Dharamsala, India: Centuries from skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill helped India entrench their control of the final Test against England with a 255-run lead on Friday. The hosts finished day two on 473-8 with Kuldeep Yadav (27) and Jasprit Bumrah (19) batting at the picturesque Dharamsala stadium, in the lap of the snowcapped Himalayas.
India saw a middle-order stutter after tea with spinners Shoaib Bashir (4-170) and Tom Hartley getting quick wickets but Yadav and Bumrah put on a stubborn partnership of 45. "It was a hard day, a grafting day," England assistant coach Jeetan Patel told reporters.
"We've got to congratulate the boys for the way they stuck at it. You do the hard stuff time and time again, you eventually get your rewards." England had their moments when skipper Ben Stokes struck on his first ball since his knee surgery last year and fellow quick James Anderson moving to 699 career Test wickets.
But India kept up their dominance after Rohit (103) and Gill (110) hammered home the advantage following India's overnight start at 135-1. Sarfaraz Khan made 56 and debutant Devdutt Padikkal hit 65 but Bashir got the two out with his off-spin as India lost regular wickets.
Former New Zealand spinner Patel said Bashir was "fantastic." "Don't get me wrong, he's 20 and he's got some overs to bowl yet, he's going to have to keep learning," he said.
"But what he's done in his three Tests here has certainly shown that: the willingness to learn, the willingness to do the hard graft." Sarfaraz, who reached his fifty in 55 balls, was caught at slip on the first delivery after tea, ending a 97-run stand.
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