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After KL Rahul put India in the driver's seat with his belligerent 86, England bowlers led the fightback for the visitors on the second day of the ongoing first Test here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday.
At the time of Tea, India's score read 309/5 -lead by 63 runs- with Ravindra Jadeja (45) and Srikar Bharat (9) standing unbeaten at the crease. Early in the second session, England gave India a big blow as Rehan Ahmed removed Shreyas Iyer for 35 runs, breaking a 64-run partnership with KL Rahul. All-rounder Jadeja then came out to bat. The duo kept on mixing caution with aggression and resilience against the English attack, stitching a solid partnership as India found themselves at 275/4. Runs continued to come easily for India as Rehan Ahmed bowled a short ball and Jadeja was quick to transfer his weight on the back foot, pulling it wide of mid-wicket for a four. Jadeja and Rahul stitched a rapid fifty-run partnership. With the onslaught against England, Rahul completed 1000 runs in Test matches at home however he missed out on a century as Tom Hartley dismissed him for 86. Srikar Bharat then came out to bat. In the end, Jadeja and Bharat ensured that India did not lose any more wickets before the Tea break. Earlier in the first session of the day, India resumed their innings at 119/1 on Day 2. Joe Root provided England with an early breakthrough as he dismissed well-set batter Yashasvi Jaiswal for 80 runs. The hitter attempted to knock the bowler back over his head, but he was caught and bowled, which Root caught easily. Rahul walked out to bat with a lot of work to be done. Rahul and Shubman Gill did not relent in their approach and England was put on the back foot straight away. At the end of 30 overs, India racked up 145 runs on the scoreboard at the loss of 2 wickets. The debutant Tom Hartley provided his team with a big wicket as he removed Shubman Gill for 23 runs, breaking a 36-run partnership between No. 3 batter and Rahul. Shreyas Iyer then came out to bat. At the end of 45 overs, India put 202 runs on the scoreboard, losing 3 wickets. Rahul brought up his well-made half-century in 72 balls. The duo of Rahul and Iyer settled in for India as they ensured that India did not lose any wickets before the lunch break. Brief score: England 246 (Ben Stokes 70, Ben Duckett 35; Ravichandran Ashwin 3-68) vs India 309/5 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 80, KL Rahul 86; Tom Hartley 2-113). (ANI)
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