Ahmedabad: Axar Patel and Siraj took two wickets as India reduced the visitors to 115/4 after first session on Day 1 of the fourth Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium today.
Pope and Ben Stokes then propped up the England innings, putting up an unbeaten partnership.
Pope was on 12 while Stokes had made 51 runs so far.
England had chosen to bat after winning the toss, with Root hoping that they could put as many runs on the board before the ball would turn for the spinners.
Joe Root was dismissed by Siraj which shocked English fans.
For England, batsman Dan Lawrence replaced Stuart Broad while off-spinner Dom Bess came in place of Jofra Archer.
For India, Mohammed Siraj came back in place of Jasprit Bumrah, who has taken leave of absence for the game.