India continued to accelerate their first innings total on Day 2 of the Dharamsala Test against England. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill registered brilliant centuries in the first session and then youngsters Sarfaraz Khan and Devudutt Padikkal boosted India's total past 400.
After bowling out the visitors on 218 on Day 1, Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his red-hot form by smashing 57 off just 58 balls to give India control of the game on Thursday. Rohit and Shubaman then stretched India's dominance with impressive fifties.
Padikall marked his Test debut by scoring 65 and notably brought his fifty with a six. India registered a rare milestone after Padikkal reached the 50-run mark. This is the first time in red-ball cricket history that India's top five batters scored 50-plus knocks in a Test innings against England.
The last time the top five registered 50-plus scores for India against Sri Lanka at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium was in December 2009. Only four times, the top five Indian batters have registered this rare achievement in Test cricket history and all against different opponents.
India’s top 5 batters scoring 50+ in a Test innings:
- India vs Australia, Kolkata, 1998
- India vs New Zealand, Mohali, 1999
- India vs Sri Lanka, Mumbai (Brabourne), 2009
- India vs England, Dharamsala, 2024
Meanwhile, both Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal failed to convert their fifties into maiden Test hundreds, Sarafaz scored 56 runs off just 60 balls while Padikkal made an impact on his debut by scoring 65 runs off 103 balls.
India witnessed a collapse in the last session with the likes of Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja recording low-scoring knocks. Ravichandran Ashwin registered a duck in his 100th Test match as India lost eight wickets on 428.
Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah then staged a crucial unbeaten 45-run stand for the fifth wicket as India posted 473/8 when umpires called stumps.
