Yashasvi Jaiswal converted his century into a maiden double-hundred while Jasprit Bumrah produced a masterclass in reverse-swing bowling as the duo put India in pole position on day two of the second Test against England at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Playing in just his sixth Test match, Jaiswal began from overnight score of 179 not out to hit an incredible career-best knock of 209 from 290 balls, laced with 19 fours and seven sixes, before being dismissed by veteran fast-bowler James Anderson, as India made 396 in 112 overs.
In reply, England raced to 114/1 before they were bowled out for 253, giving India a 143-run lead. Bumrah took 6-45 in 15.5 overs, his best Test figures in India and became the fastest bowler from his country to reach 150 scalps in the format. Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma then hit six boundaries between themselves to make it 28/0 in five overs at stumps, with India leading by 171 runs.
In the final session, Bumrah began his magical work by luring Jonny Bairstow to play a drive and the edge carried to first slip. England’s collapse continued when Ben Foakes was bowled past the outside edge by Kuldeep and Rehan Ahmed pulled the wrist-spinner to mid-wicket.
Jasprit recorded his best figures (6/45) in Test cricket on home turf.
Image: PTI
Ben Stokes stepped in to shape England’s fightback by pulling Kuldeep and getting a thick edge fly past slip to get two boundaries. Stokes and Tom Hartley found boundaries at a click clip before Bumrah came back to halt the fightback.
Bumrah got one to shape back in and kept low to go under Stokes’ bat and hit off-stump, with the England captain left bewildered as the pacer got his 150th Test scalp. Bumrah got his fifth scalp when Hartley edged to first slip and ended England’s innings by trapping James Anderson plumb lbw to complete an incredible six-wicket haul on a placid pitch, handing India a huge advantage.
Ben Stokes Captain of England gets bowled off Jasprit Bumrah of India during the 2nd day of the second test match between India and England held at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on the 3rd February 2024
Image: Sportspicz
In the morning, Crawley and Duckett took England to 32/0 at lunch. Post that, Crawley got a life at 18 when Shubman Gill couldn’t hold on to a chance at short mid-wicket. Crawley proceeded to take four boundaries off Bumrah and even took a boundary off Ashwin by beating leg-gully on his right.
But India soon had a wicket when Kuldeep got extra bounce on a good length ball which Duckett tried to defend and the ball was safely caught by a silly point. Ollie Pope survived on his very first ball when KS Bharat couldn’t gather the ball cleanly, thus missing a stumping chance.
Crawley continued to go his way undeterred -– driving Kuldeep firmly through long-off for four, before slog-sweeping for six to get his fifty in just 52 balls. While Pope was being tested by the Indian spinners, especially by Ravichandran Ashwin on the outside edge, Crawley was nailing his slog-sweep, punch and drive against the off-spinner for boundaries as England reached 100 in the 20th over.
Crawley’s fun came to an end on 78 when he tried to take on a slightly wide ball against Patel and the ball took the leading edge to a back-tracking backward point. Joe Root was off the mark with a reverse sweep but was teased by away swingers from a probing Bumrah. The plan worked well as Root poked at the corridor of uncertainty and edged to first slip.
Pope was the next person to be taken out by Bumrah, looking clueless against a pacy inswinging yorker which slipped past his toes to leave middle and leg stumps in a complete mess. Bairstow and Stokes looked fluent till tea arrived, but after that, it was Bumrah wreaking havoc to give India a huge lead.
Ollie Pope of England gets bowled off Jasprit Bumrah of India during the 2nd day of the second test match between India and England held at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on the 3rd February 2024
Image: Sportspicz
Earlier, Jaiswal converted his overnight score of 179 not out into a maiden double century in Tests, though India missed out on reaching 400 by just four runs. Playing in just his sixth Test match, Jaiswal mixed caution and aggression in equal measure and stood tall even as his team-mates fell from the other end.
He became the third youngest Indian batter to score a double hundred in Test cricket, via a six and four off debutant England spinner Shoaib Bashir in the 102nd over. His incredible career-best knock of 209 from 290 balls was laced with 19 fours and seven sixes, before being dismissed by veteran fast-bowler James Anderson.
Anderson took three wickets in his miserly spell while Bashir and Rehan Ahmed also took three scalps each.
Brief scores:
India 396 all out in 112 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 209; James Anderson 3-47) and 28/0 in five overs lead England 253 all out in 55 overs (Zak Crawley 76, Ben Stokes 47; Jasprit Bumrah 6-45, Kuldeep Yadav 3-71) by 171 runs
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