Ind vs Eng 4th Test Day 2 highlights: Pujara hits ton; hosts 6/0 at Stumps

Cheteshwar Pujara carved out one of his finest Test hundreds, a knock punctuated by a mix of trademark tenacity and grace, as India eked out a slender 27-run lead against England in the fourth match at The Rose Bowl cricket ground in Southampton. Owing to the 30-year-old's unbeaten 132, his first century outside the sub-continent since 2013, India recovered from a precarious 195 for eight to go past England and finish at 273 in their first innings. Leading the five-match series 2-1, hosts England were all out for 246 in their first innings, and finished the second day at six for no loss in their second innings to trail by 21 runs. Earlier, England enjoyed upper hand in the post-lunch session despite dogged defiance from Pujara as India went into tea at 181 for five. Rishabh Pant (0) patiently left the deliveries outside the off-stump before Moeen Ali got one to straighten and trapped him leg-before at the stroke of tea. Pujara, however, batted in his customary style, reaching 70 off 151 balls with nine boundaries to his credit. Pujara took time to settle down and waited patiently for the loose deliveries to dispatch them to the boundary. Skipper Virat Kohli (46) once again looked good for a big score before Sam Curran managed to draw him forward, inducing a thickish outside edge to Alastair Cook in the slip cordon. Kohli and Pujara added 92 runs for the third wicket after Shikhar Dhawan (23) and Lokesh Rahul (19) were dismissed cheaply by Stuart Broad (2/50). Kohli's 71-ball knock had six boundaries. However, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (11) would consider himself unlucky as he was trapped leg before off a no-ball from Ben Stokes. The TV replays clearly showed that Stokes had overstepped but a howler from third umpire Joel Wilson proved to be Rahane's undoing. Despite calling for a review, Wilson, after repeated replays, ruled it as a legal delivery.

India vs England 4th Test Day 2 scorecard




India vs England 4th Test Day 2 highlights

Day 2: Third Session report

• Pujara's innings and his last-wicket stand of 46 runs with Jasprit Bumrah (6) have virtually made the encounter at Rose Bowl a game of second innings.
• He got to his 15th century, and second outside Asia, with a double over the bowler's head, and well aware of the significance of the knock to the final outcome, the unassuming India number three raised his bat and helmet in celebration.
• It was appropriate, even as the visitors inched closer to England's first-innings effort.
• Pujara's footwork against spin, always a feature of his game in home conditions, came to the fore in the first innings of an overseas Test, and it helped India. As he settled down, the batsman looked comfortable against the pacers and ensured there was no hiccup from at least one end.
• In what turned out to be another eventful day of Test cricket, India slumped from 161 for four to 195 for eight in the final session of play, with veteran off-spinner Moeen Ali doing the bulk of damage.
• Had it not been for Moeen's impressive return of 5/63, India would have run away with the game as the visitors negated the seam duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the first session, reaching 100 for two at lunch.

Day 2: Second Session report

• Skipper Virat Kohli (46), once again looked good for a big score before Sam Curran managed to draw him forward inducing a thickish outside edge to Alastair Cook in the slip cordon.
• Kohli-Pujara added 92 runs for the third wicket after Shikhar Dhawan (23) and Lokesh Rahul (19) were dismissed cheaply by Stuart Broad (2/50).
• Kohli's 71-ball knock had six boundaries.
• However vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (11) would consider himself unlucky as he was trapped leg before off a no-ball from Ben Stokes. The TV replays clearly showed that Stokes had overstepped but a howler from third umpire Joel Wilson became Rahane's undoing.
• Despite calling for a review, Wilson after repeated replays ruled it as a legal delivery.

Day 2: First Session report

• Starting from overnight 19 for no loss, Shikhar Dhawan (23) and KL Rahul (19) made a sedate start. The duo were watchful for any hint of lateral movement, similar to what the Indian pacers generated on the first morning of the match.
• James Anderson (0-37) didn't find much movement, while Stuart Broad (2-34) did hit on a troubling length to the left-handed Dhawan whenever he pitched the ball up.
• Broad struck in the fourth over of the morning, trapping Rahul lbw in the eighth over of the innings. The batsman opted for DRS, but the decision stayed in England's favour.
• The pacer had another appeal against Dhawan turned down, this time for caught behind in the 14th over, and even on DRS, the batsman benefitted as the ball only clipped his thigh pad.
• Bowling a lengthy first spell this morning, Broad finally got a second reward for his efforts as he continued to tease Dhawan outside the off-stump. Finally, the edge came in the 18th over, with the batsman caught behind immediately after India crossed 50.
• It brought Pujara and Kohli together at the crease, and thanks to the latter, the Indian run-rate picked up once again. Kohli hit four fours during his 40-ball stay thus far, and in doing so crossed 6000 runs in Test cricket, the second-quickest Indian batsman after Sunil Gavaskar to reach the mark.
• England's desperation could be seen in that they put both spinner Adil Rashid (0-5) and Moeen Ali (0-0) into the attack just before lunch. Sam Curran (0-16) had earlier toiled hard but in vain, and even Keaton Jennings (0-4) was tried for two overs.
• Pujara and Kohli though settled down for what should be a lengthy Indian innings in helpful batting conditions, as the score crossed 100 at the stroke of lunch.

