India vs England second Test, day two as it happened: Rohit, Pujara take hosts to 54/1 at close

Ind 54/1 after 18 overs (Rohit Sharma 25, Pujara 7)
15 wickets in the day. England all out for 134. India lost wickets early in the day but they are now ahead by 249 runs. Kohli and Co will be very happy with the position they are in.

Ind 53/1 after 17 overs (Rohit Sharma 24, Pujara 7)
The day is almost done. Maybe one more over to go. England slowing it down.

The ball-tracking shows that the appeal against ‘Rohit’s no-shot offered’ was a good one. It was going on to hit two-thirds of the way up middle...

Ind 53/1 after 15 overs (Rohit Sharma 24, Pujara 7)
Another review. This time by India. Rohit survives as he got an edge onto the ball. He is suddenly looking fidgety.

Ind 47/1 after 13 overs (Rohit Sharma 22, Pujara 3)
Strange stuff happening in the middle. England review an LBW decision after it looks like Rohit Sharma has offered no shot. But then the umpire says a shot has been offered. The impact was clearly outside off. But ridiculous. Rohit was clearly not offering a shot, the bat was tucked well behind the pads.

Ind 42/1 after 11.2 overs (Rohit Sharma 20)
WICKET! Gill has been trapped LBW by Leach. The review didn’t help. It would have crashed into middle and leg. Shubman Gill lbw b Jack Leach 14(28)

Ind 42/0 after 11 overs (Rohit Sharma 20, Shubman Gill 14)
Maybe partly due to the match situation, England have not been able to exert any pressure. 14 wickets today but nothing in India’s second innings.

Ind 37/0 after 9 overs (Rohit Sharma 20, Shubman Gill 12)
Stumping opportunity missed. It turned sharply and Rohit (on 20) was way out of the crease but Foakes couldn’t get it. Big miss this. England needed that. Moeen also needed that.

Ind 36/0 after 8 overs (Rohit Sharma 20, Shubman Gill 12)
One run from the Leach over but Moeen has gone for 15 runs from his 2 overs. India determined to not let his settle.

Ind 35/0 after 7 overs (Rohit Sharma 19, Shubman Gill 12)
England have no control over the proceedings at the moment. That is something Root will be acutely aware of. A few wickets would have helped. A few quiet overs too. But they have got neither.

Ind 31/0 after 6 overs (Rohit Sharma 17, Shubman Gill 10)
India are motoring along. Rohit and Gill just looking for runs and England aren’t quite sure of how they want to go about this. At least, it seems that way for now.

Ind 23/0 after 5 overs (Rohit Sharma 13, Shubman Gill 10)
Moeen in the attack and Rohit rocks onto the back foot and hits one through the covers for four. Then, off the last ball, Gill comes down the wicket and smashes that into the stands. India’s openers making their intentions clear.

Ind 12/0 after 4 overs (Rohit Sharma 8, Shubman Gill 4)
Gill goes for the big shot against Leach and once again, doesn’t connect as he would have liked to. Gets two runs.

Ind 10/0 after 3 overs (Rohit Sharma 8, Shubman Gill 2)

Stone goes short to Rohit. And we know what that means. Front-foot pull for six. Typical Rohit. Stunning shot.

Ind 4/0 after 2 overs (Rohit Sharma 2, Shubman Gill 2)
Leach into the attack and just two runs off the over. Gill down the wicket, got a leading edge, avoided the fielders.

Ind 2/0 after 1 over (Rohit Sharma 2, Shubman Gill 0)
Stone kicks things off for England. Steady over. But we should see spin from the other end.

India’s openers are in the middle now. Here we go. Very interesting to see how they play the England spinners.

Eng 134 all out after 59.5 overs (Foakes 42)
WICKET! Fifth wicket for Ashwin who comes back to the dressing room with bowling figures of 23.5-4-43-5. Brilliant bowling. England just didn’t have a chance. Ashwin’s 29th five-for in Test cricket. England are 195 runs behind.

Eng 131/9 after 58.5 overs (Foakes 39)
WICKET! Leach edges on to the keeper off Ishant. Pant flew to his left and took a brilliant one-handed catch. Brilliant. Just brilliant. Jack Leach c Pant b Ishant 5(34)

Eng 123/8 after 57 overs (Foakes 31, Leach 5)
Foakes and Leach have already put on 17 runs. They bat on even as India wait for another wicket. A little luck needed all the time.

Eng 117/8 after 55 overs (Foakes 29, Leach 5)
Foakes rolls on. Leach will try and stay with him. England are 212 runs behind.

