England gave a perfect response to India on Day 2 of the Rajkot Test with Ben Duckett scoring a quickfire hundred to counter the hosts. The day headlined by Ravichandran Ashwin’s 500th Test wicket saw England give a perfect response as they closed the day at 207/2 having initially bowled out India for 445. The visitors still trail India by 238 runs with Duckett unbeaten on 133. Both India and England will now look forward to Day 3 with the match reaching the decisive stage.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

England off to good start

Having bowled out India for 445 on Day 2, England made a good start to their innings as Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley stitched a partnership of 89 runs for the opening wicket. On the first ball of the 14th over, Ashwin’s delivery was misjudged by Crawley who ended up handing a simple catch to Rajat Patidar, in the process completing his 500 Test wickets. He joins the likes of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Anderson in the list of players.

After the wicket, Duckett continued his impressive run and scored the fastest hundred against India in the Test. The batter’s third Test hundred helped England maintain the pace as they showcased the Bazball style of cricket on Indian pitches. At Stumps England were 207/2 with Duckett unbeaten on 133 while Joe Root is batting on 9.

ALSO READ | IND v ENG Test: Nathan Lyon congratulates Ravi Ashwin on entering 500-wicket club

What happened in India’s innings?

While Ashwin was writing his name in the history books, India were earlier bowled out for 445 with Rohit Sharma scoring 131 while Ravindra Jadeja scored 112 before getting out in the opening session of Day 2. Dhruv Jurel, on debut, also scored 46 getting a helping hand from Ashwin with the bat which led India to a score of 400 plus. Batting overnight, India added 119 runs from their 326/5 scored at stumps from Day 1.

Mark Wood ended with four wickets while Rehan Ahmed ended with figures of 85/2. There were wickets a piece for Anderson, Tom Hartley and Joe Root, with the latter getting the wicket of Jadeja.

You can now write for Baazigarnews.com and be a part of the Baazigar family. Share your stories and opinions with us here.