Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav have put England through the wringer in the second innings as the Ranchi Test continued to hang in the balance. The two spinners weaved their magic post lunch as England lost half their side while extending the lead to 166 runs.
The regular wickets urged both Crawley and Jonny Bairstow to push the scoring rate and they both managed to collect quick runs. While Crawley got to his fifty, his joy was short-lived as Kuldeep entered the wickets column by castling the opener for 60.
The pitch is tricky but not unplayable. Whatever the target is, India will have to really bat well. England need another breezy partnership to consolidate their position in the game. They have got two so far, they need at least one more to put the home side under significant pressure at the JSCA International Stadium Complex.
Brief scores: England353 & 120/5 (Zak Crawley 60; R Ashwin 3/48, Kuldeep Yadav 2/10) lead India 307 (Dhruv Jurel 90, Yashasvi Jaiswal 73; Shoaib Bashir 5/119) by 166 runs
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