DAY 2 – TEA
Stokes picked up five while Pant hit a fifty © Getty
A fighting half-century from a limping Rishabh Pant, and gritty knocks from Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar helped India past the 350 mark before their innings folded in the second session on Day 2 of the Manchester Test. The star for England was their skipper Ben Stokes, who bagged his fifth fifer as India were bowled out for 358, adding 37 off 9.1 overs for the loss of 4 wickets in the second session. England’s openers were off the blocks quickly in reply, capitalising on India’s lack of discipline as they moved to 77/0 at Tea, scoring at over five an over.
Jasprit Bumrah kept Zak Crawley on the toes with a mix of away-going and incoming deliveries. But debutant Anshul Kamboj had an expensive start sharing the new ball, conceding three fours as he tried to target Ben Duckett’s pads. The left-hander also put away Bumrah deliveries on the pads for boundaries while Crawley glanced a Mohammed Siraj for his first four and then played on the up through cover for another boundary as England got off to a positive start, cashing in on the loose deliveries to get past 50 in the 11th over.
Crawley, who was outscored by Duckett, hit his straps with two successive fours off Siraj and also survived a review from India after shouldering arms, with replays revealing that the ball was going over the stumps. Kamboj returned and was flicked for a four by Duckett while Crawley played a fine drive past mid-on for a four off Siraj. Duckett was on 43 and Crawley on 33 as both headed back at Tea unbeaten, having brought down the deficit to 281.
Earlier, armed with the second new ball at the start of the day, Jofra Archer dismissed Ravindra Jadeja but India managed to stretch their total past 300 thanks to a 48-run stand between Thakur and Washington. Thakur put away the loose deliveries while both batters were watchful for the large part of their partnership as they kept England at bay despite the bowlers finding a lot of help. But the stand ended when Thakur edged Stokes to gully to depart for 41. Sundar, who had taken his time to settle in, getting off the mark after 19 balls, brought up the 300 for India with an edged boundary.
The highlight of the session, though, was the return of Pant, who had retired hurt on 37 on Day 1 due to a foot fracture. Welcomed by a standing ovation, Pant struggled to run but stuck around with Sundar, as India reached 321/6 at Lunch. The session, curtailed by rain, saw 23 overs bowled for 57 runs, with England’s pacers continuing to find movement as they kept the batters under pressure.
Archer and Stokes aimed at Pant’s pads at the start of the second session, with a few leg-byes coming India’s way. Sundar, meanwhile, edged a Stokes delivery past slips for a four. But his stay was cut short by Stokes, who bagged his fourth wicket by having Sundar (27) caught at fine leg attempting a pull. Kamboj fell for a duck, caught behind off Stokes as the England captain bagged his first five-wicket haul since September 2017.
Meanwhile, Pant continued the fight, striking a six off Archer and a four off Stokes as he brought up a 69-ball fifty. However, he fell soon after, bowled by a beauty from Archer. Bumrah inside-edged an Archer delivery for a four, taking India past 350. Siraj hammered a boundary over Stokes’ head before India’s innings ended as Bumrah was caught-behind attempting a pull, with Joe Root convincing his captain to go for a review.
Brief scores: India 358 (Sai Sudharsan 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, Rishabh Pant 54; Ben Stokes 5-72, Jofra Archer 3-73) lead England 77/0 (Ben Duckett 43*, Zak Crawley 33*) by 281 runs.
© Cricbuzz
