Ranchi: Team India have their backs to the wall in the fourth Test match against England. Replying to England’s first-innings total of 353, the home team ended the second day on a vulnerable 219/7.
Run-machine Yashasvi Jaiswal stood out once again to top score with 73, but no other batsman crossed 40 on a tricky pitch where strokemaking is not easy.
Had it not been for a fighting 42-run collaboration for the unbeaten eighth wicket between Dhruv Jurel (30 batting) and Kuldeep Yadav (17 batting), India may have been bowled out on Saturday itself.
England’s inexperienced spinners – offie Shoaib Bashir (4/84) and left-armer Tom Hartley (2/47) – exposed Indian batters’ technique on a track with big cracks from where the ball has been keeping low and turning at times.
After Rohit Sharma (2) was caught-behind off Jimmy Anderson in the third over of the innings, Shubman Gill (38) steadied the ship along with Yashasvi in a fruitful partnership of 82.
But Gill’s promising knock was cut short by Bashir, who trapped him LBW. The tall off-spinner choked India’s middle-order batters, who were in a defensive mindset before ultimately falling to the spinners.
Rajat Patidar (17 off 42 balls) was adjudged LBW off Bashir, Ravindra Jadeja (12 with 2 sixes) was caught at short-leg off Bashir, while Sarfaraz Khan (14 off 53) was well caught at slip by Joe Root off Hartley.
Yashasvi under-edged a low Bashir delivery on to his stumps, but not before he had set a couple of more milestones. He extended his record of most sixes hit by a batter in a single series with 23rd overboundary on Saturday, and also joined an elite club of Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli to aggregate 600-plus runs in a series against England.
England resumed Day 2 on 302/7 and the overnight pair of Root and Ollie Robinson took its partnership beyond 100. Robinson (58) notched up his maiden Test half-century.
England, however, lost their last three wickets for 6 runs as Jadeja (4/67) ran through the tail.
Root, who bounced back to form after three disappointing Test matches, remained unbeaten on 122 as he fashioned a brilliant England recovery – from 112/5 to 353.
Brief Scores
England 353 in 104.5 overs (Joe Root 122*, Ollie Robinson 58; Ravindra Jadeja 4/67, Akash Deep 3/83, Md Siraj 2/78).
India 219/7 in 73 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 73, Shubman Gill 38, Dhruv Jurel 30 batting, Kuldeep Yadav 17 batting; Shoaib Bashir 4/84, Tom Hartley 2/47).
Match to continue on Day 3, India trail by 134 runs.
