After the Indian Bowling attack dominated on the first day of the Test Match, it was expected that India’s batting order would post a big score on Day two and take the game away from the hosts.
In the First session of Day 2, Indian openers built on their partnership overnight and were slowly making progress. As they negated the initial spell of English bowlers, both KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma started scoring some runs. The opening pair put away bad deliveries and treated good deliveries with respect.
Therefore it looked like the Indian openers were all set to make big scores and help India gain a significant lead by the end of the day. KL Rahul was batting on 47 off 123 and Rohit was batting on 36 of 123. Both the batsmen had done all the hard work and we Quick fall of wickets after Lunch hangs the match in the balance.
However, Rohit lost his concentration just before lunch as he pulled a short ball from Robinson straight into the hands of Sam Curran at fine leg. Hence Rohit departed after throwing away yet another start. Consequently, lunch break was declared and India left the pitch at 97 for the loss of one wicket.
Also Read: IND vs ENG: India Dominate England on all fronts on Day One of the First Test
Quick fall of wickets after Lunch hangs the match in balance
India was still in control after losing the wicket of Rohit Sharma as they trailed by 86 at lunch. Therefore the English heads were in despair during day two of the first test. Although the experienced James Anderson revitalized the English hopes as he took the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in quick succession.
The Indian captain fell for a peach of delivery as he edged one to the keeper. Hence Virat was dismissed for a duck by Anderson. Therefore everything fell into the hands of Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul. Though Rahane took a bad decision and ran himself out. As a result, India was reeling at 112-4. Rahul scored fifty and was eyeing an century.
However, England had a golden opportunity to get the wicket of KL Rahul but Sibley dropped his catch off the bowling of Anderson. Thereafter umpires stopped play due to rain. Moreover, the rain did not stop and the play for the day was called off and India ended day 2 at 125-4.
As a result, Day 2 has shifted the momentum slightly towards England. However, the Test match hangs in balance as both teams stand a chance to win this cricket match. Therefore Kl Rahul and Rishabh Pant will have to work hard and help India get a sufficient lead. Whereas England will look for early wickets and try to apply pressure on India’s lower middle order.
