Cook, who will be retiring after this Test, and his opening partner Keaton Jennings (23) gave England a sedate start after skipper Joe Root won the toss and opted to bat on a wicket that has so far turned out to be best for batting.
Ravindra Jadeja broke the partnership, dismissing Jennings in the 24th over.
At the break, Cook was batting on 37 not out, while Moeen Ali was unbeaten on 2 runs.
Earlier, Cook as given a ‘guard of honour’ by the Indian team as he walked out to bat in his final Test.
Opening bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (0-22) and Ishant Sharma (0-11) found some movement in the initial overs, but the early movement disappeared very quickly as Cook and Jennings (23) looked solid.
Debutante Hanuma Vihari (0-1) was also in action as he came on to bowl first-change in the 14th over.
It was his solitary over though, as Jadeja (1-15) and Mohammed Shami (0-13) took over bowling duties after the drinks’ break. The latter didn’t find any movement either, albeit the bounce in this wicket is true and batsmen will enjoy themselves.
Cook and Jennings brought up only their second 50-run partnership of this series in 107 balls, and went on to put up their best opening stand in five Tests, 60 runs.
Their previous highest was 54 at Trent Bridge.
Jennings though couldn’t go on for longer, as he edged Jadeja to leg slip in the 24th over as KL Rahul added another catch to his tally this series.
Ali and Cook then batted out the remaining session until lunch, with India hardly creating any threatening chances.
Earlier, England fielded an unchanged team, while India made two changes. Jadeja came in for injured R Ashwin, while Vihari made his Test debut, coming in for Hardik Pandya.
England have already taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series, with wins in Birmingham, Lord’s and Southampton. India won the third Test at Nottingham
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