Murali Vijay fell five short of a century on Sunday as India reached 267—7 at lunch against England on day four of the second Test at Lord’s for a precarious lead of 243 runs.
Resuming on 169—4, Vijay and Mahendra Singh Dhoni took India to 202—4 before two wickets tumbled for one run.
Dhoni edged Liam Plunkett to Ian Bell at second slip, who collected the catch smartly for England’s breakthrough.
Stuart Binny then fell for a duck, foolishly scooping a ball from Moeen Ali over midwicket where Alastair Cook took an excellent catch over his shoulder as he was running backwards.
Vijay was caught behind by Matt Prior off James Anderson, and was visibly frustrated at being needlessly drawn into playing at the delivery with three figures in sight.
Jadeja blasted 37 off 30 balls and made it to lunch alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar, not out on 13.
The removal of opener Vijay may give England the feeling that the opening session belonged to them. But while he was a key wicket, they could have been in an even stronger position.
Joe Root dropped Kumar at fourth slip off Broad on two runs, and given the Indian tailender scored half centuries both in the first test and the first innings here, it could be a missed opportunity that haunts England later on in the match.
The current partnership between Jadeja and Kumar is worth 32 runs off as many deliveries, with 21 coming off the final three overs. India will hope that partnership can maintain its momentum after lunch as it looks to post a target of over 300 for England to win the match.
Scoreboard:
India 1st innings: 295
England 1st Innings: 319
India 2nd innings: (Overnight 169/4)
M Vijay c Prior b Annderson 95
S Dhawan c Root b Stokes 31
C Pujara c Prior b Plunkett 43
V Kohli b Plunkett 0
A Rahane c Prior b Broad 5
MS Dhoni c Bell b Plunkett 19
S Binny c Cook b Ali 0
R Jadeja batting 37
B Kumar batting 13
Extras (B—15, LB—8, WD—1) 24
Total (For 7 wickets in 88 overs) 267
Fall of wickets: 1—40, 2—118, 3—118, 4—123, 5—202, 6—203, 7—235.
Bowling: J Anderson 26—11—57—1, S Broad 21—6—76—1, B Stokes 15—2—42—1, L Plunkett 18—6—42—3, M Ali 8—1—27—1.
