Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 14 (ANI): Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s four wickets helped India to dominate against England on day two of the second Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here.
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 are 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.
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 were 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.
Brief Scores: England 106/8 (Ben Foakes 23*, Ollie Pope 22; Ashwin 4-36, Axar Patel 2-30); India 329. (ANI)
