Day 2: England grab quick wickets, restrict India

India’s hopes of a mammoth first innings total were shattered in the first session of play.

India resumed on 276/3 and lost four wickets for 70 runs in the first session of play.

Ollie Robinson made the key breakthrough when he had KL Rahul mistiming a drive to short cover for 129 after the opener had added just two runs to his overnight score.

It was the end of a more than six-and-a-half hour innings of 250 balls that included 12 fours and a six.

Ajinkya Rahane’s poor run continued as he scored just one off 23 balls.

Rishabh Pant (37) and Ravindra Jadeja (40) added 49 runs between themselves take India past the 300 run mark.

However, the unfortunate dismissals of Pant and Jadeja meant that England restricted India for 364.

India lost their last seven wickets for 88 runs.

Anderson shines again

Anderson took his 31st five-wicket haul in 164 Tests and seventh at Lord’s.

He already holds the record for taking the most wickets after turning 35.

After dismissing Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara on day 1, he accounted for Rahane, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah on day 2.

Anderson finished with 5-62.

It was particularly commendable given that Anderson had come into this game nursing a thigh problem.

Mark Wood dismissed Jadeja which was the last wicket to fall for India.

England start slowly

England made a sedate start with Rory Burns and Dom Sibley and went into tea at 23/0.

In the final session, the side lost two wickets in one over from Mohammed Siraj.

The second ball after tea saw Dom Sibley, on 11, tamely chip Siraj to midwicket.

This was a repeat of the opener’s careless first-innings dismissal during the first Test in Nottingham.

His dismissal brought in Hameed, playing his first Test since the last of his three previous caps, all in India five years ago.

But 24-year-old Hameed’s long wait for a home debut Test innings ended first ball, bowled playing down the wrong line to Siraj.

England were in deep waters at 23-2.

Interestingly, this was the 15th time in their 19 Test innings this year that they lost their second wicket before reaching 50.

This brought Joe Root to the crease.

Root blocked the hat-trick ball and later, a square-cut four off Ishant Sharma took him to 14.

This saw him surpass Graham Gooch’s tally of 8,900 Test runs to go second behind Alastair Cook (12,472) in England’s all-time list.

Rory Burns and Root repaired some of that damage in a third-wicket partnership of 85 before the left-handed opener was lbw for 49 to Mohammed Shami.

The wicket of Burns, at the fag end of the day gave India a psychological edge.

The hosts were 119-3 at stumps on the second day, still 245 runs adrift of India’s first-innings 364.

Thankfully for England, their star batsman Root is still unbeaten on 48.

He is approaching his third consecutive fifty-plus score having scored 64 and 109 in his first two innings.

Root needs to play a big innings if England have any hope of saving the Test.

England 118 for 3 (Burns 49, Root 48*, Siraj 2-34) trail India 364 (Rahul 129, Anderson 5-62) by 246 runs