First Test between India and England, Day 2: KL Rahul reaches 50, Shreyas Iyer seizes the initiative as India trail by 24 runs at lunch

Day 2 saw India steady their innings after losing early wickets thanks to a good half-century from KL Rahul, who maintained his excellent record in red-ball cricket. Shreyas Iyer took over after a slow start. For the fourth wicket, the pair put India back in control with an unbroken 63-run partnership before lunch.

For India, it began badly when Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had made a magnificent half-century on the first day, was removed for 80 by Joe Root after failing to turn it into a significant score.

Day 2 Score and Updates for India vs. England First Test

Shubman Gill’s troubles in Test cricket also persisted when he was removed at the age of 23, giving England’s rookie Tom Hartley his maiden wicket.

After lunch, India (222/3) are leading England by barely 24 runs after Rahul (55*) and Iyer (34*) put India on top once again.

Ben Stokes, the captain of England, corrected his error earlier in the day and handed Joe Root the ball early. The part-time player defeated Jaiswal, who returned to the bat at 76 and could only add four more runs to his innings. The southpaw intended to smash it hard and directly hit Root, who was fined for following through.

Shubman, who seemed nervous the whole time he was on the field, misplayed a loose shot that resulted in his being trapped within the circle at mid-wicket. The young hitter, whose situation has deteriorated since moving up to the number three place in Test cricket, departed the field disappointed.

Rahul exuded impeccable timing and seemed to have gained a great deal of confidence from his century against South Africa at Centurion earlier this month.

Rahul, however, stood his own resolutely, displaying his technical accuracy against pacers as well as spinners, enabling India to score 103 runs at an average of 3.81 runs per over.

His comfort level against spinners and Mark Wood was evident, as he was not afraid to penalize wayward deliveries for boundaries on a frequent basis.

With short balls, England attempted to test Shreyas Iyer with Wood.

Despite England’s attempts to trap him with a deep third man, deep fine leg, and deep backward square leg, the Mumbaikar managed to withstand the onslaught and go on to fight another session.

The Indian star led the assault against the spinners after taking his time in the beginning and battling through the brief difficult phase.