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India were handed a huge blow as opener Shubman Gill went back for a duck after the hosts had opted to bat first in the second Test against England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Olly Stone, who had replaced an injured Jofra Archer in the XI, provided England with an early breakthrough as visitors sensed a window to reduce the Indian batters to a lowly total. However, Rohit Sharma along with Cheteshwar Pujara started India's recovery. The duo added 85 runs for the second wicket with the Hitman clearly being the dominant partner, contributing 64 runs in the stand and reaching a well-made half-century in the process.
Rohit Sharma looked in fine nick
However, just when it seemed like India had weathered the storm, the hosts lost the wickets of Pujara and Virat Kohli in quick succession. This time it was the spinners who did the trick for England as Jack Leach produced an edge from the bat of Pujara which was caught by Ben Stokes at slip. Soon after, Moeen Ali turned one sharply to beat the defence of King Kohli who looked equally stunned as the Indian fans as the ball crashed into his stumps.
Kohli was clean-bowled by Ali
Ajinkya Rahane then joined his Mumbai teammate Rohit in the middle to ensure no further damage was done till the stumps. The early passage of play has hinted plenty of assistance for spinners suggesting this might be the best time to bat on the track as the wicket will only deteriorate further in the match.The two teams have made seven changes between them to their XI. While Shahbaz Nadeem, Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar made way for Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav in the Indian side, Ben Foakes, James Anderson, Jofra Archer and Moeen Ali get a game for England.
The visitors are 1-0 up in the four-match series after having comprehensively beaten India in the opening fixture on the back of an excellent double hundred by captain Joe Root at the same venue.