IND vs ENG 5th Test: India reach 473/8 on Day 2, lead by 255 runs

Skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill smashed fabulous centuries and gave India control of the IND vs ENG 5th Test Lster the hosts saw a sudden batting collapse and ended Day 2 at 473 for eight wickets on FridayIndia lost five wickets for 97 runs in the final session of Day 2 of IND vs ENG 5th Test soon after Rohit and Shubman departed The duo milked 171 runs in 244 deliveries for the second wicketDebutant Devdutt Padikkal struck wonderful 65 runs in 103 balls and showed a lot of class in his strokes while Sarfaraz Khan on the other hand smashed 56 runs off 60 deliveries and departed on the first ball after tea on Day 2 of IND vs ENG 5th Test The home team which began the day at 135 for one led England by 255 runs at stumpsAlso Read Devdutt Padikkal From overcoming health complications to landing a dream Test debutShoaib Bashir bagged four wickets in 44 overs and conceded 170 runs He bounced back strongly to take three wickets in the final session Leftarm spinner Tom Hartley 2126 in 39 too was impressive towards the end of the day while Mark Wood 089 in 15 was the most expensiveThe pitch remains good for batting and at 376 for three at tea India looked set to bat England out of the game before the combination of good bowling and reckless batting kept the visitors alive in the matchIndia scored at close to 45 runs per over until slowing down significantly in the final session Kuldeep Yadav spun the ball a lot more than fellow Indian spinners on day one but after a tough time in the first two sessions on day two Bashir and Co got a lot out of the surfaceSarfaraz tried to cut a harmless ball off Bashir and ended up giving an easy catch to Joe Root at first slip Padikkal got a gem from the England offspinner that spun away from middle stump to hit the top of the offstump Like Sarfaraz Dhruv Jurel 15 too went for an avoidable shot and perishedAlso Read IND vs ENG 5th Test Sarfaraz scores fifty as India reach 376 for 3 at teaAfter lunch England captain Ben Stokes bowled Rohit Sharma off his first ball in nine months to give the visitors something to cheer aboutBut Sarfaraz and Padikkal then got together and ensured runs kept flowing for the home team Stokes who had been bowling only in the nets thus far finally decided to roll his arm over in a match situation after nothing went Englands way in the morning session He had stopped bowling owing to a knee injury and had undergone surgery last yearBowling the second over of the afternoon session Stokes produced a peach that seamed away a touch from good length to dislodge Rohits offstumpIn the next over James Anderson bowled Gill with a beauty that seamed back in leaving India at 279 for three In his debut game Padikkals offside play stood out as he regaled the crowd with exquisite backfoot punches and cover drives Sarfaraz on the other hand started slowly before changing gears both against pace and spin What attracted the most attention was his attacking play against the express pace of Mark WoodHis game against fast bowlers has been questioned but Sarfaraz was razor sharp on Friday as he dispatched Wood for a lofted backdrive before pulling him for a six over over backward square leg He also played a ramp shot off Wood using the extra pace and bounce that he generatedIn the morning skipper Rohit and Gill struck hundreds as India pressed the advantage in the game by reaching 264 for one at lunch Rohit and Gill walked out in the middle in bright sunshine and milked the conditions to take India well past Englands first innings total of 218England tried everything to contain them whether it was employing the leg slip for Rohit when Bashir was in operation or Wood using the odd short ball against the overnight unbeaten duo with as many as six fielders on the leg sideHowever nothing worked for the visitors despite the Barmy Army making much more noise than Indian fans at the stunning HPCA stadium Rohit and Gill collected 129 runs from 30 overs in the two hours of playRohit and Gill gave themselves an over each after the start of play before going for their strokes Offspinner Bashir opened the bowling alongside Anderson and was put under immense pressure by Rohit who deposited him for a straight six and a four in his second over to set the toneGill who played some audacious strokes on the opening day carried on in the same vein as he took two steps forward against the great Anderson for a straight six followed by a square cutThe only real chance that England had in the session went begging when Zak Crawley could not latch on to a sharp catch offered by Rohit at legslipWood resorted to the short ball tactic against the wellset duo but that did not work either Rohit completed his 12th Test hundred and second of the series by flicking Tom Hartley for a singleTwo ball later Gill followed him into three digits by slogsweeping Bashir for a four After completing his second ton of the series Gill took his helmet off and bowed to the spectators in the stands including his proud father LakhwinderWith PTI Inputs