India vs England, fourth Test day two: Shoaib Bashir’s rise is one of the great stories

Test wicket no 697 for James Anderson capped a decent morning for England as they extended their first innings to 353 all out and made one early inroad into the Indian batting line up.

The dismissal of Rohit Sharma, pushing forward edging a ball that nipped away, was a trademark removal of an opening batsman by Anderson that England have become accustomed to for more than 20 years.

However Yashasvi Jaiswal is looking dangerous again, striking Ollie Robinson for two fours in the over before lunch to underline his fine form and he could play the decisive hand for India today.

England extended their overnight total by 51, Joe Root finishing 122 not out and Robinson’s maiden Test fifty was crucial. With two no 11s in Bashir and Anderson, Robinson played a vital role in lifting England to a decent score, putting on 102 with Root and batting for a further 50 minutes this morning before the last three wickets fell for six runs.. 

It was a sedate opening session of day two, although a fascinating arm wrestle between two evenly matched teams, in comparison to the chaos and carnage of day one. The life has gone out off the pitch compared to yesterday and this could be the best day to bat making it hard to judge England’s total.

Ben Stokes bowled in the warm up and looks likely to come on at some point, possibly to reverse the old ball. The key for England will be Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir. Both are tall spinners with high release points picked for exactly this kind of surface. Can they deliver on that call?