Shubman Gill struck form with a century as India were bowled out for 255 after extended their lead to 398, despite a James Anderson-inspired England taking regular wickets on day three of the second Test on Sunday.
Meanwhile, English spinners Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed shared seven wickets between them with England needing 399 runs to win. The tourists, who currently lead the five-match series 1-0, reached 67/1 at stumps in Visakhapatnam.
Openers Ben Duckett (28) and Zak Crawley (29*) put on an opening partnership worth 50 runs before Ravichandran Ashwin induced an inside edge from Duckett that was caught by a running KS Bharat, four overs before the day’s play ended. The veteran spinner is now only three wickets away from the famed milestone of 500 Test wickets.
Rehan Ahmed came in and struck two fours, the last one being a missed catch at slip by India captain Rohit Sharma.
After India had lunch at 130-4, Gill, who had two fortunate escapes on four, both tight LBW calls and one successfully reviewed, rebuilt the innings to notch up his third Test ton.
After a string of low scores, Gill crossed the three-figure mark for the first time in twelve innings since March last year. It was a jittery start for the youngster with Anderson setting the tone early. However, the 24-year-old fulfilled the expectations.
He was dismissed soon after crossing the milestone as spinner Shoaib Bashir caught him behind for 104. However, India’s pattern of relying one batter to the heavy lifting continued in the second innings as none of the other batters stepped up again. In the first innings, it was opener Yashasvi Jaiswal double century that ensured India posted 396. In the second innings, it was Gill’s century.
Initially, Gill along with Shreyas Iyer put on a fight that saw them raise an 81-run stand.
Iyer made 29 earlier in the first session, but skipper Ben Stokes' magic moment saw him out.
Iyer tried a strong swing off Hartley, but Stokes made a spectacular grab by racing back from mid-off and diving full length.
Then, leg-spinner Ahmed dismissed rookie Rajat Patidar for nine runs.
Then, Gill stitched an 89-run partnership Gill with Axar Patel (xx). As India continued to put runs on the board, Tom Hartley's left-arm spin got Axar Patel leg before wicket for 45.
Ashwin and Bharat, the last recognised batting pair for India, defended their way through till the break with India’s lead inflating to 370. However, Ahmed picked up his second to dismiss Bharat.
Ashwin combined with Jasprit Bumrah who maintained a 26-ball vigil to be dismissed for a duck, thanks to a sharp catch by Jonny Bairstow at second slip.
Early in the day, Anderson was at his best when he rattled Rohit Sharma's (13) stumps with a fantastic delivery that pitched and went away from the right-hander during his fantastic morning fast bowling effort.
Then, for his 695th Test wicket, the veteran trapped left-handed Jaiswal (17) at first slip.
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