Rohit Sharma (161) and Ajinkya Rahane (67) put India in a great position with the duo stitching together a 162 run partnership. Rohit, in particular, played one his best Test knocks, making batting look easy on a difficult pitch. The Indian opener cut, drove, pulled elegantly as only as he can giving a lesson in shot-making on a pitch that was not conducive for strokeplay. Rohit used the sweep shot to good effect against the spinners. He, however, wasn't as aggressive as he was in the first session.
Rahane, on his part, grew in confidence gradually and hit a few beautiful shots, including a back-cut off Leach.Rohit's innings acquire greater significance as it came when India are 0-1 down in the series and lost Shubman Gill and captain Virat Kohli for ducks. Rohit's 85-run stand steadied India and his partnership with Rahane put India in the driver's seat. Rahane, who had fallen for a duck in the first Test, came up with a solid knock - forming a perfect foil to Rohit. England sniffed their chances at their dismissals in successive overs, but Rishabh Pant ensured that India stayed ahead taking the score to 300/6. India needs to win 2nd Test to keep its hope alive for ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final qualification. The hosts lost the first test by a huge margin.
