India start strongly in reply to England's 400 in fourth Test
Murali Vijay hit an unbeaten 70 as India made a strong reply to England's first-innings 400 on the second day of the fourth Test in Mumbai on Friday. Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara (47 not out) put on the highest partnership of the Test so far for the second wicket with 107 to help India reach 146 for one at stumps. England, trailing 2-0 in the five-match series, made an early breakthrough at the Wankhede Stadium, with off-spinner Moeen Ali taking the wicket of opener Lokesh Rahul to leave the home side on 39-1 . The visitors had Jos Buttler (76) to thank for reaching a competitive total and the powerful batsman said England, who need to win to stay alive in the series, are in a strong position despite India's impressive batting. "Those two guys (Vijay and Pujara) played very well for India but we still lead by 250," the 26-year-old said. "If we can be a bit more consistent and when we build the pressure there's definitely wicket-taking balls on that surface." Buttler has only recently returned to the England Test side after a year out but said he had benefited from some thinking time during his spell on the sidelines. "You play so much cricket that actually sometimes there's not enough time to think... about what is vital to me to get the best out of myself. "I feel like (over) the last year I've learnt the most about myself and cricket (than) in my whole career," he said candidly. - Six-wicket Ashwin - Middle-order batsman Buttler -- a fixture for England in limited-overs cricket -- was a late call-up for the third Test in Mohali, having last played for England in the five-day format in October 2015. He said that one of the biggest things he had learned from his time out of the squad was the strength of belief that the top players have in themselves. "That's something I have to have in my game -- that I'm confident that when I get a chance I'm going to perform. "No one can do it for you. You can receive great advice but you've got to believe in yourself," he added. Buttler, who started day two on 18 not out, was unbeaten on 64 at lunch as England reached 385-8. He outlasted Ben Stokes, who became Ravichandran Ashwin's fifth scalp of the innings when India successfully appealed a not out decision. The left-hander was dismissed for 31 when the TV umpire ruled that the ball had nicked his bat before dropping into the hands of Virat Kohli. Ashwin's fellow spinner Ravindra Jadeja then grabbed the wickets of Chris Woakes (11), who was caught behind by wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, and Adil Rashid, who made only four. Ashwin took his wicket haul to six when Jake Ball was caught on 31. Jadeja then grabbed his fourth wicket of the innings by bowling Buttler to leave England all out for 400. Moeen Ali gave England hope with his early dismissal of Rahul but the bowlers could not prise apart Vijay and Pujara, leaving the Test finely poised going into day three.
