India v England: second Test, day one – live!

Over-by-over updates from the second Test in ChennaiBess and Anderson out as England make four changesGet in touch! Email Rob here

9.29am GMT

60th over: India 207-3 (Sharma 136, Rahane 50) Rahane flicks uppishly at Moeen, with the ball falling just short of Root on the leg side. A few deliveries are already exploding from the pitch; later in the over, Rahane aborts a late cut at a ball that turns and bounces grotesquely. Good luck batting on this in the second innings, never mind the fourth.

He composes himself and then pushes a single to reach a masterful half-century from 104 balls. It’s been a typical Rahane innings, full of class and intelligence.

9.23am GMT

59th over: India 205-3 (Sharma 135, Rahane 49) Stone is definitely getting some reverse swing, which should give England some much needed encouragement. A slightly weary short ball from Stone is pulled smoothly for four by Rahane, who then survives consecutive LBW appeals after being hit on the pad by reverse inswingers. Both were outside the line, though the second was closer than the first.

“I think England have to show faith with Moeen,” says Colum Fordham. “Once his confidence is back, he will bowl enough good balls to trouble the India batsmen, as his LBW appeal just showed. And the jaffa to Kohli. Olly Stone looks promising.”

9.18am GMT

58th over: India 200-3 (Sharma 134, Rahane 45) Rahane, on the run, drives Moeen sweetly through extra cover for four. He continues to go down the track, both in attack and defence. Moeen drops one short as a result, so Rahane skids back to cut for four. That’s masterful batting from one of the great supporting actors of his generation. Moeen has been expensive today: 17-1-78-1.

“Morning Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Never mind resting Jimmy, when will I get a rest today? Cricket and tennis in the morning, football and rugby all afternoon, then the final of the Masked Singer tonight. (Just who is Badger?). And I need to find a Valentine’s gift for Mrs McMahon from my local supermarket. I’ll need to dig the car out first though. Do you think a mention on the OBO will suffice?”

9.14am GMT

57th over: India 192-3 (Sharma 134, Rahane 37) Rahane gloves a short ball from Stone round the corner for a single, and then Sharma then plays a gorgeous back-foot drive for a couple. Root has been off the field for the last few minutes, though he’s about to come back on.

9.10am GMT

56th over: India 189-3 (Sharma 132, Rahane 36) Sharma is hit in the grille when he misses a sweep off Moeen. He misses another later in the over, falling over to the off side, and England have a biggish LBW appeal turned down. It was outside the line I think. That was a really good over from Moeen, his first maiden of the innings.

9.06am GMT

55th over: India 189-3 (Sharma 132, Rahane 36) Olly Stone beats Rahane with the first ball after tea. The picture is a couple of seconds behind the audio, and it’s a bit strange to hear oohs and aahs while Stone is running in to bowl. Those oohs and aaahs were because Rahane had inside-edged another good delivery onto the pad. An excellent maiden from Stone, with the first suggestion of reverse swing.

8.55am GMT

“I know this is a long shot, but is there any way of getting TMS commentary abroad for this Test?” says Andrew Mullinder. “Cannot find anything through the usual YouTube avenues. Thanks.”

The BBC don’t have the rights for this series, but it’s on TalkSport.

8.43am GMT

Tea-time reading

Related: John Holder: 'I rocked the boat and got punished for doing my job properly'

8.43am GMT

“Hi Rob,” says Mittu Choudhary. “It’s a tricky situation for Kohli - his rivals for Test and ODI captaincy saving India’s blushes. If they play well, their credentials strengthen; if they don’t, Kohli will have to take the blame for the loss. What do others think?”

From afar, it seems impossible that Kohli would ever have the captaincy taken away from him. If it does happen, I pity the fool who has to break the news.

8.43am GMT

54th over: India 189-3 (Sharma 132, Rahane 36) Rahane softens his hands to glove a nasty delivery from Leach just short of Root in the gully. That really kicked from a length, and is another ominous sign for England.

A quick single completes a perfect session for India: they scored 83 runs in 28 overs and, most importantly, lost not a solitary wicket. They won an important toss, sure, but they have batted beautifully and it’s already hard to see how England can avoid defeat in this Test.