In Pics: Session 1 highlights

How Sam Curran take England 89/6 to 246/10
 
It was a brilliant performance from a 20-year-old Surrey boy which stopped India from running away to a position of absolute strength on the first day of the fourth Test. The pitch had quite a bit in it and the bowlers were in business all through the day, exposing England’s issues with the bat all over again. But from the middle of the second session, it was Sam Curran’s (78) brave innings with the tail for company that helped England reach 246 after being reduced to 86-6 at one stage. The Indian pace attack of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Hardik Pandya were in complete control of the situation when Curran came in to bat at No. 8. The likes of Bumrah and Ishant were hitting a fuller length continuously and England had gone into a shell. Wickets were falling at regular intervals too to make things even more difficult for the hosts.It was at this point that Curran, who was dropped from the England team in Nottingham, decided to take the battle to India. He had come in with an attacking mindset and the moment he saw deliveries in his zone, he launched into attacking shots. The ball, too, probably wasn’t moving as much as it was in the first session and with comeback man Moeen Ali (40) ready to put in the hard yards, the runs slowly started to come. The duo was quick between wickets and the 81 runs they added in 24.5 overs gave England a glimmer of hope.

 
England opener Alastair Cook failed again
 
Before the 4^th Test it was expected that Alastair Cook might get back to form in Southampton where he scored a double century against India. Sadly, for him and England, it did not turn out to be the case as the left-hander fell for a mere 17, adding yet another poor outing to an already long list of low scores in this series.
 
You can't wicket 5-6 wickets every session, says Bumrah
 
India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah doesn't believe India squandered a good position after all-rounder Sam Curran lifted England to 246 following a top-order collapse on the opening day of the fourth Test. Curran's resolute 78 bailed England out after they were reduced to 86 for six at one stage. The 20-year-old put on vital lower order partnerships with Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad. Bumrah said that it wasn't possible to induce another collapse in the English line-up. "You can't wicket 5-6 wickets every session," said Bumrah, who took two crucial wickets in the morning session to trigger a collapse. "They played well too, and built a good partnership between Sam Curran and Moeen Ali. When Curran came in to bat, he was playing the waiting game. As the ball got older, it stopped swinging a lot and there was less seam movement as well. "Then he played some shots and they scored some runs. After the break, we decided we had to create pressure again and work hard for a wicket, and things would follow." Bumrah said India were happy to be in the position they are in, and will look to exert further control in the match on day two morning. "If you'd told us in the morning that we'd get them out for 250, we'd have taken that any day. We had them 80 for five, but they played well too," he said. "You can't be too greedy and expect too much: 'Oh, they're 80 for five, so you should get them out for 100.' We're happy with this score and if we bat well, it will help us going forward."
 

Stats after India vs England 4^th Test Day 1
 

• The ongoing series is the 3rd in which Joe Root has had a worse batting average of 24.33 from six innings thus far. Those leaner series were against New Zealand away (17.60) in 2013 and Sri Lanka at home (21.75) in 2016.
• Ishant Sharma become the 7th Indian bowler to reach the milestone of 250 Test wickets. Among fast bowlers, he is the third Indian to complete the landmark after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan. The others are spinners Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin and Bishan Singh Bedi.
• Now Alastair Cook played 29 test matches against India. He now equals former Australian captain Ricky Ponting in the list of players with most Test appearances against India.
• Ishant Sharma is the 52nd bowler to go past 250 wickets in the history of Test cricket. However, his current average of 34.98 (at the end of England's first-innings) is the worst among them all.
• Sam Curran has scored 205 runs from just four innings in the series so far. Only Virat Kohli (440 runs from six innings) and Jonny Bairstow (212 runs from six innings) have scored more runs than him.

 
 Here is the playing 11 of both the teams: 

India playing 11: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
 

England playing 11: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

India vs England 4th Test details

Match Date: 30 August- 3 September, Thursday

Match Time: 15:30 IST, 10:00 AM GMT, 11:00 AM LOCAL

Match Venue: The Rose Bowl, Southampton, England.

India vs England 4th Test match live streaming details
 
India vs England 4th Test match will be broadcast on Sony Six, Sony Six HD in English Commentary. India vs England fourth Test match will be available for live streaming on Sony Liv app. Tatasky subscribers can also live stream India vs England 4th Test match on Tatasky mobile app.
 
India vs England head to head in test matches

Total

Matches played: 120

India won: 25

England won: 45

Drawn: 49
 
In England
 
Matches played: 60

India won: 7

England won: 32

Drawn: 21
 
England squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes, James Vince, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Alastair Cook, Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid.
 
India squad: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant(wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Prithwi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari.