Toss report, 2nd Test: India captain Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first in the second Test .
A Ravichandran Ashwin masterclass was to follow as the English batsmen largely pre-empted it to be a rank turner. Ben Foakes held fort with a dogged, methodical approach against the Indian spinners as wickets fell like ninepins. Ashwin’s 5/43 and debutant Axar Patel’s impressive 2/40 including the wicket of skipper Joe Root pushed England down the barrel.
India’s second innings began in typical flair as Rohit and Gill provided a schooling for the English batsmen to see off some fine spells from the spinners. India, with its 249-run lead would eye to inflict a massive defeat for England as it would aim to pile on the runs tomorrow. All in good spirit ahead of the Pink Ball Test.
Domination 101 from India as Kohli and Co. sweep all three sessions on day 2. England did well to restrict the Indian innings to 329 early on in the day but soon fell flat on a challenging pitch, losing four wickets before lunch.
India 54/1 after 18 overs: STUMPS. England keeps three men close in on the off-side for Rohit and Pujara. -Leach follows a leg-stump and undoes the field as Pujara finishes the day with a solid block.
Score Card :
India 1St Innings :
Extras: 0 ( b – 0, lb – 0, w – 0, nb – 0, Penalty – 0)
Fall of wickets: 1 – 0 (Shubman Gill, 1.3 ov) , 2 – 85 (Cheteshwar Pujara, 20.2 ov) , 3 – 86 (Virat Kohli, 21.2 ov) , 4 – 248 (Rohit Sharma, 73 ov) , 5 – 249 (Ajinkya Rahane, 75.2 ov) , 6 – 284 (Ravichandran Ashwin, 82.3 ov) , 7 – 301 (Axar Patel, 89.2 ov) , 8 – 301 (Ishant Sharma, 89.4 ov) , 9 – 325 (Kuldeep Yadav, 95.3 ov) , 10 – 329 (Mohammed Siraj, 95.5 ov).
England 1st Innings :
Extras: 9 ( b – 4, lb – 4, w – 0, nb – 1, Penalty – 0)
Fall of wickets: 1 – 0 (Rory Burns, 0.3 ov) , 2 – 16 (Dom Sibley, 7.2 ov) , 3 – 23 (Joe Root, 10.3 ov) , 4 – 39 (Dan Lawrence, 18 ov) , 5 – 52 (Ben Stokes, 23.2 ov) , 6 – 87 (Ollie Pope, 38.1 ov) , 7 – 105 (Moeen Ali, 48.1 ov) , 8 – 106 (Olly Stone, 49.2 ov) , 9 – 131 (Jack Leach, 58.5 ov) , 10 – 134 (Stuart Broad, 59.5 ov).
India 2nd Innings :
Extras: 8 ( b – 5, lb – 3, w – 0, nb – 0, Penalty – 0)
Fall of wickets: 1 – 42 (Shubman Gill, 11.2 ov).
Key Highlights :
. Ravichandran Ashwin 29th Test 5-wicket haul: 5/43 (23.5)
. India, after losing the first Test match, now have the chance to draw the series by winning the Ind vs Eng 2nd Test.
