Mumbai: With Jos Buttler marshalling the tail, England kept India on the field for close to half-an-hour past Lunch on the second day of the fourth Test at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday, lifting its first-innings total to 400.
The visitors had seen R. Ashwin bowl tantalising spells and take six wickets, with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja playing the ideal foil, and would have nursed hopes that Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid would be able to conjure up some magic of their own.
The purchase that the Indian slow bowlers got out of the wicket was in evidence when England was in the field too; off-spinner Moeen bowled opener K.L. Rahul through the gate, the turn beating an attempted front-foot drive against the spin. That was the only setback for the hosts who went to stumps at 146 for one, with M. Vijay unbeaten on 70 and Cheteshwar Pujara on 47.
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England would have seen that breakthrough from a spinner as portentous, especially after the opening pair had seen off the new ball and the early threat from the seamers.
Keen and eager to get back to the business of scoring runs, especially after a disappointing display in the second Test at Visakhapatnam, Rahul was in his element against Jimmy Anderson and Chris Woakes.
After Vijay opened his account with a well-timed off-drive off Woakes, Rahul sent the same bowler to the long-off fence, and square drove Anderson, prompting Alastair Cook to usher in Moeen in the eighth over and leg-spinner Rashid in the ninth.
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Rahul seemed in fine touch against Rashid too. After he went for 24 runs in five overs, Rashid was taken off.
While Rahul committed his error of judgement in the 14th over after he had spent an hour at the crease, his opening partner Vijay, and Pujara were almost flawless as they consolidated.
Both batsmen possess solid defence, and they construct their shots around this strength.
India’s second-wicket pair demonstrated superb temperament and stroke-making ability. Vijay was not afraid to step out of his crease to lift both Rashid and Moeen straight over their heads, and he had no trouble ducking under the short-pitched stuff from the seamers.
While Vijay was methodical and looked to punish the spinners, Pujara was quick to punish errors in length from the seamers, rising on his toes and sending the ball racing to the fence between point and cover.
The spinners sent down 28 overs and were scored off at almost three-and-a-half runs an over.
India will look to Pujara — who survived a DRS referral — and Vijay to deliver many more priceless runs when the Test resumes on Saturday.
In the morning, England had added only nine runs to its overnight 288 when Ben Stokes was declared, by DRS, to have nicked the ball — and caught at slip by Virat Kohli — after the umpire had turned down the appeal. The left-hander had seemed confident that he was safe, but replays confirmed a feather touch and deviation off the bat.
That was Ashwin’s fifth wicket, and after that England lost Woakes and Rashid to Jadeja before Buttler (76) and Jake Ball (31) frustrated India with a 54-run stand for the ninth wicket.
India delayed taking the second new ball, and even after it was claimed in the 122nd over, Virat Kohli had to call upon Ashwin and Jadeja to bring an end to the England first innings.