Pataudi Trophy 2021, 4th Test: Indian openers' steady start curtails England's lead to 56 at stumps on Day 2

India and England continue their heated battle in the fourth Test at The Oval. Both sides have had even shares, as England marginally has the upper hand on Day 2.

Pataudi Trophy 2021, 4th Test: Umesh Yadav strikes early as England loses 5 at lunch on Day 2-ayh

Ayush Gupta

London, First Published Sep 3, 2021, 6:05 PM IST | Last Updated Sep 3, 2021, 11:17 PM IST

On Friday, India and England continued their rivalry on Day 2 of the fourth Test at The Oval in London, with the latter possessing a marginal upper hand. While both sides seem evenly poised, the host has managed to maintain a lead of 56 runs at stumps, while the visiting openers are off to a steady start.

Earlier, England had won the toss and invited India to bat first, as it was bundled out for 191, with Shardul Thakur being the top scorer of 57. England was off to a jittery start, finishing the day on 53/3.

Resuming at the overnight score, night watchman Craig Overton departed for a mere single at the same score, edging it to skipper Virat Kohli at the slips off Yadav. Just nine runs later, Dawid Malan too edged it to Rohit Sharma in the slips off the same guy for 31.

However, the pair of wicketkeeper-batsmen, Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow took control of the session. The two contributed to a 77-run stand for the sixth wicket, taking England to 139/5, with India leading by 52 runs at the lunch break.

The post-lunch session saw just 12 runs later Bairstow being trapped leg-before by pacer Mohammed Siraj for 37. However, it was followed again by a 71-run stand for the seventh wicket between Pope and Moeen Ali.

ALSO WATCH: Pataudi Trophy 2021, 4th Test: Jarvo invades The Oval on Day 2, bumps into Jonny Bairstow

Pataudi Trophy 2021, 4th Test: Umesh Yadav strikes early as England loses 5 at lunch on Day 2-ayh

Pope scored his sixth Test half-century at this time before Moeen gave away his wicket for 35 to leg-spinner Ravindra Jadeja after Rohit caught an ambitious effort off him at mid-wicket. As Chris Woakes came in, along with Pope, he batted out until the tea break, with England 227/7, leading by 36.

In the post-tea session, the pair was going good before, at 250, Pope played it on for 81 to Thakur, while five runs later, Ollie Robinson was cleaned up by Jadeja for just five. However, the last pair of Woakes and James Anderson contributed to a 35-run stand, with the former bringing up his sixth Test half-century before being run out at the same score, as England was all out for 290, with a lead of 99.

Pataudi Trophy 2021, 4th Test: Umesh Yadav strikes early as England loses 5 at lunch on Day 2-ayh

For India, five bowlers were utilised. While Yadav was the most productive, Jadeja turned out to be the most economical of all.

As India came out to bat, it was a smooth start from the openers (Rohit and KL Rahul), contributing 43 runs. At stumps, India curtailed down England's lead to 56 runs, with some work to be done on Saturday.

Meanwhile, England has used four seamers so far. While none of them has had success in the second innings, Overton has nailed it with the economy.
Brief scores: India 191 & 43/0 (Rahul- 22*; Overton- 0/1) trails England 290 (Pope- 81, Woakes- 50; Yadav- 3/76) by 56 runs.

NOTE: Asianet News humbly requests everyone to wear masks, sanitise, maintain social distancing and get vaccinated as soon as eligible. Together we can and will break the chain #ANCares #IndiaFightsCorona

For more reliable and latest news