Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 26 (ANI): Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel made England spinners toil hard in the third session, giving India a complete at the end of Day 2 of the first Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday.
At the end of Day 2, India posted 421/7 runs on the board claiming a lead of 175 runs with Jadeja and Axar unbeaten with scores of 81(155)* and 35(62)* respectively.
While the left-handed pair dominated the majority of the third session, it was Root who turned out to be England’s best spinner. He removed Jaiswal in the very first over, almost picked KL Rahul for a duck, trapped Bharat for LBW and managed to lure batters to play some half-committed shots.
India commenced the session with a score of 309/5 leading by 63 runs. KS Bharat and Ravindra Jadeja proved to be a reliant pair for India towards the tail end.
They nullified England’s spin squadron, kept them at bay, and ensured that the scoreboard ticking at a constant pace.
Joe Root momentarily raised hopes of the visitors after dismissing Jadeja in the 81st over, but the Indian challenged the on-field decision straight away and got the decision reversed.
Jadeja raised his bat for his 20th Test half-century and brought out his classic sword celebration.
With the new ball available, England took the opportunity and made an instant mark on the game. Root dismissed Bharat for 41, and Ravichandran Ashwin was next to follow after a moment of miscommunication with Jadeja.
Both players found themselves on the same side but Jadeja brought his bat down first past the crease making Ashiwn walk back for 1.
Axar’s arrival once again steadied India’s innings, stitching up an unbeaten 63-run partnership and taking India’s lead to 175 runs.
Both batters put India’s batting depth on display, pulling off some remarkable shots to find the boundary line and occasionally sending the ball into the stands.
In the second session, England gave India a big blow as Rehan Ahmed removed Shreyas Iyer for 35 runs, breaking a 64-run partnership with KL Rahul. All-rounder Jadeja then came out to bat.
The duo kept on mixing caution with aggression and resilience against the English attack, stitching a solid partnership as India found themselves at 275/4.
Jadeja and Rahul stitched a rapid fifty-run partnership. With the onslaught against England, Rahul completed 1000 runs in Test matches at home however he missed out on a century as Tom Hartley dismissed him for 86.
Srikar Bharat then came out to bat. In the end, Jadeja and Bharat ensured that India did not lose any more wickets before the Tea break.
Earlier in the first session of the day, India resumed their innings at 119/1 on Day 2. Joe Root provided England with an early breakthrough as he dismissed well-set batter Yashasvi Jaiswal for 80 runs. The hitter attempted to knock the bowler back over his head, but he was caught and bowled, which Root caught easily. Rahul walked out to bat with a lot of work to be done.
Rahul and Shubman Gill did not relent in their approach and England was put on the back foot straight away. At the end of 30 overs, India racked up 145 runs on the scoreboard at the loss of 2 wickets.
The debutant Tom Hartley provided his team with a big wicket as he removed Shubman Gill for 23 runs, breaking a 36-run partnership between No. 3 batter and Rahul. Shreyas Iyer then came out to bat.
At the end of 45 overs, India put 202 runs on the scoreboard, losing 3 wickets. Rahul brought up his well-made half-century in 72 balls.
The duo of Rahul and Iyer settled in for India as they ensured that India did not lose any wickets before the lunch break.
Brief score: England 246 (Ben Stokes 70, Ben Duckett 35; Ravichandran Ashwin 3-68) vs India 421/7 (Ravindra Jadeja 81*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 80, KL Rahul 86; Joe Root 2-77). (ANI)