8.38am GMT

53rd over: India 187-3 (Sharma 131, Rahane 35) Olly Stone comes on for one over before tea. After a few 90mph+ looseners, he beats Rahane with a clever slower ball. Stone’s performance so far has been the high point of a difficult day for England.

“Good morning, Rob, and greetings from frozen over Berlin,” says Eva Maaten. “Last February, when we were watching England play in SA seems like another world; I guess that’s what we all feel right now even without having moved continents last year. But that’s a digression. We finally got round to watching Lagaan the other night (I imagine the erudite OBO crowd is familiar with it) for a bit of historical background and full immersion into the England - India cricket rivalry; at four hours long, it even does a very good job in mimicking the atmosphere of watching aTtest match. Real cricket might feel inspired to include the occasional Bollywood dance routine at moments of high drama. Just a thought. And I was wondering if Ben Stokes has been modelling himself on the larger-than-life and impossibly good hero of the movie.”

8.32am GMT

52nd over: India 187-3 (Sharma 131, Rahane 35) Sharma cuts Leach for two to bring up a game-changing - maybe series-changing - hundred partnership. India are a few minutes away from a wicketless session; I don’t think there will be too many of those in this Test.

8.29am GMT

51st over: India 185-3 (Sharma 129, Rahane 35) Moeen goes around the wicket to Sharma, who dabs past the leaping Stokes at slip for four. As frustrating at this has been for England, Sharma and Rahane have batted quite beautifully on a tricky first-day pitch.

“England won the first test with bat and ball, and now they’re going for the series with the mind,” roars Felix Wood. “Get Kohli for a duck but let Rahane get big runs, hammering on the cracks in this fragile India dressing-room. It really is very impressive indeed and no shut up YOU’RE grasping at straws.”

8.25am GMT

50th over: India 180-3 (Sharma 124, Rahane 35) A good over from Leach, one from it. England need to keep telling themselves that, on this pitch, one wicket could bring 12. But in truth they are already in a deal of trouble.

8.22am GMT

49th over: India 179-3 (Sharma 123, Rahane 35) Sharma slog-sweeps Moeen for four, fetching him from outside off stump. India have gone after Moeen, which I think is a good approach. I know a lot of people say you don’t need to do that because he will always bowl you the odd bad ball. But Moeen’s confidence is so fragile - and he can be so dangerous when his that confidence is high - that there is plenty to gain from getting on top of him, as Australia have shown.

8.19am GMT

48th over: India 174-3 (Sharma 118, Rahane 35) The pace of Sharma’s innings has been fascinating - 80 from 78 balls before lunch, 38 from 78 since the break. The greedy bugger wants bed and breakfast!

“India are miles ahead now,” says Andrew Hurley. “With Pant to come against a tiring attack... never has the idea to not play Jimmy look so silly (not hindsight, he can play consecutive Tests...)”

8.14am GMT

47th over: India 169-3 (Sharma 114, Rahane 34) Moeen has changed ends to replace Broad. Rahane is hit outside the line by a big off-break, prompting Joe Root to put in a leg gully. It also induces a rare poor stroke from Rahane, who scuffs a big drive just short of Lawrence at mid-off. He’s back to his serene best next ball, skidding back in his crease to force three runs through the covers. That was a lovely shot.

8.10am GMT

46th over: India 164-3 (Sharma 112, Rahane 31) Jack Leach (15-2-31-1) changes ends to replace Moeen Ali (12-0-55-1). Sharma feels for a good delivery that lifts from a length and flies between slip and silly point, then inside-edges just past leg stump for three. That was beautifully bowled by Leach, an arm ball that had Sharma in two minds.

A good over turns into an expensive one when Rahane back cuts classily for four. He is playing with his usual unobtrusive brilliance, and his partnership with Sharma - worth 78 now - already feels like a potential matchwinner.

8.04am GMT

45th over: India 157-3 (Sharma 109, Rahane 27) Broad now has a short mid-on and short mid-off for Sharma, a kind of tactical V-sign. He has gone into full subcontinent mode, with almost everything full and straight. His second spell (4-1-9-0) has been excellent, missing only the one thing England really need: a wicket.

If England win the second Test, against this Indian team with 3 spinners on a bunsen after losing the toss, it has to be their best away win...

