Courtesy of a superb double hundred by Joe Root, the visitors reached 555 at the loss of 8 wickets at the end of Day 2. They were in prime position to go even bigger, but Ishant Sharma bowled Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer off consecutive deliveries just before stumps to restore some balance in the game.
Shahbaz Nadeem played a crucial role on Saturday. The 31-year-old first broke the threatening 124-run partnership between Root and Ben Stokes by luring the latter into a false shot. He then came back to dismiss the English captain by catching him plumb in front for 218 runs.
Shahbaz Nadeem explains India’s bowling strategy on Day 2
Neither the pacers nor the tweakers seemed to get any help from the sluggish Chennai wicket. Shahbaz Nadeem said the hosts came with the defensive plan of bowling tight lines and lengths and waiting for the batsmen to commit mistakes.
The wicket has started to play occasional tricks, but it’s still pretty good for the willow-wielders. It will be interesting to see how Indian batsmen pull up their fatigued bodies and go about their business on Saturday.
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