STUMPS - DAY 2

Eng 219-6 (84 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

At stumps on the second day, England have reached 219 for six in 86 overs, still trailing India by 76 runs with four wickets in hand.

Nightwatchman Plunkett is unbeaten on four from 22 balls, while Prior is on two from 11 balls.

England scored 94 runs for the loss of two wickets in 33 overs in the post-tea session.

Ballance led the way for England with the bat. He struggled at the start of his innings, scoring seven from 46 balls at the lunch break and then improved his score to 51 from 117 balls. But Ballance changed gears after the tea break and finished on a splendid knock of 110, hitting 15 fours, to bail England out of trouble in the post-tea session.

Bhuvneshwar excelled with the ball, claiming four for 46 in 23 overs as he bowled majority of the overs for India. The spinners, Jadeja and Vijay, were fortunate to pick a wicket each, claiming the wickets of Root and Ali, who were both dismissed leg before wicket.

The second new ball is just six overs old and India would be hoping to make it count on the third morning and pick a few early wickets and bowl out England as soon as possible.

Eng 219-6 (84 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Ishant trying to rattle Plunkett with short balls but is unable to get it on line as one is avoided while the other is down the leg side. He finally gets one on the mark which Plunkett fends on the leg side.

Two more overs to go before stumps as Bhuvneshwar continues.

Matt Prior who has received a lot of criticism for his keeping in the last few matches faces an important time with the bat. He opts to play with caution with stumps round the corner offering a straight bat to one on the stumps while the ones outside the off-stump are left alone.

He clips the fifth ball to deep midwicket to get off the mark with a couple. Prior edges the last ball but it falls of the slips and goes through but the batsmen decide against taking a run with atleast two easily available.

Shami to bowl the final over of the day. He hits the stumps as he bowls that delivery and it is ruled a no-ball before Plunkett defends a short ball quite well.

Plunkett gets two runs courtesy of an overthrow after the leg slip fielder takes a shy but no one is backing up on the off-side. He is beaten off the fifth ball outside the off-stump before he ducks under a short ball to end the action on the second day.

Eng 214-6 (83 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

England are 212 for five in 80 overs as India take the second new ball as soon as it is available.

Bhuvneshwar comes back into the attack as he gets the new ball to swing away from Ballance, who is happy to see the entire over go through to the keeper.

Interesting, Ishant gets the second new ball ahead of Shami, who has not done much with the ball on the second day.

Liam Plunkett is sent as the nightwatchman and he awkwardly fends off a rising delivery from Ishant outside the off-stump. He flicks the third ball to deep midwicket for two runs to get off the mark.

It is Bhuvneshwar who strikes with the important wicket of Ballance, who is caught down the leg side by a diving Dhoni to his right.

Ballance is unfortunate to be dismissed off a leg side bound delivery after playing a superb innings of 110, hitting 15 fours in 203 balls, to a huge ovation as India make the new ball count.

Eng 211-5 (79 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Part-timer Vijay comes into the attack with Dhoni hoping to finish off the remaining two overs before the second new ball becomes available.

Ali pulls the fourth ball over midwicket for a boundary but the bowler gets revenge from the very next delivery. The left-hander plays all over a full delivery and is trapped leg before wicket to give Vijay his first wicket in Test cricket.

Ali scored 32 from 106 balls adding 98 runs for the fifth wicket with Ballance to rally England after a few quick wickets.

Eng 204-4 (77 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Ali comes down the track and lofts Jadeja back over his head for a boundary but defends the rest of the over watchfully.

Ballance picks a single off Binny to get a single from Binny's ninth over and does the same in Jadeja's next over.

He flicks Binny through midwicket for a four to take his score to 99 and within a run away from his second Test century.

Ballance gets to his century in grand style and he clips Binny through midwicket for a century to bring up his second consecutive century at Lord's, from 186 balls.

He then punches a full delivery down the ground for the third boundary of the over as England cross the 200-run mark in that over.

Eng 186-4 (73 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

The Indian team in a huddle before the final hour begins with 17 overs more to go in the second day.

