India 148 for 2 at tea against England on Day 2

You can watch the video highlights of India vs England 3rd Test day 2 here. However, India still trail England by 12 runs.

Third Test cricket match – Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, India – 27/11/16. With Ashwin finishing 57 not out and Jadeja carrying 37, the pair made 38 runs in five overs on their way to an unbeaten partnership of 67.

They did not cover themselves in glory on a flat day one wicket, so there will be a bit of that “we need to redeem ourselves” feeling going around. “We stuck to our plan and got our rewards”.

With Ashwin batting solidly at the other end, the batsmen that follow, get the boost to not throw away their wickets. “I won’t say they had an advantage as I mentioned earlier that lines that they bowled were slightly negative”, Pujara said.

Adil Rashid, England’s leading spinner with three wickets, echoed the visitors’ satisfaction at having had a reasonably good day at the office. But Pujara fancied two more runs for his troubles and tried to clear mid-wicket boundary, which at Mohali happens to be one of the biggest in India.

In the afternoon Patel fell victim to a modern lbw; he was well down the pitch to Rashid but England reviewed and the requisite three reds appeared on the screen. India went into tea at a strong position at 148 for two. Then in the final 50 minutes there was a more chastening reminder; that no Indian innings is over while Ravi Ashwin, who is so ponderous between the wickets yet so delicious in his timing, is still there. This was also the first time he had faced more than 100 deliveries in a Test innings in a display of self-restraint not always witnessed with his batting.

Vijay survived an obstructing-the-field appeal, was dropped by Jos Buttler and the batsman eventually walked off, nicking a harmless Ben Stokes delivery even though umpire Chris Gaffaney did not spot the nick. The Indian skipper also reached his half-century. Ashwin cajoled the ball to boundaries in various parts of the ground to ease to a third successive fifty, while Jadeja played with gusto and a singular lack of nerves that must have pleased the changing-room. Thanks to their partnership, India were able to almost draw abreast of England’s score.

“We have a real game on our hands”, he said. Any frontline spinner who has a batting average of 35 would be an asset to a team as an all-rounder.

“Our lower order has been contributing in all test matches and we expect them to contribute tomorrow as well”, Pujara added. But, not for the first time in this series, Kohli and the ever-dependable Cheteshwar Pujara combined to steady the ship, adding 75 for the third wicket. We were not struggling (with the scoring rate).

Both Patel and Murali Vijay looked to take the attack to both Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid when both were introduced early on and largely succeeded.

WICKET! Bowling change has worked for England straightway as Ben Stokes dismisses R Ashwin.

James Anderson (0-36) had made a freaky appeal for obstruction of throw against the batsman, who stood his ground, but the umpires turned it down. That partnership put India on 271 for six, 12 runs short of England’s first innings score. He then wrapped it up by getting an in-cutter to trap Gareth Batty (1) leg before.