Dharamsala: Team India took a big stride towards winning the fifth and final Test against England by piling up a massive first-innings lead.
Starting the second day on 135/1, the home team reached 473/8 at stumps on Friday. With three days left, India lead by 255 runs and in pole position to win the series 4-1.
Shubman Gill (110 off 150 balls, 12×4, 5×6) and skipper Rohit Sharma (103 off 162 balls, 13×4, 3×6) led the charge with classy centuries. The elegant right-handers displayed their wide range of strokes against England’s pacers and inexperienced spinners to bat through the first session, adding 129 runs.
Both reached their hundreds – Rohit’s 12th in 59 Tests and Shubman’s 4th in 24 Tests — minutes before lunch – and looked good for many, many more.
However, both batters were castled soon after play resumed post lunch. Rohit had no clue to a delivery from Ben Stokes – the England captain’s first ball of the series – which seamed away and dislodged the off bail, beating the batter’s defensive push. It ended a 171-run second-wicket partnership.
In the next over, Jimmy Anderson went through Gill’s defence to bring England back into the game.
Debutant Devdutt Paddikal found a way to fight off the early nerves with a string of boundaries. Sarfaraz Khan also took his time to settle down before playing a series of attacking shots against the spinners.
Paddikal’s 65 was studded with 10 fours and a six, while Sarfaraz (56 off 60 balls, 8×4, 1×6) struck his third half-century in just his third Test.
Once the 97-run fourth-wicket partnership was separated, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir and left-armer Tom Hartley caused some damage in the lower order. But bowling heroes Kuldeep Yadav (27 batting) and Jasprit (19 batting) refused to cave in and added 45 for the unbroken ninth wicket.
Brief Scores
England 218
India 473/8 in 120 overs (Shubman Gill 110, Rohit Sharma 103, Devdutt Paddikal 65, Sarfaraz Khan 56; Shoaib Bashir 4/170).
Match to continue on Day 3, India lead by 255 runs.
