Nagpur, Dec 14: India grabbed two wickets before debutant Joe Root's resolute, unbeaten half-century lifted England to 277 for seven at lunch on the second day of the fourth and final cricket Test here today.
ScoreboardRavichandran Ashwin bowled overnight unbeaten batsman and stumper Matt Prior for 57 soon after the first drinks session and then Ishant Sharma, replacing the off-spinner, trapped Tim Bresnan with the second new spell to help India wrest the initiative at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha.
The two wickets fell in the space of nine balls.
England had lost both the wickets at the same score of 242, after adding 43 runs to their overnight total of 199/5, but Root and Graeme Swann prevented further damage in the first session.
At the break, Root was not out on 65 off 200 balls, after starting the day at 31, while Swann was unbeaten on 19 with the help of four fours.
The duo has so far added 35 runs in 13.2 overs for the eighth wicket while the tourists scored 78 in 32 overs in the pre-lunch session.
Sharma had figures of three for 47 at lunch while Ashwin, after a fruitless day yesterday, had one for 46.
England slowly and steadily built up their innings after resuming the innings this morning.
The initial few overs by Sharma and Jadeja, India's most successful bowlers with two wickets apiece yesterday, were played watchfully by the two overnight batsmen Prior and Root.
Run-making became a bit easier when Sharma went off the attack after a spell of three overs.
Jadeja bowled a bit short at times allowing the batsmen to cut, while leggie Piyush Chawla was also not accurate enough for a packed off-side field.
The first boundary of the day came via an edge by Root. He then square cut Chawla's short ball for his second four.