7.59am GMT

44th over: India 156-3 (Sharma 108, Rahane 27) It’s been a mixed return so far for Moeen. He ripped out Kohli for a duck with a beautiful delivery, but he’s going at 4.5 per over. In a game that is likely to be low scoring, that’s a problem.

“I was wondering where you were getting the extra 30-odd runs from,” says Chris Purcell. “It slowly dawned I was on Channel 4+1... errrr... had been for little while... morning everyone!”

7.56am GMT

43rd over: India 152-3 (Sharma 105, Rahane 26) Broad is bowling a good second spell, with plenty of cutters and a very tight line. Sharma steers him for a couple of twos, taking India past 150 in the process. After winning a vital toss, they are in a pretty strong position.

7.52am GMT

This is Rohit Sharma’s seventh Test hundred, all of them made in India. He is a home banker, who averages 85 in Tests in India and 27 overseas. In fact, of those who have played at least 20 Test innings in home conditions, only Don Bradman has a higher average.

7.51am GMT

42nd over: India 148-3 (Sharma 101, Rahane 26) Thanks Tim, morning everyone. That’s enough of the pleasantries, because Rohit Sharma has made an extraordinary hundred! He laps Moeen for two to reach a century off only 130 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes. And it’s come out of a score of only 148, on an awkward pitch. It’s been a glorious performance.

7.47am GMT

41st over: India 144-3 (Sharma 98, Rahane 25) Broad is using all his wiles to keep Sharma from three figures, landing the ball on off stump while varying his grip each time. He gets a leg-cutter past the outside edge, but Rohit’s forward defensive holds out otherwise, and that’s drinks with India inching back on top. These two have added 58 and although England have kept Rohit honest, he’s still there. That’s it from me – over to the OBO maestro, Rob Smyth, for the rest of a fascinating day.

7.42am GMT

40th over: India 144-3 (Sharma 98, Rahane 25) Moeen almost nabs Rohit as he goes too early with a sweep and the ball pops up off the toe end towards Burns at short midwicket. Burns can’t quite make it in fast enough, perhaps held back by his lockdown hairdo, an early-Eighties mullet.

7.38am GMT

39th over: India 143-3 (Sharma 97, Rahane 25) Root, who’s been proactive, gives Leach a rest and brings back Broad, who has probably been muttering to himself in the deep for two hours after going for 21 off his four overs with the new ball. He induces a nick from Rahane with the leg-cutter, but it goes for four. “No reverse swing yet,” says Butcher, “until now–” as the next ball is an inswinging yorker. If it had been delivered at Stone’s pace, it would have troubled Rahane.

More on how to get radio commentary around the world. “I’ve downloaded the talksport app here in Sydney,” says Sam Rowe. “Ball by ball commentary there. That should work in Singapore (and elsewhere)?”

7.32am GMT

38th over: India 139-3 (Sharma 97, Rahane 21) With the singles coming too easily, Root moves himself to silly mid-on, like the captain of the Under-10s. Rohit, reluctant to be tied down, gives Mo the charge and slaps over long-off for six. He’s within one shot of a hundred, and the crowd are crazy for it, but he’s calm enough to follow up with a forward defensive.

7.28am GMT

37th over: India 133-3 (Sharma 91, Rahane 21) Three singles from Leach’s over too as Rohit eases into the nineties.

“To answer Richard’s question from the 33rd over,” says Mittu Choudhary, “you can watch the match on Hotstar in Singapore – with a subscription, of course.” Really? In Britain, we have the cricket on telly for nothing, in a tradition that goes all the way back to the beginning of this month.

7.25am GMT

36th over: India 130-3 (Sharma 89, Rahane 20) Better from Moeen, but he still goes for three singles. So far he’s been much like the man he replaced, Dom Bess – patchy, with outbreaks of brilliance.

7.21am GMT

35th over: India 128-3 (Sharma 88, Rahane 19) Leach beats Rahane with a classic slow-left-arm delivery, dipping like a good free kick. “A peach from Leach,” Mark Butcher observes.

