The big news: Advantage England

England crossed the 350-run mark as they ended on 385/8 at lunch. After Keaton Jennings’s spectacular century on day one, Jos Butler’s unbeaten knock of 64 saw England near the 400-run barrier. India also had their moments as Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja once again took crucial wickets during the first session. Ashwin took the wicket of Ben Stokes with Jadeja bagging Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid.

England will look to continue their resilient run against a pitch that has seen the ball turn. India skipper Virat Kohli will hope that he grabs the last two wickets as soon as possible and begin their innings. The pace bowlers are yet to get going two days into the Test match and will hope to get their act together in the second session.

Other top stories:

  1. In the Ranji trophy, defending champions Mumbai struggled against Punjab who took their first innings total to 468. Mayank Sidhana scored 115, while skipper Gurkeerat Singh Mann made 93 in a thrilling fashion. In reply, Mumbai began on the back foot after losing Shreyas Iyer and Armaan Jaffer with just eight runs on the board. 
  2. Uncapped fast bowler Vikum Sanjaya was included in Sri Lanka’s Test squad to South Africa, which also sees the return of captain Angelo Mathews, wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal, and fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera. Batsman Upul Tharanga made it to the squad.
  3. Dale Steyn backed AB de Villiers as South Africa’s permanent Test captain, and wants to see him back in the role once fit. He is definitely the captain,” Steyn told ESPNCricinfo. “I know Faf has done really well for us right now, but AB is the captain. He has earned that spot. He has played for a long time, and he said he wants to do it and he got the opportunity to. Unfortunately, he got injured, but he is the man at the end of the day.” 
  4. The fifth Test between India and England will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk from December 16 without any hurdle. There were some doubts whether the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association would be able to host the final Test following the death of chief minister J Jayalalithaa on December 5. However, TNCA secretary Kasi Viswanathan confirmed they will host the match and that they have obtained the green signal from the Tamil Nadu police on the security front, reported Times of India.