Eng 113/8 after 53 overs (Foakes 26, Leach 4)
Leach down the wicket on the last ball and smashes it for four. He’s had enough. Good show of aggression.

Eng 107/8 after 51 overs (Foakes 23, Leach 0)
One run from the Axar over. He continues to keep it tight.

Eng 106/8 after 50 overs (Foakes 23, Leach 0)
Ashwin bowls out the last four balls of his wicket-taking over. No runs.

The final session of the day begins.

Eng 106/8 after 49.2 overs (Foakes 23)
WICKET! Stone chips that to mid-wicket and Ashwin has his 4th wicket. And it is time for tea as well. Olly Stone c Rohit b Ashwin 1(4)

In the session: 31.2 overs, 67 runs, 4 wickets. over-rate 16. RR 2.14.

Eng 105/7 after 48.1 overs (Foakes 23)
WICKET! Axar back into the attack and he strikes with his first ball. Brilliant reaction catch by Rahane. The ball came off Pant’s thigh. Moeen Ali c Rahane b Axar 6(30)

Eng 103/6 after 47 overs (Foakes 22, Moeen 5)
First runs off Siraj. Strayed onto Foakes pads and the right-hander helped it along for a well-struck four. Foakes has an FC average of over 38. 10 first-class centuries and over 30 fifties. He has looked the best of England’s batsmen today.

Eng 98/6 after 46 overs (Foakes 17, Moeen 5)
Another review wasted. Another time that Ashwin coaxed Kohli into taking it. Just what does he tell him? Foakes survived as the ball was going down the leg-side.

Eng 97/6 after 45 overs (Foakes 16, Moeen 5)
Siraj continuing to run in hard and keep things tight. Kuldeep has given away far too many singles from the other end.

Eng 92/6 after 43 overs (Foakes 16, Moeen 0)
Four leg byes off the final ball of the Siraj over.

Eng 88/6 after 42 overs (Foakes 16, Moeen 0)
Finally, a run has been scored. England have gone into a shell and that can’t be good.

Eng 87/6 after 41 overs (Foakes 15, Moeen 0)
17 deliveries since the last wicket, still no run scored.

Eng 87/6 after 40 overs (Foakes 15, Moeen 0)
No runs scored since the wicket has fallen. What could England be thinking? There is no batting out time on this wicket.

Eng 87/6 after 38.1 overs (Foakes 15)

WICKET! Pope caught down the leg-side by a diving Pant. Brilliant catch. It popped out a little but he managed to hold on. Siraj strikes with his first ball in India. Chants of ‘India, India’ erupt. Ollie Pope c Pant b Siraj 22(57)

Siraj coming into the attack for the first time.

Eng 87/5 after 38 overs (Pope 22, Foakes 15)
Too many singles off Kuldeep.

Eng 82/5 after 37 overs (Pope 19, Foakes 13)
Partnership of 30 between Pope and Foakes. They have taken their time and are slowly coming to terms with the wicket a bit. The ball has gone softer as well.

Eng 81/5 after 36 overs (Pope 18, Foakes 13)
A bit too full from Kuldeep and Foakes hit it down the wicket. More importantly, didn’t try to over-hit it.

Eng 77/5 after 35 overs (Pope 18, Foakes 9)
Maiden over by Axar. He has gone back to not trying too much. Very accurate bowling.

Eng 77/5 after 34 overs (Pope 18, Foakes 9)
For the first time since January 2019, Kuldeep Yadav is bowling in a Test match. It has been a long, long wait. Just one run off the over.

Eng 76/5 after 33 overs (Pope 17, Foakes 9)
Axar still bowling well but perhaps the batsmen are now getting used to him a little. A change in the bowling attack might help.

Eng 76/5 after 32 overs (Pope 17, Foakes 9)
Lovely straight drive by Foakes for four. Used his feet, got to the ball and paced it well.

Eng 66/5 after 30 overs (Pope 13, Foakes 3)
Another maiden over. Ashwin has now bowled non-stop since the start of the England innings. 15-2-27-3. Will Kohli look at Kuldeep now?

Eng 66/5 after 29 overs (Pope 13, Foakes 3)
India and Kohli burn a review. Going down the leg-side. No one was really sure but Kohli decided to take it anyway. Foakes survives.

Eng 62/5 after 27 overs (Pope 10, Foakes 2)
England are 267 runs behind. Can they find a way to save this match? Is that even a question worth asking?

Eng 59/5 after 25 overs (Pope 8, Foakes 1)
Steady. Steady. Axar keeps doing it right. His combination with Ashwin is causing all types of problems for England, who might struggle to get to 100 here.

