India extend lead over England to 175 runs, look solid in first Test

INDIA consolidated their dominance over England on the second day of the first Test at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday (26) by extending the lead to 175 runs with three wickets in hand.

While two India batters -- Yasashvi Jaiswal (80) and KL Rahul (86) missed out on what looked certain centuries -- Ravindra Jadeja's 81 not out kept the hosts in the hunt for a century in the game still. India were 421 for 7 at stumps on the second day with Jadeja's fellow spinner Axar Patel remaining as the other unbeaten batter on 32. The duo added 43 crucial runs for the eighth wicket to give India a robust lead over the visitors.

Wicket-keeper-batter Srikar Bharat (41) and Shreyas Iyer (35) also got starts but failed to convert them into big ones. England failed to deter the hosts despite playing three spinners in the game and the resilience of the lower order added to the Three Lions' agony.

Read: Debutant Hartley picks 7 as England defeat India by 28 runs in 1st Test

Jaiswal, who completed a brisk half century on the first day, failed to add much to his overnight score and was dismissed for 80 by Joe Root, England's fourth spinning option who has proved to be the best bowler for the visitors till now. Rahul, who completed 1,000 Test runs at home, also missed a century and his reaction showed his frustration over the failure to reach the three-figure mark.

Read: India vs England 1st Test: When fans chanted ‘Kohli’, who is not playing the game

India started their day from their overnight score of 119 for 2 in response to England's 246 on Day 1. The England batters did not have much answer to the Indian spinning trio of Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Patel with only captain Ben Stokes managing to score a fifty (70).

Brief scores: England 246 (Ben Stokes 70, Ben Duckett 35; Ravichandran Ashwin 3-68) vs India 421/7 (Ravindra Jadeja 81*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 80, KL Rahul 86; Joe Root 2-77).