“Still can’t get over the number of changes in the squad from the last Test,” says Mittu Choudhary in Hanumangarh. “On the commentary, Sunil Gavaskar raises a pertinent point asking why are only the quicks and keepers being rotated. Would we see Root also being rested for the next Test or the one after that? For the sake of India’s chances – hope that happens.” Maybe if he scores 400.

7.17am GMT

34th over: India 127-3 (Sharma 88, Rahane 18) Stone goes off after blotting his copybook and back comes Moeen. Rohit’s eyes light up, for the first time since lunch, as he sweeps for four.

7.14am GMT

33rd over: India 121-3 (Sharma 83, Rahane 17) Good again from Leach, who gets one ball to bounce sharply at Rahane, while another skids through. You wouldn’t want to bat last on this pitch.

“I’ve just landed home in Singapore,” says Richard Eardley, “and face an obligatory 2 weeks quarantine in a hotel room. Following OBO is helping while away the time in entertaining fashion, but commentary would also help. Any advice on how to listen online from Sing would be gratefully received!” Hoping someone has the answer.

7.09am GMT

32nd over: India 120-3 (Sharma 82, Rahane 17) Rahane reaches double figures with a lovely shot, a back-foot force for four off Stone. When Stone responds by pitching it up, Rahane coolly pushes into the covers for four more. This is Stone’s first bad over, but he ends it well with a yorker, dug out by Rahane.

7.05am GMT

31st over: India 112-3 (Sharma 82, Rahane 9) Another tidy over from Leach, who has one for 26 from 12 overs. He’s England No.1 spinner now and bowling like it.

7.02am GMT

30th over: India 111-3 (Sharma 82, Rahane 8) Rahane pulls Stone for a single, wielding a shovel rather than a rapier. He’s having a year of drastically mixed fortunes – first leading India to a famous victory in Brisbane, then making 1 and 0 in the first Test of this series.

“What times we live in,” says Guy Hornsby. “Disturbed sleep due to a restless toddler, but resisting score checking until lunch. India in. Oh. 3 down. Oh! Replays of Kohli’s wicket. Wow. Sharma’s strike rate. Yikes. Pitch dusty already. There’s a LOT to take in. It’s only half 6 on day 1.” Have you ever thought about becoming a live-blogger?

6.57am GMT

29th over: India 110-3 (Sharma 82, Rahane 7) Leach raps Rohit on the pad as he misses a lap and appeals, but doesn’t review as the impact was probably outside off. Itching to get the scoreboard moving again, Rohit chips for two, not all that convincingly.

“Could you clarify for me,” asks Dean Kinsella, “whether Kohli called for a player’s review of his dismissal? He obviously hung around until the scoreboard confirmed he was out.” He did hang around, but I don’t think he quite had the gall to make the T-shape and ask for a review. It was more of a teapot.

6.52am GMT

28th over: India 108-3 (Sharma 80, Rahane 7) Root sticks with Stone, who has two slips, a gully, a short leg and a leg slip, and rightly so. He draws a leading edge from Ajinkya Rahane as there appears to be some seam movement, of all the strange things. Maybe it was a fast leg-cutter.

6.49am GMT

27th over: India 106-3 (Sharma 80, Rahane 5) Root gives Leach an in-out field – slip and short leg, men on the rope at cover and long-off, with himself at short extra. The aim is to lure Rohit into an uppish drive, but he’s not playing along – he leaves the ball when he can, and blocks when he can’t. That’s a maiden, only the second for Leach today.

6.46am GMT

The players are out there again and it’s going to be Jack Leach to continue.

6.44am GMT

The moment of the day so far is Moeen’s delivery to Kohli. My colleague Ali Martin has a clip for you here.

6.21am GMT

“This is the first time in Test cricket,” says Deepu Narayanan on Twitter, “[that] Virat Kohli has been dismissed for a DUCK by a spinner. (11th duck overall)”

6.14am GMT

“Morning Tim,” says Andy in Brum. “I liked that Kohli refused to go until he’d seen the glory of that dismissal on the big screen himself. Also looking at how the pitch is behaving, India can declare now and be batting again by tea.”

6.13am GMT

“Just crawled out of bed to check on progress,” says Patrick Shafe, “and over 10 minutes went from disappointed at losing the toss to elated at taking two quick wickets. Morning England!”

