Ben Duckett strikes an unbeaten 133 as England begin brilliantly in response to India’s first innings total of 445 on day two in Rajkot.
Duckett’s 3rd Test century came in just 88 balls- the fastest by an Englishman in Tests in India.
Only Adam Gilchrist (2001) and Clive Lloyd (1974) have scored faster Test centuries against India.
India’s bowling quintet of Bumrah, Siraj, Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep simply had no answers for the scincillating strokemaking and unwavering confidence of the Nottinghamshire batter, a player clearly transformed by the ‘Bazball’ approach and mindset.
The pitch was flat, without a doubt, but the 29-year-old combined classic shots with a plethora of sweep shots to leave the hosts shellshocked and lost for answers as captain Rohit Sharma rotated his bowlers with an unnerving regularity.
The tourists ended the day’s play 207-2 from 35 overs; a mind-boggling 176 runs hit in the final session alone.
Ravichandran Ashwin reached the incredible milestone of 500 Test wickets in 98 matches following his dismissal of Zak Crawley, meanwhile Ollie Pope was the other man to go for 39 when an optimistic review showed a Mohammad Siraj delivery crashing into leg-stump.
Earlier, England picked up early wickets as Jimmy Anderson removed Kuldeep and Joe Root dismissed centurion Jadeja for 112, however debutant Dhruv Jurel impressed with 46 as he combined fantastically with Ashwin in a partnership of 77.
The pair departed in quick succession as Rehan Ahmed collected two wickets, yet Jasprit Bumrah’s quick-fire cameo of 26 from number 10 stretched India’s total to 445 all-out.
Mark Wood was the pick of the bowlers with 4-114 on his return to the side- his extra pace causing the India lineup all manner of problems on a placid surface.
Duckett (and Root) will be looking to catch fire as England continue their quest for a significant lead on day 3.
Whatever you do, never write off Joe Root.
He may be short of form but here is a man with 30 centuries and over 11000 Test runs.
What more proof do you need?
Left Arm Around 
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