After the top order fell prey to Sam Curran’s astonishing bowling in the first session, skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane probably planned to anchor the innings together for a long while.
The duo resumed the game from 76/3 in the second session and successfully reached the 100-run mark in the 28th over.
Since Rahane has a superb batting record away from home, he was expected to trouble the hosts along with the skipper a bit more. But England bowlers didn’t lose the momentum what they gathered before grabbing the lunch.
It was Ben Stokes who turned out to be the second wrecker-in-chief who left each and everyone stunned in the Indian dressing room. Right after the Indian vice-captain smashed a four to get 100 runs in the board, Stokes sent back to the dressing room.
A shorter delivery with a wider line was enough to bamboozle Rahane. The ball came towards him, but a wrong shot selection sent him packing at a score of 15 runs. Jennings made no mistake in catching the ball and Stokes got the first wicket against his name.
Stokes gave another shock to India in the 30th over when he had Dinesh Karthik on a 4-ball duck. The ball went right into the stumps after hitting the ground. The Indian wicketkeeper was very late to respond to a late inswing while Stokes completed his 100 Test wickets.
With half of the team back in the dressing room, responsibility and pressure, both were surmounting the Indian captain. A few dropped chances from the English slip cordon not only kept the hopes alive but also gave a chance to the new man in, Hardik Pandya to provide the much-needed support to his captain.
The duo of Kohli and Pandya added 48 runs for the sixth wicket before the danger youngster, Sam Curran bowled a lethal bumper to get rid of Pandya.
With this wicket, Curran had 4 scalps so far and became the youngest bowler to take a 4-fer in Test cricket.
Minutes before the tea break, Ashwin joined Kohli at the crease while the Indian skipper got his 17th Test half-century.
Team India lost 3 more wickets and scored 84 runs before heading for the tea break.
Brief Scores:
1st Test Day 2: ENG 1st innings 287 all-out; India 1st innings 160/6 (V Kohli 53; S Curran 10-38-4) at Tea