6.11am GMT

But first here’s Ian Forth. “The Bannerman,” he declares, “is officially in peril.”

6.09am GMT

26th over: India 106-3 (Sharma 80, Rahane 5) A nice surprise from Root, who brings back Stone to dish up some pace before lunch. It nearly works as Rahane glances uppishly, not far from Ollie Pope at leg slip. And it nearly works again as Rohit edges for four, low through the slips. Then Rahane inside-edges on to his thigh pad as the commentators detect the first hint of reverse swing. By the end of the over there are two short legs and Stone is bowling 148kph, which is 92mph. He finishes with a bouncer, safely evaded by Rahane.

And that’s lunch after a morning of turn and twists. Stone struck early, Sharma struck back, and then England’s spinners struck twice, removing Pujara and Kohli. It’s been a game of two ends, with Rohit cruising to 80 for none off 78 balls, while his mates have mustered only 26 for three. See you in half an hour.

6.00am GMT

25th over: India 100-3 (Sharma 75, Rahane 4) Leach overpitches and Rohit straight-drives, effortlessly, for his 12th four, to bring up India’s hundred.

“First thoughts on the day’s play so far,” says Kim Thonger. “Can’t help thinking Northamptonshire bootmaker Loake are missing a trick here. Surely now is the perfect moment for them to enter the cricket boot market with gusto, and sponsoring Stokes, Woakes and Foakes seems the obvious first step. A white variant of their classic Chelsea boot Chatsworth should be put into production immediately. Put me down for a pair of size 9s in a G fit.” Is that a wittily disguised plug?

5.57am GMT

24th over: India 96-3 (Sharma 71, Rahane 4) Moeen tosses it up outside off and Rohit sweeps for four. This field is better – slip, silly point, short leg. Moeen has been expensive, going for 32 off six overs, but it’s a price worth paying for the wicket of Kohli.

5.54am GMT

23rd over: India 91-3 (Sharma 65, Rahane 4) It’s a different game now, though you might not know it from the field, which remains conservative (slip, gully, no one at bat-pad). Sharma, recognising the need not to lose another wicket, is careful too against Leach, who now has fine figures – 8-1-19-1.

5.50am GMT

22nd over: India 90-3 (Sharma 65, Rahane 4) Moeen comes straight back down to earth with a full toss, gratefully pushed for four by Rahane. He won’t mind that: the ball to Kohli was just superb, drifting away towards slip, luring him into the drive, then turning sharply to clip the off bail. After a tough 18 months, going from a nasty bout of Steve Smith to catching Covid-19, Moeen now has something to add his highlights reel.

5.46am GMT

Castled! Through the gate, by a classic off-break. Kohli, who was playing an expansive drive, is so stunned that he tries to convince the umpire that the ball has ricocheted off the keeper. It hasn’t! And the master batsman has gone for a duck. The crowd watch him go in silence, like the MCC members greeting Ian Botham in 1981.

5.43am GMT

21st over: India 85-2 (Sharma 64, Kohli 0) So here comes Virat Kohli, under a bit of pressure after losing his last four Tests. He starts by leaving Leach’s arm ball, prompting a few oohs and aahs from the fielders as it’s not far from the off stump.

“Perfect timing in Melbourne,” says Andy Stead. “A five-day lockdown to coincide with a five-day Test.” Ha. Lockdown isn’t too bad for cricket lovers, is it? We’ve had so much practice.

5.40am GMT

Leach makes the ball grip and turn, Pujara tries to run it down to backward point, but he can only nick it to slip, where Stokes takes a neat low catch. And England get a wicket just when they need it.

5.38am GMT

20th over: India 84-1 (Sharma 63, Pujara 21) Another short ball from Moeen, another cut for four from Rohit. This is beginning to feel ominous.

“Was that just me, or did that edge keep low?” wonders Sunjay Vatul. “Didn’t carry either. Also, you might be pleased to note Pujara’s judgement of length [18th over] is intact. It was Rohit that edged the cherry.” D’oh!

5.34am GMT

19th over: India 77-1 (Sharma 57, Pujara 20) Another minor victory for Leach, who finds the inside edge of Sharma’s broad blade, but it goes for a single.

