The pendulum swung back and forth on a captivating Day Two in Mohali as England roared back at India in an electrifying final session.
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Pujara and Kohli cemented a partnership of 75 runs for the third wicket stand.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja then shared an unbroken stand of 67 as India closed on 271-6, 12 behind. In the morning they could only add 15 more runs and a skittish Jimmy Anderson got most of those – obviously that king pair was an aberration.
Earlier, Rashid was out to the first ball he received, edging a catch behind off seamer Mohammad Shami.
Earlier, England resumed at their overnight total of 268 for 8 in 90 overs and were skittled out in 93.5 overs.
Rashid then struck after the lunch break to remove Patel (42).
He failed to read a googly from England’s most successful bowler Adil Rashid (3/66 in 21 overs).
India lead the five test series 1-0.
England’s fielding compounded their woes as Jos Buttler dropped Vijay at midwicket, but the right hander didn’t take advantage of the reprieve as he edged Ben Stokes to the keeper in his first over of the Test.
While Kohli got nine boundaries utilising the loose deliveries, England were successful in drying up the runs. Pujara had reached his 11th test half century off 100 balls, inclusive of eight fours. “Will try get fit for the next one but will definitely be fit for Mumbai”.
England once again showed their fighting spirit as a unit and also probably gave a fair indication as to why despite losing in Visakhapatnam by a margin of 246 runs, India can not take them lightly.
Pujara, who hit eight boundaries for his 51, was finally removed when Chris Woakes claimed a superb low catch. Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed for fifth-ball duck, and a miscalculated run resulted in debutant Karun Nair being dismissed for mere 4 runs.
Bairstow’s insistence on a review even as Parthiv advanced down the track to flick Rashid and missed the line earned England its second breakthrough, but that was to be its only slice of joy for the entire session.
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami got both Endland wickets which fell today. At 148-2 there was a lot of danger knocking around with [Cheteshwar] Pujara and [Virat] Kohli set.
The only blot in Pujara’s otherwise composed knock was when, on 35, he tickled a Stokes delivery down the legside and Jonny Bairstow could not hold onto the catch.
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At that stage, India were 204-6 and some 79 runs behind. However Kohli stayed composed to record his 14th Test fifty as he soldiered on with Ashwin to try and rebuild the innings. Scrapping for superiority. Classic Test cricket. But having looked down and out for so long, England are back in the mix and battling hard.
