India waste two reviews early as England pile on agony

India took reviews in the 108th and 109th overs but both of them were turned down.

Chennai: A desperate India wasted two reviews in successive overs of the first session as England, through the century stand between skipper Joe Root and Ben Stokes, piled on the agony during the second day of the first Test.

India took reviews in the 108th and 109th overs but both of them were turned down.

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In the 107th over, off-spinner R Ashwin appealed for leg-before as the ball popped up and fell wide of wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant. Replays clearly showed the ball had hit the gloves before popping up in the air.

In the very next over, left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem appealed for leg-before against England skipper Joe Root but on review showed that the ball was missing the stumps.

The reviews lost were apart from the catches that India dropped.

Root, who completed his third score of 150 in third successive Test, and Stokes added 124 for the fourth wicket as England moved to 387 for four half an hour after lunch.

Stokes, who took guard at the start of the second day’s play after opener Dominic Sibley was dismissed in the last over of the first day, fell for 82 off 118 balls off Nadeem after hitting three sixes and 10 fours.

The England big-hitter survived a couple of chances with off-spinner R Ashwin dropping a tough chance off his own bowling and Cheteshwar Pujara dropping him at mid-wicket off the bowling of left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem.

India also wasted a chance to run out Root too as Washington Sundar’s throw was wide off the wicketkeeper.