Dharamshala, March 8: Centuries from skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill put India in command, as the hosts reached 472/8 iin 118.4 overs on Day 2 of the Fifth and Final Test against England at the HPCA Stadium, here on Friday.
India resumed the day at overnight score of 135/1. The two overnight not out batsmen Rohit Sharma (103 off 162 balls) and Shubman Gill (110 off 150 balls) scored centuries. Amid pristine weather and batting friendly conditions Indians dominated the opening session of the day, as Rohit and Gill put up 160-run stand, India's second consecutive hundred partnership in the series.
The duo was in no mood to let England into the game and both batters got their hundreds three balls apart. Rohit was the first to reach the three-figure mark. He notched his second hundred of the series and 12th overall with a clip-through midwicket off Tom Hartley.
In the next over, he handed the strike back to Gill, who slog-swept Shoaib Bashir to bring up his second century of the series and fourth in Tests.
Gill played the aggressor early on, while Rohit looked solid at one end. England tried the short ball ploy but it didn't work as the two players didn't let the pressure build.
But the two departed after scoring tons in quick succession. Earlier left-handed dashing opener Yashasvi Jaiswal had scored a fluent 57 in 58 balls.
Young Sarfaraz Khan (56 in 60 balls) too hit an attacking half century. Debutant Devdutt Padikkal impressed with the bat as well and slammed a fifty on debut. Padikkal dealth mostly with boundaries. He scored 65 in 103 balls, with 10 boundaries and a huge six.
But young Indian wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel could not replicate his previous Test heroics, as he fell for only 15. He was the 4th victim of English spinner Shoaib Bashir in India's first innings.
Veteran spin-twins Ravindra Jadeja (15) and Ravichandran Ashwin (0) too departed early.
On Day 1, India had bundled out England for 218 in their first innings, with Kuldeep Yadav's fifer and Ravi Ashwin's four-wicket haul. The other English wicket was claimed by left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja. (With IANS support)
