ENGLAND captain Joe Root’s wait to score his 14th Test hundred continued in frustrating fashion when he was run out for 80 in a mix-up with Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow on the first day of the series opener against India at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old’s inability to turn half-centuries into big scores has caused England plenty of strife in recent years, and Wednesday’s innings is the 11th time he has fallen between 50 and 100 since his most recent Test ton against the West Indies last August.

His overall record now reads 13 Test centuries and 40 half-centuries — putting his conversion rate well below his contemporaries. New Zealand’s Kane Williamson has 18 Test tons to go with his 26 fifties and the suspended Steve Smith has an impressive 23 hundreds alongside 24 fifties.

Remarkably, Kohli has 21 centuries on top of his 16 fifties, giving him the third best 50/100 conversion rate of any player with at least10 Test tons. He sits behind Don Bradman — 29 centuries, 13 fifties — and George Headley — 10 centuries, five fifties.

Root looked on course to break his century drought on Wednesday only to perish chasing a tight two called by partner Bairstow.

Wicketkeeper Bairstow played the ball to midwicket for a single and then set off for what always looked a tight second, with Root, who responded to the call, comfortably run out by Kohli’s direct hit from midwicket to end a 156-ball innings including nine fours.

Kohli rubbed salt into the wound by blowing kisses in the direction of Root and putting his finger to his lips, as if to quieten the crowd as the Englishman made his way off the field.

He also did the ‘mic drop’ gesture in imitation of Root’s celebration of his one-day series-clinching hundred against India at the batsman’s Headingley home ground last month.

But it is the suggestion that Kohli may have sworn in Root’s direction that could land the India skipper in trouble with match referee Jeff Crowe, the former New Zealand captain.

As has often been the case, a needless dismissal was also the spark for a collapse.

England lost three wickets for eight runs in 25 balls as a promising 3-216 was transformed into 6-224.

Bairstow played on to paceman Umesh Yadav for 70, trying to cut a ball that was too close to him.

And England, in their 1,000th Test, then saw Jos Buttler lbw for a second-ball duck to off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as he played across the line.

The hosts limped to stumps at 9-285, only surviving the day thanks to a dropped catch by Dinesh Karthik on the penultimate ball of the third session.