Eng 52/5 after 23.2 overs (Pope 3)
WICKET! First ball of the over was 89 kmph. Second ball was 82 kmph. It gripped. It turned. It beat the bat and disturbed the timber. Stokes is walking back. But what bowling by Ashwin. Lovely. Stokes b Ashwin 18(34)

Eng 52/4 after 23 overs (Stokes 18, Pope 3)
Runs coming in a trickle at the moment. One edge almost flew off the thigh pads to Kohli. The Indian skipper dived but was unable to get to it.

Eng 51/4 after 22 overs (Stokes 17, Pope 3)
What is Stokes going to do? England’s hope rest on his brilliance.

Eng 49/4 after 21 overs (Stokes 16, Pope 2)
Steady bowling by Axar. He is doing the right thing. Keeping it very tight – on this pitch, the wickets will come.

Eng 48/4 after 20 overs (Stokes 16, Pope 1)
The final ball of the over from Ashwin was a bit too short and Stokes put it away for four. England have to punish the loose balls... just as they did there.

Eng 42/4 after 19 overs (Stokes 11, Pope 0)
Run scoring will be difficult but England needs to have some strategy. They need to try and attack at least one bowler.

Teams are back on the field for the post-lunch session. 8 wickets in the morning session. What will happen in this one?

Eng 39/4 after 18 overs (Stokes 8)
WICKET! Ashwin strikes off the last ball before lunch to send back Lawrence. He stopped in his bowling action once and then, Lawrence pushed at it and was caught at short leg. Daniel Lawrence c Shubman Gill b Ashwin 9(52)

Eng 38/3 after 17 overs (Lawrence 9, Stokes 7)
Maiden over for Axar with Pant giving commentary on every ball.

Eng 38/3 after 16 overs (Lawrence 9, Stokes 7)
A reluctant Kohli took a review but the ball was missing. Stokes still there in the middle. Ashwin convinced him there. At some point, Stokes is going to want to go on the attack here.

Eng 35/3 after 15 overs (Lawrence 6, Stokes 7)
Axar and Ashwin are running through their overs in quick times. Can Stokes counter-attack? Will England wait till the ball is softer?

Eng 32/3 after 13 overs (Lawrence 4, Stokes 6)
Even surviving an over seems like a gift. It just does. In every over, there are a couple of ‘catch it’ cries.

Eng 29/3 after 12 overs (Lawrence 4, Stokes 3)
Batting is extremely difficult at the moment. If you are looking for perspective as to why those innings’ by Rohit, Rahane and Pant were so important, this is it.

Eng 23/3 after 10.3 overs (Lawrence 1)
WICKET! The ball gets stuck in the pitch, explodes, get the top edge and Root’s sweep brings about his demise as well. Caught at short fine leg. Axar gets the big, big wicket and England are in big, big trouble. Root c Ashwin b Axar 6(12)

Eng 21/2 after 10 overs (Lawrence 1, Root 4)
Root will have to bring his sweep into play a lot more. It is a scoring shot and might even force the bowlers to change their length a little.

Eng 19/2 after 9 overs (Lawrence 0, Root 3)
97 kmph first ball from Axar. He will look to fire it in and he is usually very accurate too. Good pace from him and he beats the batsmen with a couple of balls as well.

Axar Patel coming into the attack now.

Eng 16/2 after 7.2 overs (Lawrence 0)
WICKET! India get the review right. Sibley went for the sweep, missed the ball but the ball went off the pads into the back of the bat and through to leg slip. Sibley c Kohli b Ashwin 16(25)

Eng 16/1 after 7 overs (Sibley 16, Lawrence 0)
But India also need to put the pitch out of their mind. Sometimes, one can get carried away with a pitch that is doing a lot.

Eng 15/1 after 6 overs (Sibley 15, Lawrence 0)
Lawrence plays out another maiden. He has played 15 balls, yet to get off the mark.

Eng 15/1 after 5 overs (Sibley 15, Lawrence 0)
Sibley doing the right thing. Looking to score. There will be edges. You will be beaten but have to keep looking to score on this wicket. There is no shutting the shop here.

Eng 7/1 after 4 overs (Sibley 7, Lawrence 0)
Maiden over from Ashwin as he looks to find his most effective line.

Eng 7/1 after 3 overs (Sibley 7, Lawrence 0)
Ishant getting good shape into the right-hander. While the focus is on the spinners, he could cause some damage if he gets his line right.

