Dharamsala: England bowlers led by Shoaib Bashir inflicted regular blows in the third session but India reached 473 for eight in their first innings at the end of the second day of the fifth Test here on Friday.
Off-spinner Bashir (4/170) and left-arm spinner Tom Hartley (2/126) scythed through India’s middle-late order, but the hosts found some late resistance from Kuldeep Yadav (27 batting) and Jasprit Bumrah (19 batting) to stretch the lead to 255 runs.
Before that India batsmen made a merry run as Rohit Sharma (103), Shubman Gill (110) made hundreds while Sarfaraz Khan (56) and debutant Devdutt Padikkal (65) ran England ragged.
The lone point of consolation for England was the sight of their skipper Ben Stokes bowling, a first since last year’s Ashes.
Stokes got rid of his opposite number Rohit too to make the occasion memorable.
Brief scores: England: 218 all out India (1st Innings): 473/8 in 120 overs (Shubman Gill 110, Rohit Sharma 103, Devdutt Padikkal 65, Sarfaraz Khan 56; Shoaib Bashir 4/170, Tom Hartley 2/126).