Sarfaraz Khan scored a solid unbeaten fifty as India reached a commanding 376 for three at tea against England on day two of the fifth and last Test of the five-match series at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Friday.
Sarfaraz (56 batting) and debutant Devdutt Padikkal (44 batting) are manning the crease as the home side now leads by 158 runs.
IND vs ENG: 5th Test, Day 2 – LIVE
It was Sarfaraz’s third fifty of this series.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma (103) and Shubman Gill (110) made fluent hundreds as India surpassed England’s first innings total of 218 all out.
England captain Ben Stokes resumed bowling after eight months to take a wicket with his first ball, and James Anderson inched closer to his 700th test wicket.
Overnight batters Rohit and Gill went after the bowlers right from the word go.
The one shot that epitomised their approach was when Gill stepped out against Anderson and hit test cricket’s most successful fast bowler over his head for a six.
Spinner Shoaib Bashir got a flick from Rohit but the ball flew past Zak Crawley before the fielder could even cup his hand.
Rohit took a single off Tom Hartley to bring up his hundred, while Gill slog-swept Bashir for a four in the next over to complete his century.
Stokes, who underwent knee surgery in November, resumed bowling duties with a magical delivery that hit the top of Rohit’s off-stump. Rohit’s mature 103 included three sixes.
Anderson flattened Gill’s off-stump in the next over to claim his 699th test wicket. Gill smacked five sixes in his second hundred of the series.
The collapse England wanted did not materialise as Sarfaraz counter-attacked.
The 26-year-old played an audacious ramp shot against Mark Wood and pulled the fast bowler for a six en route to his third fifty of his debut series.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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