India’s cricket team held steady in the first Test against England. The match is at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. They continued where they left off at 119/1, responding to England’s 246. Day 2 finished on Friday, January 26, with India at 421/7. This put them in the lead by 175. KL Rahul scored 86 while Ravindra Jadeja remained undefeated at 81. They were the game’s stars for India.
India opened the day with an undefeated 76 off 70 from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. He was bowled out for 80 in the opening over of Day 2 by Joe Root. After lofting the off-spinner for four, he chipped a return catch while attempting another aggressive stroke.
Shubman Gill, who was not out on 14 off 43 overnight, undone all of his good work when he holed out to midwicket for 23, handing Tom Hartley his first Test wicket. Rahul, on the other hand, spearheaded the Indian innings, scoring 64 for the fourth wicket alongside Shreyas Iyer (35) and 65 for the fifth wicket with Jadeja.
Rahul looked in fine form, smacking Mark Wood for three fours in the 36th over. He glided into his half-century, scoring with a single off Root, as Shreyas settled down at the other end. On Day 2, India headed to lunch with a commanding 222/3 lead.
Shreyas, like Gill, struggled to exploit his start and fell to Rehan Ahmed early in the second session, slog-sweeping the leg-spinner to deep midwicket. Rahul and Jadeja then formed another strong partnership, preventing England from regaining the lead. The former shown aggression by hitting Ahmed for two sixes in an over, bringing the team’s total to 250 runs.
Jadeja guides India to a dominant position after Rahul’s unlucky dismissal
The well-set Rahul looked good for a hundred but went 14 short. He was Hartley’s second Test victim, taking a half-tracker from the left-arm spinner to deep midwicket. The seasoned Indian batsman’s excellent performance included eight fours and two sixes.
England received little reprieve, however, as Jadeja continued to annoy the visitors. He scored another gutsy half-century and combined 68 runs for the sixth wicket with Srikar Bharat, who contributed a potentially career-defining 41. Coming into the Test with many doubts about his batting skills, he put up a gallant fight until a surge of blood saw him caught lbw by Root.
On a difficult day on the field, England were awarded a wicket when Ravichandran Ashwin (1) was run out after a calamitous mix-up with his spin bowling partner Jadeja. The latter was then joined by Axar Patel (35), and the pair led India to stumps without additional harm, contributing 63 for the eighth wicket.
On Day 2, Axar Patel confirmed the hosts’ supremacy by smacking Hartley’s final three balls for 4,6,4.