🏏England tour of India 2024: 1st Test: 25 - 29 Jan 2024 - Day 4🏏 - Page 21

"Why Ben Stokes isn't bowling?" He's just had a knee op, Milind. Only fit to be on tour as a batter

Hannah Bracken: "It's only the second day - zero chance that India are thinking of declaring." Agreed

75.1

Rehan Ahmed to Jadeja, FOUR, 81.4kph, spinning down leg on a shortish length, Jadeja swivels and pulls it to the right of backward square leg. Good placement after rocking back

END OF OVER 76

5 runs

IND: 309/5

CRR: 4.06

KS Bharat

9 (37)

RA Jadeja

45 (68)

Rehan Ahmed

15-3-77-1

JE Root

11-1-37-1

Tea, day two: This session - 26 overs | 87 runs | 2 wickets. England started well after lunch. They conceded just 2 runs off the first four overs and Rehan had Shreyas Iyer caught at deep midwicket. India responded in style. They counterattacked and put the England spinners under pressure. India got into lead and the Rahul-Jadeja duo stitched a brisk 65-run stand. KL became the fifth Indian batter to get out playing an aggressive stroke as he pulled a half-tracker from Hartley straight to deep midwicket.

14:13 Local Time, 08:43 GMT, 14:13 IST | Tea, day two: This session - 26 overs | 87 runs | 2 wickets.

Here's Apurba: "I find it hard to believe Hartley has bowled nearly double the overs compared to what Jack Leach has. I think Leach is someone who should be almost constantly bowling from one end, after all he is the most experienced spinner in England's line-up." Yes, Stokes' commitment to making Hartley feel at home does seem to have been slightly overegged

Peter S: "I thought it was a bit odd to pick three spinners rather than having a second fast bowler and using Root. At the moment he has better figures than Hartley or Ahmed."

"Why the English spinners take long time to complete an over?" huffs VKiran. "They are taking too much time to finish a over." We can't all be Ravindra Jadeja (and some of us don't mind that extra time, either)

NameIsBond: "Why is Stokes not bowling himself." He's just had knee surgery, innit