India 56 behind - Day 2
India 56 behind , with all second innings wickets intact. Rohit was dropped on 6, but otherwise openers survived the day well with 43 for no loss on a wicket looking very batsman friendly.
Pope 81, Bairstow 37 , Moeen Ali 35 and Woakes 50 took England to 290 - Lead by 99.
Earlier on 2nd morning India struck twice through Umesh Yadav in 1st hour removing both overnight batsmen , night watchman and dangerous inform David Malan. 62/5. 25 runs off 13 overs in 1st hour.
Second hour it was all Pope and Bairstow over some ill directed Indian Pacers. Full of aggressive strokes, dealt in boundaries. Got England to 139/5, at lunch. Unbeaten partnership of 77 runs. Trail by 52 runs.
Post lunch Siraj got Bairstow 37 after partnership of 81 -151/6. Pope continued to play well, with Moeen 35, added another valuable 71.
At Tea England 36 ahead - 222/7.
Post Tea India got bit lucky as Pope dragged harmless wide delivery from Shardul on stumps to end his well made 81,putting England ahead.250/8. Jadeja bowled Robinson. 255/9.
Woakes struck few boundaries ,with his invaluable 50 took England lead to sizable 99 .
Ultimately England were 290 all down. Bumrah was wicketless on day 2,Umesh, Jadeja 2 and Siraj, Shardul 1 each.
So its all again up to Indian batting stars to utilise this extremely batting friendly pitch , irrespective of weather condition to apply themselves dedicatedly and put a big score. Proper shot selection , patience and determination is the key. India must try and play the whole third day and at least one session of fourth day to put some pressure back on England. Rohit, Rahul, Pujara, Virat, Rahane, Pant, Jadeja and Shardul - all these 8 have the capacity to stand , apply and deliver. So who it will be for India on day 3. Let`s hope for a far better batting display, on this decisive day.
- Vivek Ketkar
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