England v India: All you need to know from day two at the Ageas Bowl

Princely Pujara and majestic Moeen – there were accolades aplenty to dish out as the Ageas Bowl served up a tantalising day two….

SCORECARD | AS IT HAPPENED | HIGHLIGHTS

The Report

Moeen Ali spun out India’s lower middle order as England battled back into the fourth Test on day two, writes David Ruse at the Ageas Bowl.

The off-spinner (5-63) struck four times in three overs either side of tea as India made 273 in reply to the hosts 246, chiefly due to Cheteshwar Pujara’s (132no) 15th Test ton and first in England, to lead by 27 on first innings.

Moment of the Day

Ali’s fifth wicket had a little bit of everything – skill, drama and just a hint of controversy. Sharma stood for an age after being given caught at short leg by Cook, firm in the belief that there was absolutely no inside-edge onto his pad. With no reviews left, though, he had no option but to trudge off as Ali celebrated a five-for in his return to the side. What was rather lost amid the celebrations was the quality of catch from Cook, who earlier had reacted sharply to take Virat Kohli low down at slip. The former skipper did exceptionally well to palm a shoulder-high chance up into the air and safely pouch the rebound – perhaps a second reason why Sharma couldn’t quite believe his bad luck. For the record, UltraEdge suggested there was a thin tickle.

Stat of the Day

Rishabh Pant’s score of nought off 29 balls was the longest duck in a Test match since James Anderson’s 55-ball effort against Sri Lanka in 2014 – courtesy of CricViz.

Talking Point

Was Ajinkya Rahane really out? Twitter lit up after the 30-year-old was adjudged lbw to Ben Stokes even though many in the social-sphere thought it should have been disallowed on the grounds of a front-foot no-ball. We turned to former umpire David Lloyd to clarify the ruling. “This is all about where Stokes’ foot lands,” he said. “His heel can be raised – but there has got to be some part of the front foot behind the line. In this case it is millimetres but the umpires have got this one absolutely right. When you magnify the image you can see that there is zillimetres in it! But he is just behind the line. We hear that the umpires are told to give the benefit, if there is one, to the bowler.”

What they said

Moeen Ali: “I felt quite good from the first over that I bowled and I was disappointed when Rooty took me off earlier – and then he brought me back on! I wanted to keep going, especially when Bumrah was on strike but I think Rooty wanted a bit of pace against Bumrah. I didn’t think it would spin that much on day two. I know deep down that I’m not the perfect spinner but I know I can bowl a side out on my day. The next game I could bowl terribly!”

Nasser Hussain: “Remember what we talked about this morning, why are runs going down? Why aren’t batsmen getting the scores? Why are conditions so difficult? Well, here is a lad who has gutsed it out, played in a good old-fashioned determined way. He is proof that still in this great game of ours that there is someone willing to work hard for their runs and realises that things will get easier.”

Tweets of the day

Watch day three of the fourth Test between England and India live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Saturday.

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(c) Sky News 2018: England v India: All you need to know from day two at the Ageas Bowl