India vs England 2014: Lord's Test, Day 2 - As it happened...

Zee Media Bureau/Suyash Srivastava London: Gary Ballance slammed his second ton at Lord's to lead England's fightback against India on day 2 of the second Test match. SCORECARD» | COMMENTARY» | REPORT» Also read: Vacancy in England squad: Frontline spinner required» Nasser Hussain questions English bowling on green pitch» ============================================================== England, 1st innings: Over 86 || Score 219/6 STUMPS: Soon after reaching his century, Ballance went after a delivery which was going down the leg stump, edged it and Dhoni took a good catch diving to his left. Liam Plunkett and Matt Prior are the two new batsmen at the crease and their job right was to defend everything till the end of the day's play, which they rightly did. England trail by 79 runs. GS Ballance c Dhoni b Kumar 110 (203b) ============================================================== Over 80 || Score 212/5 Part time off-spinner Murali Vijay got India a surprise breakthrough when he bowled a length delivery to Moeen Ali, who couldn't get his bat down in time and was trapped in front of the wicket. That was a maiden Test wicket for Murali and what a time to get it! Moeen would be devastated with that dismissal as he had batted for more than 100 balls. That wicket was the end of 98-run partnership between these two. It's also time for Dhoni to take the new ball. MM Ali lbw b Vijay 32 (106b) ============================================================== Over 75 || Score 191/4 England have some respite at the moment with both Moeen and Gary batting at their best. The new ball is due to be taken in some time and it is yet to be seen whether Bhuvneshwar could weave some magic with the new ball, as he has done right throughout this day. The partnership is now worth 78 runs. ============================================================== Over 70 || Score 173/4 Last five overs produced just ten runs for England but these two are now playing with a solid technique, straight bat. Ballance has moved on to 82 and Moeen is batting on 22. Dhoni is rotating his bowlers as his search for the fifth wicket continues. ============================================================== Over 65 || Score 163/4 MS Dhoni might be cursing himself for not attempting that catch off Ballance's bat. He is now batting with ease and looks all set for his second Test ton. Moeen Ali on the other hand has supported Ballance well, not trying to play too many strokes even though he was off the mark with a boundary first ball off Jadeja. These two have now added exactly 50 runs for the fifth-wicket partnership. ============================================================== Over 60 || Score 144/4 Moeen and Gary have accelerated the pace of the innings to an extent after tea. Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja have bowled from both ends. Dhoni has given a long break to his most in-form bowler Bhuneshwar Kumar, but he should be ready to bowl another long spell now. The fifth-wicket partnership is now worth 31 runs. ============================================================== Over 50 || Score 120/4 Ravindra Jadeja picked his first wicket of the match when Root was trapped in front of the wicket as he was done by the skid. The hot spot suggested that there was an inside edge there. Nine runs scored in the last five overs. Moeen Ali is the new man in. JE Root lbw b Jadeja 13 (50b) ============================================================== Over 45 || Score 111/3 Joe Root has an extremely impressive record at the Lord's and he has had no problems whatsover so far. Ballance too, is making the best of the opportunities which were given away by the Indian team. This partnership is now worth 41 runs. ============================================================== Over 40 || Score 95/3 Stuart Binny created a big opportunity for India when he bowled an outswinger to Ballance who edged it, but the ball went past the gap between MS Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan at first slip, none of them went for it. It was Dhoni's catch and it would have been a big wicket considering the fact that Ballance was batting on 32. 15 runs scored in the last five overs. ============================================================== Over 35 || Score 79/3 Bhuvi picked his third wicket of the match when one of his deliveries bounced awkwardly, Ian Bell was looking to let it go but it hit his gloves and went straight into the hands of Jadeja at the slip cordon. Another big wicket for India and Joe Root is the new man in. IR Bell c Jadeja b Kumar 16 (56b) ============================================================== Over 30 || Score 68/2 Indian bowlers have continued with their good line and length even though Ballance and Bell are getting more comfortable out there in the middle. These two have added 17 runs in the last five overs and this partnership is now worth 37 runs. ============================================================== Over 24 || Score 51/2 Ballance and Bell have made sure that England don't lose any more wickets today. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been very impressive yet again, Shami was unlucky earlier in the innings where Rahane dropped a catch of his bowling. India for sure are dictating terms at the moment and a few more wickets in the next session will certainly put them on the driving seat. ============================================================== Over 20 || Score 41/2 Indian seamers continue to impress as England batsman are now making sure to bat through this first session after those two early blows. Bhuvneshwar has been the pick of the Indian bowlers and he looks all set for another good show in the series. ============================================================== Over 15 || Score 31/2 Bhuvi had been bowling a probing length to Alastair Cook outside the off-stump and he was rewarded for it when Cook edged the first delivery of his sixth over and MS Dhoni took a good catch diving to his left. Another poor series for Cook continues. Gary Ballance is the new man in. Bhuvneshwar scalped another batsmen when he pitched a beautiful outswinger to Robson, who edged it straight to MS Dhoni. The English batsmen are looking vulnerable against Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has been extremely impressive with his line and length. SD Robson c Dhoni b Kumar 17 (42b) AN Cook c Dhoni b Kumar 10 (29b) ============================================================== Over 10 || Score 22/0 India missed out on a big opportunity when Robson edged one off Shami, the ball went straight to Ajinkya Rahane at second slip who got his hands to it, but grassed it at the last moment. So Robson has been dropped on 8! There is a lot of swing on offer for the Indian pacers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has looked the most impressive so far. Cook scored his second boundary of the innings when he hit Bhuvi past midwicket for four runs. ============================================================== Over 5 || Score 7/0 Indian seamers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami have started off their innings with an accurate line and length. Both England openers Alastair Cook and Sam Robson have made a cautious start. Cook, in particular, would want to play a good knock here as his form has eluded him for quite some time now. ============================================================== India, 1st innings: So the Indian innings fold for 295. Just five runs added to the overnight score of 290/9. Let us see with what plans do the Indian seamers come out with. Over 92|| Score 295/10 Ben Stokes comes into the attack and gets Shami in the fourth ball. Shami guides one to the slips as England skipper Cook fumbles before taking the catch. Mohammed Shami c Cook b Stokes 19 (24b) =================================================== Over 91|| Score 295/9 So James Anderson starts with the proceedings as Shami faces the bowling. He goes for a swing and gets a boundary in the third ball. Important runs these. Doesn't matter from where they come. He gets a single to keep strike in last ball of the over. =================================================== Here is a video of India coach Duncan Fletcher giving slip catches training to the players.

