India in control of Test

HYD ER AB AD : Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant hit unbeaten half-centuries to hand India the advantage against West Indies on day two of the Second Test in Hyderabad yesterday.

The hosts were 308 for four at stumps, trailing the West Indies by three runs. Rahane, on 75, and Pant, on 85, have put on an unbeaten 146-run fifth-wicket stand in Hyderabad.

Paceman Umesh Yadav also played a part in India’s domination with his career-best figures of 6-88 that helped bowl out the West Indies for 311 early in the morning session.

In reply India were in trouble at 162-4 with West Indies skipper Jason Holder taking two wickets including his counterpart Virat Kohli’s prized scalp in the afternoon session.

The right-left batting combination of Rahane and Pant ensured a wicketless final session with their contrasting batting.

Rahane played a cautious knock to register his 15th Test fifty while Pant was his swashbuckling self as he hit 10 fours and 2 big sixes in his 120-ball stay so far.

It was Pant’s second successive 50 plus score after his 92 in the team’s opening win in Rajkot.

Teenage opener Prithvi Shaw also smashed 70 off 53 balls.

Meanwhile England were awarded victory in the second one-day international against Sri Lanka on a faster run rate yesterday after play was halted by heavy rain.

The tourists scored 278-9, with Eoin Morgan smashing 92, but umpires stopped play at Dambulla with Sri Lanka on 140-5 after 29 of their overs.

Heavy rain was still falling an hour after the suspension and England recorded a 31-run victory under the Duckworth-LewisStern run rate system.