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England punish Indian bowlers

Brilliant Bell and aggressive Butler help hosts declare at 569/7; India struggling at 25/1

Ian Bell returned to form in spectacular fashion with a superb 167 and debutant Jos Buttler also shone to help England strengthen their dominant position over India on the second day of the third Test on Monday.

Bell recovered from a tentative start to exhibit trademark elegance, bringing up his first hundred in 26 innings by thumping Ravindra Jadeja down the ground for six before hitting the spinner for two more boundaries and another maximum in the same over.

England, 1-0 down in the five-match series, declared on 569 for seven in their first innings after a quickfire 85 full of expansive strokes by new Test wicketkeeper Buttler.

Struggling India then closed on 25-1 in their first innings, James Anderson snaffling Shikhar Dhawan (6) yet again with Alastair Cook taking the catch.

Previously beleaguered England, who have not won in 10 Ttests, will look to ram home their advantage on day three and try to avoid having to bat again if they can enforce a follow on.

Sunday centurion Gary Ballance, who shared a stand of 142 with Bell, was the victim of a poor decision just before lunch when he was given out caught behind for 156, despite no hint of an edge on replays.

After the interval, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni opted to utilise his seamers in one over spells, attempting to break England’s concentration.

It paid dividends early on as Joe Root (3) got a regulation edge to Dhoni after being tempted into a prod outside off stump by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Clearly buoyed by taking his first wicket, Kumar added the scalp of Moeen Ali (12) by teasing the batsman into taking on the short ball which he bottom edged to Ajinkya Rahane at second slip.

DHONI WARNED

The International Cricket Council on Sunday accused India captain MS Dhoni of “undermining” its disciplinary process by condemning a fine handed against teammate Ravindra Jadeja. Dhoni said Saturday that Jadeja had been the target of “hurtful” treatment when he was fined 50 percent of his match fee for misconduct in an incident with England bowler James Anderson during the first Test in Nottingham on July 10.

“England captain Alastair Cook and, more recently, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni have made public comments relating to the alleged incident that took place during the first Test at Trent Bridge, the latter of which is critical of and undermines the ICC disciplinary process,” Richardson said.