“Great coverage once again and lots of early risers tuning in,” says Ian Wilson in Side, Turkey. “Seeing Rohit’s contribution to the 50 partnership reminds me of a game I was playing in for Wessex Wanderers in Dorset in the late 70s, chasing 105 in a rain-affected club match. I contributed 46 to a opening stand of 52 and then got myself out and watched my opening partner carry his bat for 24 and hitting the winning runs as the heavens opened above us. Surprising how memories are triggered.”

5.30am GMT

18th over: India 75-1 (Sharma 56, Pujara 19) Pujara is famous for his judgment of length but Moeen manages to lure him into no-man’s-land – only for the edge to drop short of Stokes again. The last ball of the over is less good, short and wide, and Sharma cuts it for four off the toe of the bat.

5.26am GMT

17th over: India 67-1 (Sharma 51, Pujara 16) Leach has an LBW appeal against Sharma, but England don’t review this time and rightly so. It may have struck him outside the line of off and it was missing anyway, because there was some bounce.

“I don’t know which hope I feel more ashamed for believing in,” says Dwight Johnson. “The hope that England can produce a replica performance, or the hope that my friend was right and Argos actually will release some PlayStation 5s between 3 and 4am.”

5.22am GMT

16th over: India 64-1 (Sharma 50, Pujara 14) Pujara is mostly defending, the old-school way with bat and pad together, but he skips down to whip Moeen for four. And Root comes back onto the field.

“Twelve overs in the first hour, ” says Richard Hirst. “Poor. England already sensing a long day ahead and slowing the game down?” Perhaps, but there was a hold-up while Pujara was with the physio.

5.19am GMT

15th over: India 60-1 (Sharma 50, Pujara 10) As Root goes off for treatment, Sharma takes a leaf out of his book by sweeping Leach, crisply, for four, and again for four more, to go to fifty off only 47 balls. He’s been so good, he could almost be one of India’s young guns.

5.15am GMT

14th over: India 51-1 (Sharma 42, Pujara 9) So Moeen has the red ball in his hands for the first time since the start of the Ashes in August 2019, when he took a pummelling from Steve Smith at Edgbaston. Moeen looks loose and fit, after his bout of Covid. But off his first ball, Pujara drives to mid-off, where Joe Root seems to hurt his ankle, or is it his knee? A couple more singles and that’s the fifty partnership.

5.10am GMT

13th over: India 48-1 (Sharma 41, Pujara 7) Leach makes something happen now – turn and bounce, a kiss of the glove as Sharma props forward, and it drops just short of Stokes at slip. A moral victory for Leach, who manages to keep Sharma quiet for six balls. Moeen is about to join him in the attack.

5.05am GMT

“For us in Mexico,” says David Grant, “cricket in Asia is a terrible time, play starts at 10pm. However, the Ashes down over starts at 5pm – perfect.” Down over! That could catch on.

5.03am GMT

12th over: India 48-1 (Sharma 41, Pujara 7) Stokes drops short and Sharma pulls for six! So Stokes drops short again, and Sharma hooks for four. The crowd make the sort of noise you hear at a concert by Taylor Swift – sheer unadulterated idolatry.

And that’s drinks, with India taking control on a flat pitch after that early shock from Olly Stone.

5.00am GMT

11th over: India 37-1 (Sharma 30, Pujara 7) While Sharma goes for his shots, Pujara is happy to block. Leach does have a short leg now, but only because silly point has moved across the strip. The commentators mention Leach’s record in the first innings of a Test, which is not encouraging: an average of 50-something, as opposed to 20 in the second innings. The only crumb of comfort for him is that this may already be a second-innings pitch.

“Barring injury,” says Sohid Ahmed, “I wish teams would not replace so many of their players from one match to the next. If England lose, their fans will forever ponder what might have happened if they had stuck to the
winning combination. If India wins, their fans will always question if the victory is truly deserved. Just last night, I watched a super insightful documentary, The Edge, and the mental toll it takes on a cricketer. Perhaps the replacements have something to do with that. It
was heartbreaking and an eye-opener hearing Jonathan Trott talk about his mental struggles and how isolated he felt during the heights of England’s dominance in Test cricket.”

