IND vs ENG 5th Test: India reach 473/8 on Day 2, lead by 255 runs

Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (Pic: AFP)

Skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill smashed fabulous centuries and gave India control of the IND vs ENG 5th Test. Lster the hosts saw a sudden batting collapse and ended Day 2 at 473 for eight wickets on Friday.

India lost five wickets for 97 runs in the final session of Day 2 of IND vs ENG 5th Test soon after Rohit and Shubman departed. The duo milked 171 runs in 244 deliveries for the second wicket.

Debutant Devdutt Padikkal struck wonderful 65 runs in 103 balls and showed a lot of class in his strokes while Sarfaraz Khan, on the other hand, smashed 56 runs off 60 deliveries and departed on the first ball after tea on Day 2 of IND vs ENG 5th Test. The home team, which began the day at 135 for one, led England by 255 runs at stumps.

Also Read: Devdutt Padikkal: From overcoming health complications to landing a dream Test debut

Shoaib Bashir bagged four wickets in 44 overs and conceded 170 runs. He bounced back strongly to take three wickets in the final session. Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley (2/126 in 39) too was impressive towards the end of the day while Mark Wood (0/89 in 15) was the most expensive.

The pitch remains good for batting and at 376 for three at tea, India looked set to bat England out of the game before the combination of good bowling and reckless batting kept the visitors alive in the match.

India scored at close to 4.5 runs per over until slowing down significantly in the final session. Kuldeep Yadav spun the ball a lot more than fellow Indian spinners on day one but after a tough time in the first two sessions on day two, Bashir and Co. got a lot out of the surface.

Sarfaraz tried to cut a harmless ball off Bashir and ended up giving an easy catch to Joe Root at first slip. Padikkal got a gem from the England off-spinner that spun away from middle stump to hit the top of the off-stump. Like Sarfaraz, Dhruv Jurel (15) too went for an avoidable shot and perished.

Also Read: IND vs ENG 5th Test: Sarfaraz scores fifty as India reach 376 for 3 at tea

After lunch, England captain Ben Stokes bowled Rohit Sharma off his first ball in nine months to give the visitors something to cheer about.

But Sarfaraz and Padikkal then got together and ensured runs kept flowing for the home team. Stokes, who had been bowling only in the nets thus far, finally decided to roll his arm over in a match situation after nothing went England's way in the morning session. He had stopped bowling owing to a knee injury and had undergone surgery last year.

Bowling the second over of the afternoon session, Stokes produced a peach that seamed away a touch from good length to dislodge Rohit's off-stump.

In the next over, James Anderson bowled Gill with a beauty that seamed back in, leaving India at 279 for three. In his debut game, Padikkal's off-side play stood out as he regaled the crowd with exquisite back-foot punches and cover drives. Sarfaraz, on the other hand, started slowly before changing gears both against pace and spin. What attracted the most attention was his attacking play against the express pace of Mark Wood.

His game against fast bowlers has been questioned but Sarfaraz was razor sharp on Friday as he dispatched Wood for a lofted back-drive before pulling him for a six over over backward square leg. He also played a ramp shot off Wood using the extra pace and bounce that he generated.

In the morning, skipper Rohit and Gill struck hundreds as India pressed the advantage in the game by reaching 264 for one at lunch. Rohit and Gill walked out in the middle in bright sunshine and milked the conditions to take India well past England's first innings total of 218.

England tried everything to contain them, whether it was employing the leg slip for Rohit when Bashir was in operation or Wood using the odd short ball against the overnight unbeaten duo with as many as six fielders on the leg side.

However, nothing worked for the visitors despite the Barmy Army making much more noise than Indian fans at the stunning HPCA stadium. Rohit and Gill collected 129 runs from 30 overs in the two hours of play.

Rohit and Gill gave themselves an over each after the start of play before going for their strokes. Off-spinner Bashir opened the bowling alongside Anderson and was put under immense pressure by Rohit, who deposited him for a straight six and a four in his second over to set the tone.

Gill, who played some audacious strokes on the opening day, carried on in the same vein as he took two steps forward against the great Anderson for a straight six, followed by a square cut.

The only real chance that England had in the session went begging when Zak Crawley could not latch on to a sharp catch offered by Rohit at leg-slip.

Wood resorted to the short ball tactic against the well-set duo but that did not work either. Rohit completed his 12th Test hundred and second of the series by flicking Tom Hartley for a single.

Two ball later, Gill followed him into three digits by slog-sweeping Bashir for a four. After completing his second ton of the series, Gill took his helmet off and bowed to the spectators in the stands including his proud father Lakhwinder.

(With PTI Inputs)