ENG vs IND: 2nd Test, Day 2 – Root, Burns set the stage for England’s fightback

The second day of the Lord’s Test between England and India ended with the hosts at 118/3. India, after being asked to bat first, posted 364 in the first innings on the back of KL Rahul’s 12th Test ton and Rohit Sharma’s half-century.

Let’s take a look at the day’s talking points:

India’s dramatic collapse

Coming into Day 2 at 276/3 with overnight centurion Rahul and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane in the middle, India seemed all but certain to push for a massive first innings score. Although, those plans were immediately dented with Ollie Robinson sending back Rahul after he had added just 2 runs to his overnight score of 127. India lost Rahane in the next over, with Anderson claiming a wicket on his first ball of Day 2. Even as Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja stood in the middle contributing 37 and 40 respectively, India lost their last seven wickets for just 88 runs to suffer a massive middle and lower-middle order collapse.

Masterful Anderson’s 31st fifer

Doing what he is known to do best, veteran pacer James Anderson troubled the Indian batters right from the onset. Having already claimed the wickets of opener Rohit Sharma and No. 3 Cheteshwar Pujara on the opening day, he got Rahane caught in the slips for just 1, before wiping the Indian tail by pinning Ishant Sharma lbw and Jasprit Bumrah caught behind for his 31st Test five-wicket haul. Only New Zealand pacer Richard Hadlee (36) is ahead of Anderson in the list of most fifers for pacers in Test.

India’s poor DRS calls

India’s poor run with the Decision Review System continued as they burnt two reviews off Mohammed Siraj’s bowling. Of India’s last 24 DRS calls, only three have turned successful. On Day 2 at Lord’s, both of India’s reviews for LBW shouts were against England skipper Joe Root, with the ball tracker revealing the ball missing the leg stump by a fair margin.