3 mistakes India made on Day 2 of the 1st IND vs ENG Test
India extended their stronghold over the first Test against England as they reached a commanding 421/7 at Stumps on Day 2 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
The hosts now have a lead of 175 runs, with two set batters at the crease and three wickets to spare. If things go according to plan, they will look to further their advantage on Day 3 and try to ensure that they don't need to bat again in the Test.
Nevertheless, despite the positive state of the high-profile contest, it wasn't a perfect day for Rohit Sharma and his men. They made a few errors that they will want to be wary of as the series, which is a grueling five-match rubber, continues.
Let's discuss three mistakes India made on Day 2 of the first Test against England.
#3 Shubman Gill didn't show much improvement on Day 2
Shubman Gill played 43 balls on Day 1 of the first Test, striking just one boundary. His approach saw a few fingers pointed at it, and he was expected to bat with a bit more intent on the second day.
Unfortunately, Gill's muddled thinking came to the fore once again. He was more than happy to defend from the crease, and even when he tried to attack, it was rare and far from convincing. The 24-year-old even survived a close call when Ben Stokes lost a high ball in the sun, but couldn't capitalize.
Gill chipped a simple catch to midwicket off a loose delivery from the inaccurate Tom Hartley, walking back for just 23 runs. He registered India's lowest score in the top seven, and while failing now and then is inevitable, he didn't seem to have things figured out from a mental point of view.
#2 India continued to use Axar Patel at No. 9
There were calls from certain quarters for Axar Patel to bat in the top seven, ahead of KS Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin. However, India were reluctant to disturb the existing order and continued to use the left-hander at No. 9, which is clearly too low for a player of his caliber.
One of India's best players of spin, Axar has been in excellent batting form of late and averages more than 40 at home. He made invaluable lower-order contributions during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and deserved a chance to bat ahead of Bharat and Ashwin, who haven't been as convincing.
Bharat managed to score 41 runs and Ashwin was run out, while Axar remained unbeaten on 35 at Stumps. If the southpaw can keep his momentum going on Day 3, it'll be hard to continue to restrain him at No. 9.
#1 Set Indian batters played loose shots to be dismissed
India's brand of cricket means that certain unfortunate dismissals will transpire, but they pushed it a bit too far on Day 2 of the first Test.
KL Rahul arguably deserves a bit of slack, as the pull shot he played was definitely on. It was just the execution that was off in Rahul's case, but the same can't be said about some of the other Indian batters.
Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to take the aerial route twice in the very first over of the day. He mistimed one over mid-off and tried to repeat a similar shot, only to be caught by Joe Root off his own bowling.
Shreyas Iyer attempted a hoick across the line and found deep midwicket, who was the only fielder on the boundary, to perfection. He handed the inaccurate Rehan Ahmed his first wicket of the Test.
India need to bat aggressively, but they need to maintain a balance that doesn't shoot them in the foot.