Ravichandran Ashwin’s five-wicket haul was the highlight of the second day of the second Test as it helped India end England’s first innings on 134 runs before the hosts began to extend their lead over the visitors at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.
At stumps on Day 2, India’s score read 54/1 in the second innings and enjoy a 249-run lead.
Indian bowlers continued bowling on tight lengths and did not give any room to English batters to excel in the second session as they lost four scalps including three crucial wickets of Ben Stokes (18), Ollie Pope (22), and Moeen Ali (6) to send England’s middle-order back in the hut. At the tea break, England’s score read as 106/8 in 49.2 overs with Ben Foakes unbeaten on 23 runs. In the second session, visitors added 67 runs. England was still trailing India by 223 runs.
Stokes and Pope resumed the second session from 39/4 and had a brief 13-run stand for the fifth wicket. Ashwin ended Stokes’ 18-run stint and sent him back to the pavilion.
Foakes joined Pope in the middle and tried to build a strong partnership for the sixth wicket. The duo played cautiously and added a 35-run partnership before pacer Mohammed Siraj joined the party and dismissed Pope (22).
Foakes along with Ali guided the side to the 100-run mark and kept the team’s hope alive in the game. Axar Patel broke the stand and scalped Ali after scoring six runs. In the final over before tea, Ashwin got hold of Stone (1) and bagged his fourth wickets in the game.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday got a “fleeting view” of the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where the second Test between India and England is being played, during his visit to Chennai for inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony of several key projects in the city.
PM Modi took to Twitter and shared a mesmerizing aerial picture of the Chepauk stadium and captioned the post, “Caught a fleeting view of an interesting test match in Chennai.”
In the first session, after bundling out India for 329, England got off to the worst start possible as Rory Burns (0) was adjudged leg-before wicket of the delivery bowled by Ishant Sharma in the very first over of the innings. Soon after, Ravichandran Ashwin removed Sibley (16) and England was reduced to 16/2 in the eighth over.
Skipper Root (6) failed to leave a mark as he top-edged the ball delivered by Axar Patel and as a result, the left-arm spinner got his first wicket in Tests. On the last ball before the lunch break, Ashwin removed Lawrence (9) and England went into the break at 39/4.
Earlier, Rishabh Pant’s (58*) unbeaten half-century guided the side to 329 in their first innings. India lost quick wickets in the first session of the second day and was only able to add 29 runs to their overnight total.
On the first day, Rohit Sharma played a knock of 161 while Ajinkya Rahane provided him support with a knock of 67 to help the hosts gain an upper hand in the match.
