England Fight Back On Day 2; Ravindra Jadeja Steady in Morning Session
India lost two wickets within the first seven deliveries of Day 2 when KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane were dismissed.
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India lost four wickets in the first couple of hours of Day 2 against England in the second Test at Lord’s, allowing the hosts to fight back into the contest.
At Lunch on Day 2, India were 346/7 with Ravindra Jadeja on 31 and Ishant Sharma on 0, both unbeaten.
Robinson’s half volley landed in the hands of Dom Sibley as KL Rahul (129) drove to perfection, almost and a few deliveries later Ajinkya Rahane’s (1) outside edge gave Joe Root an easy catch, giving Anderson his third wicket of the innings.
India’s famed number 3, 4 and 5 had totalled 52 runs in the first innings, putting in a below par performance yet again.
At 282/5, India, with Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja in the middle were going to need to stabilise.
Pant danced down the track to Anderson and shouldered arms while Jadeja stayed put in his crease and let the ball go as both batters curbed their natural instincts, thwarting England’s charges on an overcast morning.
A fighting 37 off 58 from Pant meant India hadn’t collapsed as was the worry after the early wickets, but crucially lost the talented batter half an hour before Lunch. Pant, looking to accelerate the scoring rate a shade, tried to cut one that was too close to the body and edged it to Jos Buttler off Mark Wood.
Pant found the boundary five times and was starting to look dangerous when he was dismissed. Jadeja at the other end was playing second fiddle and more than a fair few dots.
Off the next over, Mohammed Shami, who walked in at 8, was dismissed first ball by Moeen Ali, reducing India to 336/7 with 20 minutes to go for Lunch.
Ishant Sharma and Jadeja then played out the remainder of the session as the Indian lower order look to frustrate England further.
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