India brought a 4-1 series win into view with a dominant second day against England in Dharamsala
India's Shubman Gill and captain Rohit Sharma, both on their way to centuries, run between the wickets on the second day of the fifth Test.India's Shubman Gill and captain Rohit Sharma, both on their way to centuries, run between the wickets on the second day of the fifth Test.It was a beautiful, sunny second day in Dharamsala.
It broke the “pinky promise” given to the team physio over not bowling on this tour after last November’s knee surgery, Stokes motoring in after lunch and sending down a beauty to Sharma that angled in, decked away, and pinged off-stump. Cue the Graham Gooch line to Ian Botham – “Who writes your scripts?” – amid the mix of shock and delight.
Supporting the theory was the debutant Paddikal, an utterly-butterly left-hander whom Moeen Ali might consider suing for copyright infringement if the pair were not old pals from the Indian Premier League. A little taller, granted, but another dreamweaver all right, lacing 10 fours and becoming the fifth man past 50 when lofting Shoaib Bashir for a straight six.
So ended a day of frustration for the tourists and a golden one for India, Tom Hartley’s cheap removals of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin having been followed an unbroken, impish stand of 45 between Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah; the kind Mark Wood, none for 89 from 15 overs, might have snuffed out on one of his better days.