England vs India 4th Test Day 2, Highlights: Play Called Off After England Extend Lead To 85 Runs
After Varun Aaron (3/48) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/47) pegged England back with a few wickets, Joe Root (48 not out) and Jos Buttler (22 not out) fought their way to give England a lead of 85 runs before rain came down and abandoned play on Day 2. Catch all highlights here.
After an exciting session and a half that saw Bell slam his 42nd Test fifty and then England lose wickets to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Varun Aaron, rain abandoned play with England on 237/6, leading India by 85 runs. Catch highlights of the game here: ( SCORECARD | Day 1 Highlights)
22.15 (IST): And the play has been called off! There will be no further play as the rain proved to be too much for the ground staff to clear off so soon. England finish on 237/6 with Joe Root (48 not out) and Jos Buttler (22 not out) in the middle. They lead India by 85 runs.
21.58 (IST): The umpires have done multiple inspections of the pitch and are yet to arrive at a conclusion. Another inspection in 10 minutes from now.
© AP
19.55 (IST): Reports say the rain has stopped but huge puddles on the field could delay the game further.
© AP
19.09 (IST): Reports suggest the rain is still heavy at the moment and there is a bit of water-logging in the outfield. We could be in for a long break before play resumes, if at all.
18.48 (IST): RAIN! The players are going off the field as the rain comes down. Joe Root (48) and Jos Buttler (22) extend England's (237/6) lead vs India (152) to 85 runs.
18.35 (IST): Root and Buttler have showed a great deal of positive intent in the 2nd session so far. They've collected 30 runs in five overs (of Ravindra Jadeja and Pankaj Singh). (England 232/6)
18.17 (IST): Pankaj Singh has now gone close to 400 deliveries without a wicket.
© AP
ÂÂ
18.10 (IST): The second session is now underway. Can India pick up a few more wickets quickly?
© AP
ÂÂ
17.37 (IST): The morning session of Day 2 has belonged to India, thanks to the pace duo of Varun Aaron and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Despite Ian Bell's 42nd Test fifty, India managed to keep England under check with three wickets in the session. Both Aaron and Bhuvneshwar have used the overcast conditions and the wicket to perfection.
17.32 (IST): India take honours in the first session of Day 2 at Manchester. England reach 201/6 at lunch with a slender lead of 49 runs. Root (23) is in the middle with Jos Buttler.
17.07 (IST): Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back into the attack. Jos Buttler is the new batsman.
17.02 (IST): What an excellent way of setting up a batsman! Aaron troubled Moeen with a handful of fast, short deliveries from either sides of the wicket and then followed it up with a full-pitched ball, viciously swinging into the left hander. Moeen was in two minds and caught on the crease and hence, failed to deal with the ball that claimed his wicket.
16.57 (IST): Bowled him! Moeen Ali's nervy stay at the crease has been brought to an end by a snorter from Varun Aaron. A full and fast delivery swung in sharply to breach Moeen's defence and crash onto the stumps. (England 171/6)
16.50 (IST): Nasty delivery! Aaron bowls one short and Root took his eyes off the ball away in the last minute to take evasive action. The ball flew off the helmet to the third man fence.
16.49 (IST): Aaron is now bowling from round the wicket to Root with close-in catchers in place. Will be interesting to see how Root negotiates this phase. (England 162/5)
16.45 (IST): First over of spin as Ravichandran Ashwin comes into the attack.
16.39 (IST): England take lead! Moeen Ali gets a boundary to take the hosts past the Indian total of 152.
16.25 (IST): Moeen Ali, the new man in, has also struggled against extra bounce in this series. Bhuvneshwar is bowling to him with a forward short leg in place. Can India bag another wicket or two to put further pressure on the hosts?
16.20 (IST): Interesting field placement for Joe Root. Varun Aaron is bowling with a forward short leg and a leg slip in place. The small-framed England batsman should be wary of bouncers.
© AP
16.17 (IST): Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been on target today. The overcast conditions is helping him to get the ball to move both ways. England are five down and still trail by 12 runs. Game on, like Wasim and Ganguly said earlier.
16.15 (IST): Ian Bell is gone! What a big wicket this is! It is Bhuvneshwar Kumar again! Bell departs for 58 after edging a length ball to MS Dhoni behind the stumps. (England 140/5)
16.05 (IST): Joe Root walks out to join Bell in the middle.
16.04 (IST): WICKET! Bhuvneshwar Kumar strikes to get rid of Chris Jordan. Jordan tried to pull a short delivery but hit it straight to Varun Aaron at mid-wicket. England 136/4
15.48 (IST): Far away in Galle, Kumar Sangakkara has smashed his 37th Test ton in his best friend Mahela Jayawardene's penultimate Test.
© AP
ÂÂ
15.38 (IST): Ian Bell gets his fifty! His 42nd in Tests. Here's how he has scored his runs in this innings. England 123/3.
ÂÂ
15.35 (IST): India's latest ODI recruit Sanju Samson has been showered with praises by his coach. He says Samson has the aggression of AB de Villiers and the calm of Rahul Dravid. Read more
15.32 (IST): It's an overcast morning and the wicket is bone dry with little green grass. Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly reckons if India can restrict England to 250, the match will be closely-contested. Wasim Akram says getting Ian Bell's wicket will be key.
15.30 (IST): India and England begin Day 2 proceedings in overcast conditions at Old Trafford. Can the Indian bowlers make early in-roads? Ian Bell's scalp will be the one Dhoni and his men will be looking for at the earliest.
© AP
With virtually nothing to defend, onus will be on India's bowlers to restrict England to a modest total and then aspire for a better batting display in the second innings. Hope remains Mahendra Singh Dhoni's biggest ally at this stage of the crucial Test match.
It has turned out to be good toss to lose for Alastair Cook. For India, morning didn't show the day. India's atrocious batting stumped the game's pundits. Dhoni certainly didn't expect his young team to equal a word record of zeroes. Losing four wickets for eight runs was certainly no advertisement for a line-up with some awesome talent. The skipper's 71 exposed the lack of technique and temperament in top-order batsmen. India folded for a paltry 152.
England (113 for three) won't make such school-boyish mistakes for sure. Even nightwatchman Chris Jordan knew where his off-stump was. England lost openers Sam Robson, for six, and Alastair Cook (17) but Gary Ballance and Ian Bell added 77 for the third wicket before Ballance was trapped lbw for 37 by Varun Aaron just before the close. Bell will resume on 45 not out with Chris Jordan on nought.
© AP
After warming the bench for three Tests, Ravichandran Ashwin finally made the Playing XI at Old Trafford. He did his bit with the bat on Thursday, but it will be his spin that Dhoni is counting on. Ashwin bowled seven tight overs out of the 35 India bowled on Thursday. England will surely play the off-spinner with respect.
One of Ashwin's biggest strength is his positive mind. He, quite rightly, reckons India are not over and out of the Test match and a good session can turn things around. "We are still very much in the game. We need to knock a few wickets in the morning and hopefully we will get some good conditions to support us as well," said Ashwin.
Varun Aaron has justified the faith in him. His two for 26 should inspire him to fire on all cylinders Friday morning. Bhuvneshwar Kumar's swing, Aaron's pacy cutters and Ashwin's spin should be a heady mix, but Bell is a tough customer. With all the time in the world at his disposal, Bell will be in no hurry to score. So it should once again be a great contest between bat and ball. Will Aaron bend his back and do a Stuart Broad?