Mark Wood seems to be the most popular English cricketer going around.

A little after the second new ball had been taken, there were continuous chants to bring in the England fast bowler, his innocuous two spells on the second day notwithstanding, from the stands adjacent to their dressing room.

Ben Stokes did get Wood to bowl a few overs later but he hardly made an impression on this slow surface at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. It wouldn't be right to blame Wood alone as the conditions did not suit him.

England's trio of specialist spinners, besides part-timer Joe Root, failed miserably as India outbatted them during the course of a slow-progressing day when 302 runs were scored. India are ahead by 175 runs at the close and it will take a herculean effort from the English batters to avoid defeat in the opening Test of the series. Even a switch of the bails by Root at the striker's end after tea didn't bring any change in their fortunes.

If KL Rahul showed the virtues of application and temperament during his poised 86, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel would have put to shame some of the English top-order batters with their controlled aggression. Axar smashed the final three balls of the day from Tom Hartley for two boundaries and a six during an unbroken stand of 63 off 117 balls to aptly sum up the state of affairs during an extended final session.

Simply put, Bazball's existence in Indian conditions is under threat after the first two days of the series. Root, for instance, bowled as many as 24 overs on the day.

Stokes set up some bizarre fields with six men on the leg side in an effort to cut the angles, three standing in a perpendicular line close to the wicket. On another occasion, there were three fielders standing next to each other in an arc around the short mid-off area.

But his spinners weren't quite able to find the right length or accuracy to dent India's aspirations. On a wicket that offered slow turn, the bowlers could hardly take much credit for the six wickets which fell on the day, except for perhaps KS Bharat.

Yashasvi Jaiswal departed to a return catch to the fourth delivery of the day and there were four more in the outfield because of the batters' attacking instincts, besides one run out.

England's fate also had a lot to do with Rahul's nimble footwork, his ability to negate the turn with soft hands and a solid defence. Jadeja always found a way to keep the scoreboard ticking since Rahul's departure while never letting the bowlers wrest control.

A trait that was missing in specialists like Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. Both batters' place in the Test side had been under scrutiny and this was an opportunity for them to seal their places in the absence of Virat Kohli.

Since scoring a century against Australia in Ahmedabad in March last year, Gill's highest score has been 36 in 10 innings. For a batter of his pedigree, he has an average of only 30.37.

Having walked in after Jaiswal had laid the platform in the final session on Thursday, Gill had the luxury to rotate the strike and settle into his role. But he retreated into a shell.

The young batter has failed to convert his white-ball success into the longer format and has struggled to attain the next level. His timid 23 off 66 balls ended when he lazily slapped Hartley to mid-wicket after having survived on 14 when Stokes lost sight of the ball against the sun.

Iyer fared no better. Knowing well his shortcomings against the short-pitched stuff, Stokes summoned Wood but the plan brought no rewards. On this slow surface, Wood has been a disappointment and England must have missed James Anderson's cutters.

Iyer contributed 35 before taking on a Rehan Ahmed googly and sending it straight down to Tom Hartley. He is a destructive player of spin bowling but his meagre rewards will increase the pressure on him to deliver. He would have been benched if Kohli was around but his failure to break the shackles in this innings will put his place in the squad in jeopardy.

Having thwarted any hopes of an English fightback, Jadeja, 19 runs short, will hope to complete his fourth century in Test cricket on Saturday.