Nagpur: England finished the morning session of day two on 277/7 against India in the fourth Test being played at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur here today. Debutant Joe Root is unbeaten on 65 and is nearing what will be a superb hundred if he gets there.

England resumed their innings at 199/5 with Root on (31*) and Prior (34*). Prior was very circumspect last evening but he started on an attacking note and struck some brilliant boundaries. Dhoni rotated his bowlers well but both Root and Prior kept the good balls away and accumulated runs well.

The first hour went England’s way with both batsmen reaching the fifty mark, in the first hour they added 42 runs to the total. Just after the drinks break a lapse in concentration saw Prior miss a straight delivery from Ashwin which rattled his stumps.

Dhoni then surprised everyone by taking off Ashwin and replacing him with Ishant. The move paid off as ishant got a ball to nip back and caught Bresnan right in front of the wicket.

Root and Graeme Swann added 35 important runs before the lunch interval.       

By Indian Sports News Network