Jadeja continues as Ballance takes a single on the off-side from the third ball and two balls later Ali plays the sweep for one.

The off-side field is empty and Ballance helps himself to another single to the covers.

Binny replaces Shami to bowl the 73rd over as Dhoni opts to give his pacers some rest ahead of the second new ball.

Ballance uses the opportunity to inch closer to his century with successive fours off Binny through the covers.

Ballance has galloped his way to 93 as England reach 186 for four in 73 overs and now trail India by just 109 runs.

Eng 170-4 (69 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

India's most successful bowler Bhuvneshwar is back into the attack. Ballance is playing some real good shots as he drives a full delivery down the ground past mid-on for another boundary, his fourth after tea, as he looks to lift the tempo in the final session.

Jadeja bowling on the rough outside the off-stump to the left-handers looking for one to grip and turn. Ali drives against the spin for a couple to sweeper cover and then takes one on the off-side and Ballance does the same.

Ballance shuffles across as Bhuvneshwar hits him on the pads but the ball has pitched outside the leg stump. The left-hander then plays another good drive through the covers for two runs.

Ballane is beaten as Jadeja gets one to bounce off the rough which goes fine on the leg side for three runs as the umpire gives it runs.

Bhuvneshwar continues as he comes on to bowl his 20th over, he has bowled nearly 1/3rd of the overs India have sent down so far.

Jadeja continues but Shami replaces Bhuvneshwar from the other end. Shami has so far struggled to make an impact with the ball and would look to take a wicket or two before stumps to make his presence felt.

At the final drinks break on Day 2, England have recovered to 170 for four in 69 overs, trailing India by 125 runs.

Ballance is batting on a good innings of 80 from 163 balls, while Ali is on 21 with the duo putting on 57 runs so far for the fifth wicket.

Eng 144-4 (60 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Jadeja races through his seventh over as Ali opts to defend watchfully. Ballance then smashes a short wide delivery through point to the fielder in the deep for a single but Ali defends the rest of the over from Ishant.

Jadeja helping India keep pace with the over rate as he concedes a single in his eighth over.

England reach 144 for four in 60 overs with Ballance on 66 from 138 balls and Ali on 10 from 46 balls.

Eng 142-4 (57 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Vijay resumes proceedings after the tea break. Ballance is gifted a four as Vijay bowls one down the leg side which the left-hander nudges fine to take his score to 55.

Ishant comes back for a new spell. Ballance looks a bit more confident after tea as he guides the fourth delivery past point for another four.

Vijay is taken off after the one over following the tea break and he makes way for Jadeja. Moeen tries to sweep the last ball but gets a top edge over the keeper for a four.

In the next over, Ballance smashes Ishant through the off-side for a four to take his score to 64.

England have reached 142 for four in 57 overs.

TEA - DAY 2

Eng 125-4 (53 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

At tea on Day 2, England struggle to 125 for four in 53 overs, still trailing India by 170 runs with six wickets in hand.

England lost two wickets for 74 runs in 29 overs in the post lunch session.

Ballance, who was got a lifeline on 32 after Dhoni failed to take edge off Binny, has survived a tough session to remain unbeaten on 51, having hit six fours in 117 deliveries, while Moeen Ali has made six from 25 balls.

For India, Bhuvneshwar caused the most damage with the ball, taking three for 34 in 17 overs, while Jadeja claimed one for nine in five overs.

Shami and Ishant bowled 11 and 12 overs respectively as India never let England off the hook in the post lunch session.

Eng 125-4 (53 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Binny and Jadeja bowling in tandem with both looking to rush through the covers and keep the pressure up with some tight overs. Binny, who had Ballance's catch dropped off his bowling early on, is doing a good job as he sticks to a good line and length to make the batsmen play as much as possible.

With one over to go before the tea break, India bring in part-time off-spinner Murali Vijay into the attack keeping in mind two left-handers out in the middle.

Ali takes a single from the second ball on the leg side while Ballance drives the fifth ball to deep point to bring up his fifty, his third in five matches, from 115 balls.

