India vs England highlights, 2nd Test, Day 3: England 53/3 at stumps, still 429 runs behind the target

R Ashwin has come to the crease and looked positive from the word go. He effectively used the sweep shot and got some runs for India.

Leach bowled short outside off and Kohli latched onto to it to smash it for a four.

India have lost their sixth wicket as Moeen Ali traps Axar Patel. India have taken the review but it went to umpire's call. And the umpire had given out. India 106/6

Axar Patel has hit one to the boundary ropes. He was deep in the crease and hit a wonderful on drive off Moeen Ali.

India's lead has been extended to 292 runs. Scoring runs on this pitch is really difficult and it already looks like a great total.

All hopes are pinned on Kohli now. He is the only recognised batsman left for India. He just played a beautiful straight drive off Leach.

Another wicket down for India. Ajinkya Rahane heads back to the pavillion after giving a catch to short leg.

Two boundaries came off Moeen's over. It was a productive one for India as every run counts now.

Rishabh Pant has been stumped out - magnificent work by Foakes. Leach gets the prized wicket. Pant departs for 8. IND 65/4

Not the intended shot, but it gone off the glove for Pant's first boundary. Pant will play his shots, and he will not stop. England need to be cautious here.

Will Rishabh Pant target Jack Leach again? He has been good against the bowler so far in the match.

Sharma Stumped!!

3rd time he has been stumped in Tests, all have come vs left arm spinner

176 & 127 vs SA at Visakhapatnam ( K Maharaj), 2019

26 vs ENG at Chennai ( J Leach) ,2021

As a pair Kohli and Rohit in this match.

1 (6) -1st innings

0 (13) -2nd innings

The intentions are clear from India - Rishabh Pant has been promoted over Ajinkya Rahane. India looking to counter-attack, get runs on the board and declare as soon as possible.

Huge appeal from Ben Foakes for stumping from behind the stumps. The replays showed he was just a tad bit outside. India are three wickets down for 55, lead by 250.

A mistake from Pujara - and he has been run out. Pujara tried to get back to his crease, but he dropped his bat, and Foakes was quick to take off the stumps. Bizarre!

Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara out to bat on Day 3. India lead by 249 runs. HERE WE GO!

Mark Butcher says that England are not in a bad position because of the pitch, but the fact cannot be ignored that the pitch is not right for a Test match as ball should not be going through the top of the surface from Day 1.

Sunil Gavaskar believes that the pitch is challenging but it is not unplayable. He cites example of Rohit Sharma on how he has batted here.

Moeen Ali and Jack Leach will be the key players for England on Day 3. The two spinners will look to bowl out England as soon as possible.

Any target above 300 would be challenging on this surface as seen in the first innings. But India would look to reach somewhere close to 350-400 run lead to completely stave off the competition.

After the end of the second day’s play, Axar spoke about Root’s dismissal. In a conversation with his teammate and senior batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, the left-arm off-spinner said: “When I was watching the first Test, I noticed that Joe Root plays a lot of sweep and reverse sweep shots, and I thought that with the speed that I bowl at, I had the opportunity to get him out, and I wanted my first wicket to be his dismissal.

“I thought that if he tries to sweep my delivery, he may get out LBW. When he went for the sweep shot and made the mistake, to get an in-form batsman who has recently hit multiple centuries and double centuries. You can see it in the video how happy I was to get the wicket,” Axar said.

EVERYTHING WAS PLANNED!

R Ashwin pointed out that Rishabh Pant needs a break from constant comparisons with other wicketkeepers.

"He was constantly compared with the great M S Dhoni for a long time. Now he gets compared for his wicket-keeping with (Wriddhiman) Saha, this that and all that, sometimes it's just better to give a break and let people build on confidence," Ashwin said speaking at the end of the second day's play.

Do you agree?

"I’m all for a good contest between bat and ball in test match cricket but this pitch in Chennai is unacceptable at test match level. You can’t have the ball going through the top of the surface on day 1 from the main part of the pitch. Ie not from the footmarks," Mark Waugh wrote on Twitter.

Thoughts on Waugh's comments on the pitch?

Hello and welcome to our live blog on Day 3 of the 2nd Test between India and England. The stage is set for the hosts to set up a mammoth target for England to chase on a tricky surface. The spinners will be key for England on Day 3 to bowl out India as soon as possible. Plenty of action in store!