India reduce England to 103-5 at stumps to seize control of Vizag Test

Visakhapatnam [India], Nov.18 (ANI): Indian bowlers produced a disciplined performance to reduce England to 103-5 in their first innings at stumps on Day Two of the second Test at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium here on Friday. In reply to India's huge first innings' total of 455, England started poorly, losing openers Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed for two and 13 runs respectively. First drop Joe Root provided his side with some fight back by contributing crucial 53 runs. However, after Root's dismissal, England lost both Ben Duckett (five) and Moeen Ali (one) in quick succession. At stumps, the visitors were still trailing by 352 runs, with Ben Stokes (unbeaten 12) and Johnny Bairstow (unbeaten 12) batting at the crease. Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for India as he finished the day with the figures of two for 21. Mohammad Shami also chipped in with a wicket while Jayant Yadav's maiden Test wicket came after he successfully got a not out decision overturned in India's favour via DRS when he trapped Ali. Earlier, resuming at an overnight score of 317-4, Moeen Ali restricted skipper Virat Kohli (167) from scoring his third double century in a calendar year before dismissing Ravindra Jadeja and Wriddhiman Saha in quick succession. However, all-rounder Ashwin (58) put on 64 runs for the eighth wicket with Jayant, who scored 35, to guide India to a respectable first innings score before the hosts were bowled out. Kohli's 226-run partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara (119) for the third wicket on the opening day was the highlight of the India's innings after they opted to bat first. For England, Moeen Ali and James Anderson finished with three wickets while Adil Rashid, Broad and Stokes shared four wickets among themselves. (ANI)