We have time for another over as Jadeja continues. Ballance takes a single from the second ball before Ali comes foward and defends to see out the session without any more dramas.

Eng 117-4 (47 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja comes into the attack, to bowl the 45th over of the innings to replace Shami. He starts with a good over conceding just a single to Root and Binny does the same in the next over.

In his second over, Jadeja strikes with the key wicket of Root, who hit a century in the previous match. The right-hander is trapped leg before wicket for 13 as England slip to 113 for four in the 47th over.

Hot Spot shows that there could have been an inside edge before the ball hit the pads as Root came forward to defend.

Moeen Ali starts off with a bang as he slogs Jadeja over midwicket for a four.

Eng 95-3 (40 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

It looks like Bhuvneshwar will never stop bowling as he comes to bowl his 17th over of the innings. He seems tired as he drops one short and wide which Ballance hammers through the covers for a four. The next ball is flicked through the leg side for a couple as England look to lift the tempo.

Bhuvneshwar is taken off finally after figures of three for 34 in 17 overs and he makes way for all-rounder Stuart Binny.

He gets Ballance to edge the first delivery, which is full and wide, but it goes past the slips for a four. In the next over, he again gets Ballance (32) to edge one but the ball goes right between Dhoni and Dhawan at first slip with both watching it go through for a boundary. Infact, Dhoni was guilty of not going for the ball with gloves on as Dhawan also expected the same denying Binny his first Test wicket.

England struggle to 95 for three in 40 overs, trailing India by 200 runs. Ballance has been lucky to stay in the middle having survived a dropped chance to score 36 from 91 balls while Root is on four.

Eng 79-3 (35 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Ishant bowls a maiden over to Root and Bhuvneshwar continues from the other end as Dhoni decides to give him an extra over considering he picked up a wicket in his previous one.

Ballance continues to be watchful and plays with utmost caution against Bhuvneshwar, who has taken three for 28 in 16 overs including seven maidens.

Root edges Ishant as he tries to play it through the off-side but it doesn't carry to first slip. Ballance then hits a boundary through midwicket to take his score to 21 as England reach 79 for three in 35 overs.

Eng 73-3 (32 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Ballance shuffling across as he survives a huge shout for LBW against Ishant with the ball looking to have pitched outside the leg stump. He then takes a single from the second ball before Bell gets a bye after Dhoni fails to gather one. Ballance is moving across a long way and falling over as Ishant trying to target the leg stump.

Bhuvneshwar continues as he comes on to bowl his 15th over and he strikes with the wicket of Bell. The right-hander is again dismissed trying to leave the ball as he gloves it to thirdman to be dismissed for 16. A short ball outside the off-stump which Bell offered no strike but was hit on the gloves and it popped to Jadeja to leave England in trouble at 70 for three in the 32nd over.

Joe Root gets off the mark with three runs through midwicket off the first ball he faces.

Eng 68-2 (30 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Ishant bowling a bit wide tempting Bell to have a go who resists the first four deliveries before he pokes his bat but is beaten. The fifth ball is a bit short and coming in which Bell turns fine on the leg side for a single.

Interestingly, India's batsmen were made to play only 56 percent of the deliveries by the English pacers, while Indian seamers fared much better and made the English batsmen play as much as 74 percent of the deliveries as they tried to bowl much closer to the stumps.

Bhuvneshwar sticking to a good line and length on and around the off-stump and trying to work on Bell's patience, who is content to play out a maiden over.

Ballance is beaten by one that slants across him by Ishant, he is struggling on seven from 50 balls. Ishant then strays on the pads as Ballance tries to flick fine but misses and gets four leg byes in the process. Two balls later he clips it to midwicket for three runs to move to 10 from 51 balls faced.

Despite being so patient, Ballance not letting go of any opportunity to score. A rare bad delivery from Bhuvneshwar as he drops short and wide which Ballance cuts over the slips for a four, his first after facing 59 balls.

England are 68 for two in 30 overs with Ballance on 15 from 60 balls and Bell on 16 from 50 balls.

