Hosts score 146/1 at stumps on Day 2; trail England by 254 runs
MUMBAI: India made a strong reply with the bat after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up yet another five-wicket haul as the hosts reached 146 for 1 on the second day of the fourth cricket Test against England here on Friday. After Ashwin took two more wickets on Friday to return with innings figures of 6/112, Murali Vijay (70 batting) and Cheteshwar Pujara (47 batting) led a solid Indian reply to England’s first innings 400 all out with a 107-run stand for the unbroken second wicket to help the hosts take the Day 2 honours. India, 2-0 up in the fivematch Test series, now trail England by 254 runs with nine first innings wickets in hand on a Wankhede Stadium track offering copious turn and bounce to the spinners. Opener Vijay rediscovered his form with an elegant knock of 70 not out while in-form number three Pujara continued to torment the visitors with his impeccable judgement with his bat in making 47 not out as India closed the day with their nose ahead on 146 for 1 in 52 overs. The duo’s unfinished second wicket partnership of 107 runs came from 228 balls and it was their seventh 100-plus stand in Tests and second of the series after the double century stand in the drawn series opener at Rajkot. Earlier, Indian spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja claimed all the 10 wickets between them to bowl England out for 400 in the visitors’ first innings, 22 minutes into the second session. Ashwin bagged 6 for 112 with his off-spin, his 23rd five-wicket haul in his 43rd match, while left-arm spinner Jadeja claimed 4 for 109 as the tourists were all out in the post-lunch session. Ashwin has now equalled legendary Kapil Dev’s tally of 23 five-wicket hauls in Test cricket to be behind just Anil Kumble (35) and Harbhajan Singh (25). Opener K L Rahul (24) was out before Vijay and Pujara, who had put on a stand of 211 in the series opener at Rajkot, came together to consolidate the innings by negotiating the spin of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid with aplomb. India grabbed three wickets in the first session after England commenced at the overnight 288 for five and then claimed the last two wickets within six overs after lunch. Jos Buttler was the last man to be dismissed for 76, the second-highest scorer after the 112 made by debutant opener Keaton Jennings on Thursday. He was bowled by Jadeja after he faced 137 balls and hit six fours and one six. Jadeja had grabbed two out of three wickets in the first session — sending back Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid — after Ashwin had given the first break for the home side with the dismissal of overnight not out Ben Stokes for 31. Ashwin, who had four scalps in his kitty on Thursday, added another wicket by dismissing the tall number 10 batsman Jake Ball (31 off 60 balls) who added 54 runs with Buttler for the ninth wicket, a very useful stand. Indian openers Rahul and Vijay started confidently against the pace attack of the visitors who tried to use the short ball to unsettle both without success. Vijay, who had got out on a few occasions in the series to the short ball aimed at his ribs, negotiated similar threats with more conviction. Vijay, who scored 126 in the first innings of the series opener at Rajkot before going off the boil, started with a superb drive past Woakes while Rahul also played pleasing drives — a back-foot punch square of the wicket off leggie Rashid — catching the eye. Pujara continued to torment England with his form that has secured him two hundreds and a half century coming into this match. He has so far struck six fours in his 102-ball unbeaten innings. (PTI)