England vs India, 2nd Test Day 1: Rohit-Rahul notch up fifties, Anderson strikes twice; India 157-2 at tea

London, Aug 12: India opener Rohit Sharma's wait to bring up his maiden Test century overseas continued as he was dismissed for 83 by England pacer James Anderson. The right-handed batsman from Mumbai batted exceedingly well under testing conditions at the Lord's on the opening day of the second Test on Thursday (August 12).

Rohit - who threw his wicket away after getting off to a bright start in the first Test at Trent Bridge - batted brilliantly at the 'Home of Cricket' and curbed his instincts to pull the ball after doing all the hard yards.

Rohit impresses with masterful 83

The 33-year-old was the aggressor in the opening partnership with Rahul as he scored at a decent pace. Rohit notched up his half-century off 83 deliveries and it was the first occasion when the right-handed swashbuckler scored his maiden fifty outside the home.

He went on surpassing his highest individual score away from home when he reached 81* but Rohit's dream to notch up his first Test hundred on foreign soil came crashing as he was outfoxed by a peach of a delivery from Anderson. Bowled with the wobbly seam, the ball came into the stumps quickly to which the Indian had no response. Rohit has played 40 innings and scored 1076 runs but averaged below par 29 from his standards.

Rohit's dismissal was a heartbreak for the Indian cricket fans as they were hoping for a special knock from the Hitman. Everyone was hoping for Rohit's maiden Test hundred outside Asia. Nevertheless, he would rate his knock of 83 as one of his best overseas performances.

Pujara continues to struggle

Seasoned campaigner Cheteshwar Pujara walked into the middle at number three after the dismissal of set Rohit. The Saurashtra cricketer, who has been under scrutiny due to the lack of runs under his belt, was dismissed cheaply for 9 and it was Anderson who outfoxed the right-handed batsman.

It was an outswinger from the maestro which lured Pujara into going for it and found an edge and Jonny Bairstow took a well-judged catch at third slip. India's scorecard read 150 when Pujara made his descent towards the pavilion. In his last ten innings, Pujara's highest score is a paltry 21.

Rahul continues his good form

Meanwhile, in-form Rahul slammed his second fifty in three innings. The Karnataka batsman started batting defensively while Rohit scored freely. But once Rohit was dismissed, Rahul took the onus on himself to score runs. He went on slamming his thirteenth half-century in the longer format. Later, Rahul (55*) and captain Virat Kohli (0*) - who walked minutes before the tea break - ensured the tourists didn't lose any further wicket.