Eng 55-2 (26 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Ishant to resume proceedings after the lunch break. Bell is hit on the pads as a huge appeal for LBW is turned down off the third ball as the right-hander misses the inswinging delivery but seems to have got a thin inside edge. He then turns the fifth ball on the leg side for a single.

Bhuvneshwar to bowl with three slips in place. Bell plays a nice drive through the covers and gets three runs in the process before Ballance plays out the last three deliveries of the over.

LUNCH - DAY 2

Eng 51-2 (24 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

At lunch on Day 2, England are 51 for two in 24 overs, trailing India by 244 runs.

Bell is batting on 11 from 28 balls, having hit two fours, while Ballance has battled hard for seven from 46 balls.

Kumar was superb with the new ball, taking two for 17 in 11 overs, including bowling 10 straight overs with the new ball during which he picked up both the openers.

Shami had a catch dropped off his bowling, that of Robson, as he bowled eight overs for 21 runs, while Ishant bowled five overs for nine runs.

The pitch is still doing a lot and India would be hoping to pick up another few wickets in the post lunch session and put England under pressure.

Eng 51-2 (24 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Ishant bowls another one on the pads as Bell flicks it through midwicket for his second four to bring some cheer back to the England dressing room after the loss of their openers.

Shami bowls two overs in his second spell before Bhuvneshwar comes back into the attack for his second spell, maybe for one last over before the lunch break.

Ballance misses an easy opportunity to score as he fails to make most of a short wide delivery and ends up hitting it to the fielder. Kumar switches to round the wicket as Ballance goes back and defends with a straight bat to safely play out the last over of the morning session.

Eng 41-2 (20 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Having picked up the wicket of Robson, Bhuvneshwar will continue as India opt to hold back all-rounder Stuart Binny.

Ishant and Bhuvneshwar bowl three maiden overs in a row before Ian Bell gets four leg byes as the former bowls one on the pads. He then steers a wide delivery past the slips for another boundary to get off the mark.

Shami comes back for his second spell as Bhuvneshwar is taken off after a long first spell of two for 17 in 10 overs.

Ballance flicks Shami through midwicket for a couple as England reach 41 for two in 20 overs with both batsmen batting on four.

Eng 31-2 (15 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Bhuvneshwar to bowl the eighth over of his first spell and he gets another wicket. This time Robson plays a loose shot outside the off-stump but this time gets an edge and is caught by Dhoni for 17.

England in trouble at 31 for two in 15 overs with both the openers back in the dressing room.

Eng 31-1 (14 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Robson, who was dropped in the previous over, plays a rash shot to a wide delivery from Shami and is lucky not to have edged it. He then turns the next ball through midwicket for three runs.

Gary Ballance edges the fifth delivery but it falls short of the slips as Shami ends a good over.

A long first spell for Bhuvneshwar as he continues to bowl his seventh over. Robson flicks the third ball on the leg side for two runs to end another good over from the pacer, who has taken one for 13 in seven overs including two maidens.

India make their first bowling change as Ishant Sharma comes in to replace Shami, who bowled six overs for 16 runs in his first spell.

He gets back to his bad habit of overstepping in his very first over, bowling a no-ball to Ballance before he bowls a big wide outside the off-stump.

Ishant nearly gets Ballance to edge as the ball slants across the left-hander, who pokes at one but is lucky not to get the edge.

He then has a huge shout for LBW turned down as Ballance plays all over  a straight delivery but is beaten.

Eng 24-1 (11 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Bhuvneshwar rocks England with the early wicket of captain Cook, who is caught behind by Dhoni for 10.

This time Dhoni pouches it safely diving to his right to continue Cook's poor run with the bat, who dabs at one outside the off-stump without moving his feet. He showed great discipline till that point but a slight mistake cost him dearly.

The left-hander has now gone nine innings without a half-century, since scoring 51 against Australia in Melbourne in December last year.

Eng 22-0 (10 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Shami's length is a bit shorter and he is not causing much trouble for Cook, who leaves the first three balls before defending the last three to play out the sixth over.

Robson plays a nice drive down the ground past mid-off for three runs off Kumar.