Eng 1/1 after 2 overs (Sibley 1, Lawrence 0)
Ashwin is on from the other end. And it feels like the right decision. The new ball should help him and the openers have a different challenge from each end.

Eng 0/1 after 0.3 overs (Sibley 0)
WICKET! First delivery Ishant bowls on the stumps, gets him a wicket. Burns missed that completely. Decided to go for a review but it came down to umpire’s call. Worry about spin and the seamers strike first. Rory Burns lbw b Ishant 0(3)

Pujara is not on the field due to the finger injury he sustained while batting. Ishant Sharma to start things off. England’s openers Burns and Sibley are all set. Here we go.

Ind 329 all out after 95.5 overs (Pant 58)
WICKET! England will be pleased with this. They have picked up 4 wickets for 29 runs this morning. Stone gets Siraj and Pant is left stranded on 58. The tailenders just didn’t hang around with him.

Ind 325/9 after 95.3 overs (Pant 58)
WICKET! Stone softened Kuldeep with the short ball and then pitched one up. The batsman edged it through to the keeper. Best one-two punch in cricket. Kuldeep Yadav c Foakes b Olly Stone 0(15)

Olly Stone replaces Moeen Ali from the pavilion end. Pace will be a challenge for Kuldeep.

Ind 324/8 after 95 overs (Pant 57, Kuldeep 0)
Kuldeep Yadav plays out a maiden over. Good going.

Ind 324/8 after 94 overs (Pant 57, Kuldeep 0)
Difficult pitch to bat on but when it is in his zone, Pant goes for it. The pressure is always on the bowler. Moeen got one ball wrong and Pant smashed it for a six.

Ind 318/8 after 93 overs (Pant 51, Kuldeep 0)
Pant doing well to farm the strike now. Just one single to keep the strike. Sensible batting.

Ind 317/8 after 92 overs (Pant 50, Kuldeep 0)
Fours smashed off the first two balls and then a single off the fourth to reach his 6th Test fifty. Pant is on his way. Fourth fifty in four games in India. It has taken him 65 balls.

Ind 308/8 after 91 overs (Pant 41, Kuldeep 0)
Root into the attack. Two left-handers at the crease and that might be the reason. Pant smashes him for a six and he will look to continue doing the same. England will know that every run is crucial.

Ind 301/8 after 89.4 overs (Pant 34)
WICKET! Ishant Sharma gets a top edge off a full toss. Moeen gets another wicket. Two wickets in three balls. Just the start England wanted. Ishant c Rory Burns b Moeen Ali 0(2)

Ind 301/7 after 89.2 overs (Pant 34)
WICKET! England strike early. Moeen Ali strikes early. Lovely delivery. Drew Axar out and the left-hander was then brilliantly stumped by Ben Foakes. Axar st Foakes b Moeen Ali 5(14)

Ind 300/6 after 89 overs (Pant 33, Axar 5)
Leach to start things off on Day 2. It is just Day 2 but you wouldn’t say that after looking at the pitch. Axar plays out the first over carefully.

The players are taking the field now. How will it go? Will England find a few wicket or will we get a dose of Pant madness?

Stat alert: Since 2016, when India have gone past 300 runs in the first innings, their record is 18 wins and two draws.

09.17 am: Most experts reckon that India already have good runs on board. But expect Rishabh Pant to come out and play his shots. If the hosts can get to 400, England will be in a tough spot.

Day 1 review: Rohit Sharma on Saturday paid tribute to the returning crowd after his masterful century guided India to 300 for six on day one of the second Test against England.

Sharma, welcomed with chants of “Rohit! Rohit!”, hit 161 and put on a key fourth-wicket partnership of 162 with Ajinkya Rahane after India – down 1-0 in the four-match series – elected to bat first in Chennai.

Rishabh Pant, on 33, and Axar Patel, on five, were batting at the close of play after England’s bowlers took three wickets in the final session.

Spinners Jack Leach and Moeen Ali claimed two wickets each on a pitch that offered turn even on day one.

Ali bowled skipper Virat Kohli for nought to put India in trouble at 86-3, stunning the raucous 15,000-strong home crowd – present for the first time since the pandemic – into silence.

But Sharma’s knock restored the exuberant mood of cheering fans, all of whom backed the home team except for a brave half dozen Barmy Army soldiers.

“It was great fun to have them at the ground. I mean it is something that livens up the whole atmosphere of the stadium,” Sharma told reporters.

“When there was no one at the ground in the first Test, the intensity was slightly low from both the teams... I am happy that they witnessed some good cricket today.” (AFP)

8.50 am: Hello and welcome to live coverage of day two of the second Test between India and England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.