India vs England 2016, 1st Test, Day 2: India Off to a Steady Start

India finally managed to send off the whole England team on the second day after hunt of one and a half days. It was another day of joy for England as both Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali scored a hundred each and took the innings to a formidable 537 runs.  India on the other hand scored a steady 63 runs without any loss of wickets till stumps.

Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes continued their innings at the start of the day and they were aggressively targeting the Indian bowlers. Moeen Ali was quick to steal a single and scored his fourth test hundred. India’s misfielding also helped the visitors in scoring this humongous lead.

The ball was turning, pace and bounce were upto the mark but still the Indian bowlers seemed seen struggling against England’s batting order. Despite the conditions being on India’s side, English batsmen had little trouble playing their shots.

Virat Kohli was seen doing everything in his power to turn the tables in the match, be it attempting impossible catches or diving and throwing. Unfortunately, it made a little effect on the outcome.

Umesh Yadav was struggling with his line and both the batsmen took advantage of the situation as 32 runs were included in England’s innings within 27 minutes of the first session.

Mohammed Shami was bowling a tight line and his bowling kept the scoring shots in check. Shami’s perfect bowling became the reason of joy for Indian side as Moeen Ali (117) misjudged Shami’s line and the ball went straight into the wickets. An unmatched innings came to an end and Bairstow came to bat.

There was a lull in the game but it didn’t last for long. Wriddhiman Saha dropped Stokes (at 60) twice in Umesh Yadav’s over(113th) and thereafter, Bairstow and Stokes unleashed themselves on Indian bowlers.

The sixth wicket stand of England’s innings was closing on Hundred runs when Shami managed to get an edge from Bairstow and this time Saha did nothing wrong and gave Indian bowlers their sixth wicket.

Nothing much happened in the favour of England team after that, barring a 50 runs partnership between Zafar Ansari and Ben Stokes (128) and during this partnership Ben Stokes recorded his test hundred and took England to the total of 537 runs, England’s third highest score in India.

Indian opening pair of Gautam Gambhir (28*) and Murali Vijay (25*) came to the crease to start the Indian innings. Both played a calm and composed innings and it was evident from their performance that Virat Kohli wanted the end the day without losing a wicket.

Ravindra Jadeja took 3 wickets at an economy of 2.87 while Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin and Umesh Yadav claimed a couple of wickets each. Amit Mishra took only a single wicket and his economy was the highest at 4.17 runs.

10 Nov 2016
Rohan