Interestingly, England are 10 for no loss in seven overs with both batsmen on identical scores and ball faced, five from 21 balls each for Cook and Robson.

Kumar bowls it too straight and Cook flicks it off his pads through midwicket for a four to take his score to 10.

In the next over, Ajinkya Rahane drops a straightforward chance at third slip as Robson (8) gets an edge off Shami. He gives Shami more grief as he flicks the next ball for a boundary through midwicket.

England are 22 for no loss in 10 overs with Robson on 12 and Cook on 10.

Eng 7-0 (5 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

Kumar bowling it full but Cook up to the task as he comes across and forward and blocks it with the full face of the bat. Interestingly, Kumar made Cook play all the six deliveries of that over by bowling a good line and length.

Shami's length is a bit short as Robson tucks the second ball on the leg side for one. Shami mixing his length to Cook who is playing with utmost caution before he flicks a full delivery on his pads through the fine leg region for a four, the first of England's innings.

Robson also concentrating on playing out the new ball as Kumar bowls another maiden to take England to seven for no loss in five overs.

Eng 2-0 (2 ovs) vs Ind 295 | Scorecard

India would not mind getting bowled out early as it gives them a chance to take advantage of the early morning conditions with the new ball.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the new ball in hand and facing him is England captain Alastair Cook, who is under pressure after his recent run of poor scores. He gets off the mark with a single to the midwicket region from the second delivery.

Sam Robson edges the first ball but it falls short of Shikhar Dhawan at third slip as Kumar pitches it up and gets it to swing away. The next ball again goes past the edge of the bat as Kumar looks to make the batsman play. Robson then gets a leading edge as he tries to play it on the leg side for a single to the covers as two runs come from the first over.

Mohammed Shami starts with a full delivery on the stumps which Robson defends on the leg side. The next ball is back of a length and it swings as the right-hander lets it go through to the keeper. Shami starts with a good first over as England reach two for no loss in two overs.

India 295 all out (91.4 ovs) vs Eng | Scorecard

Ben Stokes to bowl from the other end ahead of Stuart Broad, who did a good job with the ball on Day 1. He starts with one down the leg side and the third ball is wide of the off-stump as Shami plays and misses.

Stokes dismisses Shami with the fourth ball as he gets the right-hander to edge it to first slip, where Alastair Cook takes it on the second attempt.

India's innings lasted just five minutes on Day 2, adding five runs in 10 balls, before they are bowled out for 295 in 91.4 in their first innings.

Rahane was the top-scorer with a splendid innings of 103, having hit 15 fours and a six in his 154-ball knock. Bhuvneshwar Kumar played a good hand with the bat to score 36 and was involved in a 90-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Rahane.

Cheteshwar Pujara played a good innings of 28 from 117 balls, as he saw off the new ball quite well especially in the morning session.

India 295-9 (91 ovs) vs Eng | Scorecard

James Anderson to kick-off action with the ball for England while facing him is Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma at the other end, with three slips in place.

An attacking field for Shami unlike last evening when the field was spread for him offering easy singles. Shami has a wild swing at the third ball but gets a thick inside edge which goes past the stumps for a four. He then turns one to square leg for a single while Ishant sees off the last two balls.

 
India 290-9 (90 ovs) vs Eng | Scorecard

With just one wicket in hand, India would look to their last pair to score some runs and take the total past the 300-run mark to give them a psychological boost.

The wicket is still green and providing a lot of assistance to the pacers and India's bowlers would fancy their chances.

At stumps on Day 1, India finished on a creditable 290 for nine in 90 overs with Shami unbeaten on 14 and Ishant on 12.

A strong comeback from India after a batting collapse in the post lunch session courtesy of Rahane's century and some sensible batting from the tailenders.

Rahane played a sparkling innings of 103, hitting 15 fours and a six in his 154-ball knock, while Bhuvneshwar played another important innings with the bat.

Bhuvneshwar, batting at No. 9, scored 36 runs and was involved in a 90-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Rahane to steer India out of trouble.

Anderson was the top bowler for England on Day 1 as he claimed four for 55 in 22 overs, while Broad took two for 79.