.@BCCI coach Duncan Fletcher leads some slip & wicket keeping practice #EngvInd https://t.co/bPcr36fTR9

— Lord's Ground (@HomeOfCricket) July 18, 2014

The players are out and are training ahead of the second day's play.

.@BCCI hero from day 1, @ajinkyarahane88 plus @ImIshant, @msdhoni & the rest of the team have arrived #EngvInd pic.twitter.com/rHCwUtYfl2

— Lord's Ground (@HomeOfCricket) July 18, 2014

So the sun is at full swing. It will be interesting to see how the pitch reacts today. How much swing and will the batters shine or the bowlers rule the roost?

The sun is out and it's going to be a hot one! If you are coming today, make sure you come prepared! #hats #water pic.twitter.com/HzbOPvxX4r— Lord's Ground (@HomeOfCricket) July 18, 2014

The covers were on in the morning, but sunshine is out. Good news for cricket fans!

Covers on but the sun is out here - it's bright in the distance as well. #EngvInd #LoveLords pic.twitter.com/Zg591hQOCa— Lord's Ground (@HomeOfCricket) July 18, 2014

The second day of the Test match at Lord`s promises to provide a scintillating battle as India will resume at 296/9. The conditions are expected to be sunny and clear sky is predicted as the day progresses. Earlier there was a hint of rain and it was expected to be overcast but things look good here at Lord's. India will try to get to 300 and then add some vital runs. They will hope to come out strong against England with the ball and will try to get Alastair Cook early on. Swing factor will determine here and the Indian pace trio will look to use that to their advantage. A lot will depend today in which way will the Test match go. India need early wickets and if they manage to get England all out today the match might finish well before five days. England will bank on Joe Root and Ian Bell. Also James Anderson has the prospect of taking a fifer in the first innings as he needs a wicket and the scalp of either Shami or Ishant will see a mark of an excellent spell by the experienced pacer. With the happennings of Day 1, England will be disappointed with the fact they didn`t get India all out after being in a commanding position. The visitors were rallying at 146/7 and a first innings total of 160-175 were on the cards. But Ajinkya Rahane`s sublime 103 and Bhuvneshwar Kumar`s fine rumn with the bat ensured India a good first innings score of 296/9 at stumps on first day.