He is one of my favourite batsmen in modern-day cricket. My captain was a great source of encouragement."

England, short of a pair of quality batsmen following the withdrawal of skipper Michael Vaughan and vice-captain Marcus Trescothick, were indebted to Cook for keeping the Indian attack at bay in the first two sessions.

"I was obviously nervous and did not know what to expect but my captain was very encouraging," said Cook.

"I enjoyed the experience of playing against two world-class spinners (Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh) on a slow pitch. Patience was the key and I tried to play each ball on its merit. It would have been nice if I got a hundred."

Cook put on 56 for the opening wicket with Strauss after stand-in captain Andrew Flintoff had won a good toss, but then received little support from Ian Bell (nine) and Pietersen.

The England newcomer, who flew from the West Indies to join the squad on Sunday as one of the replacements, was the only top-order batsman to apply himself properly against India's pace-spin combination.

Cook, 21, batted confidently for more than three hours in hot conditions before being bowled by Pathan playing a wrong line. He struck seven fours in his 160-ball knock.

England were in trouble at 136-4 after Cook's dismissal before the aggressive Flintoff led a brief revival with a 67-run stand for the fifth wicket with Collingwood.

Leg-spinner Kumble broke the stand when he trapped Flintoff leg-before for a 43 which contained six fours.

India took control of the match when Pathan had Geraint Jones (14) leg-before before also accounting for Ian Blackwell (four).

Sreesanth, 23, was earlier in the limelight with two crucial wickets.

He ended England's early flourish when he removed left-handed Strauss, who drove away from the body and was caught well by Venkatsai Laxman at second slip.

Sreesanth picked up the prize wicket of Pietersen in the afternoon session when the South African-born star clipped a rising delivery on to his stumps while attempting to pull.

Pietersen had been dropped earlier in the over when Laxman failed to latch on to a low chance again at second slip.

Apart from Cook, spinners Blackwell and Monty Panesar -- the first Sikh to represent England in Tests -- also make their debuts for the visitors on a track expected to favour spin.

With the pitch offering the new-ball bowlers neither pace nor bounce, Indian captain Rahul Dravid brought on off-spinner Harbhajan after nine overs.

He soon had Bell caught by Dravid, who took the catch on his second attempt.