On Day 2, India took control the fourth Test match, at Motera, Ahmedabad. They were 41/3 at one point and then 145/6, but Rishabh Pant (101) and Washington Sundar (60 not out) added 113 runs in just 26 overs to help them reach 294/7 by stumps. India now lead by 89 runs against an England side that paid a price for swapping a bowler for a batsman for the Test match. Here are some key moments from Day 2. India vs England 4th Test Day 2 statistical highlights
Stokes bowls a snorter: Ben Stokes probably bowled a longer spell in the morning than he had expected, but it worked. The ball took off from a length and grew on Virat Kohli, and Kohli’s awkward waft went to Ben Foakes. This was Stokes’ second wicket of the series. The first had been Kohli’s as well.
Two yellows send Rohit back: Just when Rohit Sharma threatened to put India into the driver’s seat, Stokes hit him on the leg, one short of fifty. Nitin Menon ruled him out. Rohit referred, and replays revealed an umpire’s call on both impact (just on off-stump) and hitting (barely trimming) the stumps.
Menon’s rare lapse: Perhaps motivated by Rohit’s wicket, Stokes subjected R Ashwin to a string of short-pitched deliveries. He hit Ashwin on the glove before bouncing one that went to Foakes. Menon, who has had an excellent series, ruled him out. However, replays revealed that the ball had merely brushed Ashwin’s shoulder.
Stokes caves in: As the temperature soared to the high 30s, the long spells eventually got to Stokes. In his 19th over, he conceded two fours, lost his footing once, and kicked the ball away. Then a ball slipped from his hand above the permissible height, and he received a warning.
Pant’s audacity: James Anderson bowled the first over with the second new ball. Pant calmly lofted the first ball past mid-off, then flat-batted one past cover-point, for two fours. But the most outrageous stroke came in Anderson’s next over, when Pant reverse swept the new ball for four. Fittingly, the hundred came with a six, slog-swept off Joe Root.