England opener Ben Duckett brought out his A-game on day 2 of the 3rd Test against England as he spearheaded the tourists' fightback after India amassed 445. The left-hander took only 39 deliveries for his half-century and 88 for reaching three figures as England trailed by 238 runs. Duckett's 133 also meant that it slightly overshadowed Ravichandran Ashwin's elusive milestone.
The hosts didn't started the day in the best possible way, losing the centurion Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep in the first hour of the day. However, Ravichandran Ashwin and Dhruv Jurel batted the remaining session to put India in command. However, England hit back to break the 77-run stand between the two before Jasprit Bumrah's cameo propelled India to 445.
Ravichandran Ashwin crosses much-awaited milestone in his 2nd over:
England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett survived the mini state of play before tea with aplomb, racing to 31. The tourists still went strong before veteran off-spinner R Ashwin struck only in his 2nd over of the day. Crawley tried to go for the sweep, but only got a top-edge as Rajat Patidar took a good catch to make Ashwin only the 2nd Indian to 500 Test wickets.
Duckett, who had earlier brought his half-century off only 39 deliveries, scored the 2nd fastest hundred on Indian soil, needing only 88 balls to get there. The hour after Crawley's wicket almost fully belonged to England as Ollie Pope and Duckett kept the vaunted Indian bowling attack on their toes.
It was Mohammed Siraj, who came with the breakthrough as India's decision to take the DRS against an LBW shout paid off, with Pope departing for 39 and ending an 83-run partnership. Duckett, who survived a close LBW call against Jasprit Bumrah earlier in his innings, did so against Ashwin in the final over as the ball had pitched just outside leg-stump.
With Duckett set and Joe Root looking sharp, England will look to maximise their platform on day 3.