4.55am GMT

10th over: India 36-1 (Sharma 29, Pujara 7) It’s a double change as Ben Stokes replaces Stone. His loosener is greeted warmly by Sharma, who sees a half-volley and dispatches it through the covers. He has played as if he’s thrilled to have the crowd back in. Rohit Showman.

4.51am GMT

9th over: India 31-1 (Sharma 24, Pujara 7) Joe Root, who has become a much more self-confident captain, takes Broad off and turns to spin, bringing Jack Leach on. He gives him a slip and a silly point, but no short leg – confident, but still not very attacking. The review is the only alarm for the batsmen.

“Good middle of the night, Tim.” Nice one, Phil Sawyer. “I had a filling fall out around midnight, so I’m waiting to ring the dentist first thing. To be honest, I’m not actually experiencing any pain. It was just a good excuse to stay up drinking Jura for medicinal purposes and wait for the cricket to start. Mind you, Jura’s a powerful medicine so I’m not sure how long I’ll be with yzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”

4.49am GMT

Root reviews at the last second. Sharma swept at Leach and missed, but it’s leg-stump-ish... Impact outside the line, so the decision is upheld.

4.44am GMT

8th over: India 29-1 (Sharma 23, Pujara 6) Sharma is playing more like Gill, or even Pant. He sees something short and wide from Stone and flays it for four to go to 23 off 24 balls.

“Good arvo Mr de Lisle!!” It’s David Melhuish. “First day of the new Chinese New Year, the year of the Ox here in Macao/Macau. This does feel like a New Dawn after some darkened days. Broad looking fit, on fire, focussed. Crowds within giving some atmosphere. Ch 4 delivering the visuals. It’s gonna be an absorbing day’s play!” It is.

4.40am GMT

7th over: India 22-1 (Sharma 17, Pujara 5) A single to each batsman as Broad continues to be uncharacteristically generous. He bounces back with an LBW appeal against Sharma, and when it’s turned down he of course wants a review, but Stokes at second slip points out that there was a big inside edge. And then it’s Sharma’s turn to come up with a riposte as he chips over mid-on for four. That ball produced a puff of dust, which will excite the spinners on both sides.

4.35am GMT

6th over: India 16-1 (Sharma 12, Pujara 4) Stone makes an impact again, on Pujara’s hand as he fends off a short ball. The physio comes on and is clearly trying to work out whether there’s a broken finger, but Pujara grits his teeth and bats on. That’s another maiden for Stone. In his second Test, he has the sort of figures you expect from Broad, who’s in his 145th: 3-2-1-1.

4.27am GMT

5th over: India 16-1 (Sharma 12, Pujara 4) Broad v Sharma, and it’s a good contest. A square drive for two, an off-drive for four, but in between Broad gets Sharma where he wants him, in two minds, as he tries to play no stroke at the last moment and gets a bottom edge.

4.23am GMT

4th over: India 10-1 (Sharma 6, Pujara 4) Stone concedes a run but saves three as he half-stops an off-drive from Sharma. Then he bowls a sharp bouncer to Pujara, who sways out of the line, immaculately. The pitch is not quick, Nick Knight reckons, but it’s offering “good carry”.

4.19am GMT

3rd over: India 9-1 (Sharma 5, Pujara 4) Runs! Four of them to Sharma as he pushes Broad through the covers. This goes down a treat with the crowd. It’s so good to hear something that isn’t fake noise. Sharma adds a single and then Pujara edges – but safely, along the ground, for four more. Suddenly, Broad’s figures lie in ruins.

4.14am GMT

2nd over: India 0-1 (Sharma 0, Pujara 0) Stone starts with a maiden too, a wicket-maiden. Easy game, this.

4.10am GMT

Wow. Stone bowls an inswinger in the channel and Shubman Gill shoulders arms! If he’d played a shot, he would have saved his skin. As it is, Sharma says don’t even bother reviewing, and that’s England’s first LBW of this series – plus a big, big moment for Olly Stone.

4.07am GMT

1st over: India 0-0 (Sharma 0, Gill 0) Broad, in his bandana, is on the spot, giving Rohit Sharma a mixture of full deliveries and back-of-a-length. And that’s a maiden.

