NEW DELHI: Joe Root and Harry Brook forged a brilliant 154-run partnership to lift England to 211/3 on Day 1 of the final Ashes Test, before bad light brought an early end to play at the SCG. The match was also marked by an emotional on-field tribute to the victims and first responders of the Bondi terror attack.

The pair came together in a tricky situation, with England reeling at 57/3, and steadied the innings with a composed yet aggressive display through the middle session. Just before tea, rain and fading light forced an early close, preventing the match from resuming after the interval.

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At stumps, Root was unbeaten on 72 while Brook remained 78 not out, combining for England's most productive partnership of the five-Test series. Despite Australia having already secured the Ashes with victories in the first three Tests, the duo's stand gave the tourists firm control on a pitch that offered little help to the home bowlers.

Root reached his 67th Test fifty off 65 deliveries, striking seven boundaries, while Brook notched his 15th half-century in 63 balls, combining streaky aggression with smart shot-making, often narrowly avoiding the fielders and keeping Australia's bowlers under pressure.

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Triple strike

England lost three wickets in quick succession midway through the morning session after Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley had got the tourists away to a swift start after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat.

Mitchell Starc ended their partnership at 35 when he teased an edge from Duckett (27) through to wicketkeeper Alex Carey for his 27th wicket of the series.

Australia then got two wickets in eight balls with Michael Neser trapping Crawley (16) lbw and then Scott Boland sending Jacob Bethell (10) on his way with a trademark ball that nipped off the seam and caught the edge through to Carey.

Heavy security and emotions

In a rarity at a sporting event in Australia, police with long-arm rifles, mounted police and riot squad officers were on patrol as part of heightened security measures at the sold-out match following the antisemitic terror attack which killed 15 people at nearby Bondi Beach three weeks ago.

Before play commenced, victims of the shootings, first responders and community members were honored with an on-field tribute, including a guard of honor and a standing ovation from the capacity crowd.

In strong emotional scenes, the largest roar of the morning was for Ahmed al Ahmed, the shop owner who helped put an end to the rampage of one of the two shooters, as he joined other community members and emergency services on the field.

After the standing ovation, Ahmed, along with the others, were each greeted by the Australian team with Usman Khawaja embracing Ahmed, who was wearing a sling to protect the shoulder where he was shot during the attack.

Khawaja is playing his 88th and final test for Australia after announcing his retirement on Friday.

No place for spin

Australia made one change with allrounder Beau Webster getting his first appearance of the series at the expense of Jhye Richardson.

Webster's recall meant there was no space for spinner Todd Murphy, the first time Australia had not fielded a specialist spinner at the SCG since 1888.

England called up speedster Matthew Potts after Gus Atkinson was injured during the fourth Test.

England lost each of the first three tests to allow Australia to retain the Ashes in just 11 days of on-field action.

England then won its first Ashes match Down Under since 2011 with a four-wicket win in the Boxing Day Test that led to days of sustained criticism about the overly grassed pitch.

(With AP Inputs)