4.02am GMT

The players are out there AND SO ARE THE FANS, who are making some noise, chanting and hooting. Stuart Broad has the ball in his hands.

3.55am GMT

“This seems like it will be our only ever chance for Stokes-Foakes-Woakes,” says McAllister Riptide on Twitter. “Why do they keep dragging poor Chris everywhere when they (wrongly) seem to think he’s shit?” Yes, it’s hard on him. But there may be another chance for Stokes-Foakes-Woakes in the next match, as it’s a day-nighter with the pink ball and the prospect of swing – Jimmy Anderson will come back in, and Woakes could join him.

3.51am GMT

England, as expected, make four changes to a winning team, which may be the first time they’ve ever done so in mid-series. As well as Stone replacing Archer (sore elbow), Ben Foakes takes over behind the stumps from Jos Buttler (on leave), Stuart Broad replaces Jimmy Anderson (rested), Moeen Ali is preferred to Dom Bess – dropped after bowling three full tosses in a row to Kohli, but also after getting him out.

India make just the three changes, bringing in Patel for Shahbaz Nadeem, Siraj for Bumrah, and Kuldeep for Sundar. But that’s three of their five bowlers, so they’ll all be fresh apart from Ishant and Ashwin. All told, five bowlers out of the frontline ten from last time will not be playing here.

3.42am GMT

Also out is Washington Sundar, who batted better than he bowled in the first Test. His slot goes to Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm wrist-spinner, and as expected Axar Patel comes in as the slow left-armer in place of Shahbaz Nadeem, who laboured with the ball and made a pair with the bat. Patel, who has 49 white-ball caps, becomes India’s sixth Test debutant in seven weeks since Melbourne, and adds to the multitude of all-rounders. Tails are gonna wag.

3.40am GMT

Bumrah is rested! His place goes to Mohammed Siraj, who did so well in Australia. And Jofra Archer’s place goes to Olly Stone, who will play his second Test and be the fastest man in the match. This is not good news for the Stokes-Foakes-Woakes fan club, but it should be entertaining.

3.36am GMT

“Just coming up to midday here in Wuxi, China,” says Richard Woods. “A two-sweater day but the sun is out, the OBO is on and after the first Test, the glass is half full. Play!” Only two sweaters? London is minus 3. But I’m with you on the glass.

3.34am GMT

Joe Root puts a foot wrong! Virat Kohli says thank you very much, we’ll have a bat. It’s probably what the series needed.

3.31am GMT

One brings two. “Friday night in Vancouver,” says Pau; Done. “I may only catch the first couple of hours tonight, but an 8pm start time after a few Friday beers on a long weekend seems the optimal way to enjoy tTst cricket. If you can’t be in the stands. Cheers and thank you for getting up so early.” It’s a pleasure. Well, a privilege, anyway.

3.29am GMT

The first email of the match is from Matthew Doherty. “How can the series go flat if England go 3-0 up?” he remonstrates. “This lot can’t do anything like that easily!” It’s a good point.

12.23pm GMT

Morning everyone and welcome to our coverage of the second Test. It’s the middle of the night if you’re in Europe, it’s the middle of February, and it’s the middle of lockdown – but you can still jump out of bed with a spring in your step, because England won the first Test. Nothing sets up a series like a famous victory for the visiting team, especially when it marks the fall of a fortress – before last weekend, India had lost just once in 34 home Tests. The only way this series can go flat now is for England to win the next two Tests, which doesn’t seem all that great a danger.

As the teams go back out onto the same field of battle, the air is full of questions. Can India bounce back? (Yes – they just proved that in Australia.) Can England make it seven away wins in a row? (Yes – as long as they play out of their skins, and more than three batsmen make runs.) Can Joe Root keep piling up huge scores? (Probably not, but he’s in the zone as never before.) What happens if India bat first? (A lot of hard yakka.) Will Virat Kohli show everyone who’s the king? (Very possibly – if he can make 72 on the fifth day, he can make 172 on the first. And his unlikely nemesis, Dom Bess, isn’t playing.) Will the pitch be a raging turner? (Yes, according to Ajinkya Rahane, who says it looks “completely different” from the first-Test pitch: “I am sure it will turn from day one.”)

Continue reading...