If the morning session was about Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maiden Test double ton propelling India to a first innings score of 396, the rest of the day belonged to India’s pace ace Jasprit Bumrah. Dial J was the hotline that Rohit Sharma used, and reaped huge dividends as Bumrah ripped through England’s middle order like knife through butter to return with spectacular figures of 6 for 45 and bundle the visitors out for 253, giving the home side a healthy 143-run first innings lead.
Twenty-two minutes before stumps on the second day, India came out to bat for a second time and the opening pair of Rohit Sharma (13 not out) and Jaiswal (15 not out) batted fluently to add a quickfire 28 and stretch their overall lead to 171 runs.
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The second Test in Visakhapatnam was supposed to be a test for India’s spinners in Ravindra Jadeja’s absence on a placid turf at the ACA-VDCA Stadium, but not for Jasprit Bumrah, who became the second quickest to reach 150 Test wickets in his 34th match, seven more than legendary Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis.
On a docile track, it was the genius of Bumrah that produced a sublime display of reverse-swing masterclass that floored the English line-up, especially after wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav ended the positive 59-run start from the opening combo of Zak Crawley (76) and Ben Duckett (21) with the wicket of the latter. Axar Patel then ended Crawley’s belligerent effort that saw him slamming 11 fours and two sixes in the 78-ball knock, to leave the floor open for Bumrah’s heroics.
Bumrah used the scuffed-up SG ball to make the visitors dance to his tune with exceptional control over his reverse swing, getting the prolific Joe Root (5) for an eighth time in his career when the former English skipper nicked off, but truly saved his best for Hyderabad Test hero Ollie Pope (23).
It all happened in the 28th over of England’s innings when Bumrah came up with multiple variations, mixing up the slower ball with swinging good length deliveries, leaving the 26-year-old confused. The best was saved for the penultimate ball as Pope, taking guard outside the crease to counter the lengths, could only watch the ball from wide of the crease angling in viciously to his legs. By the time, he could react, the cherry had already sneaked under his bat and sent both the middle and leg stumps cartwheeling.
“You always enjoy getting the rewards. You learn how to do this in domestic cricket. Very happy when you get wickets with reverse-swing. In India, you have to learn how to use reverse. I practised using your advantage, using your strengths. Very happy with that,” Bumrah reacted after the day’s play.
Against Pope, who had already faced 55 balls by then, Bumrah set the batter up perfectly before his magic delivery did the trick.
“People try magic balls every other ball but you have to be patient, set the batter up. You have to have a plan, use your deliveries wisely. Very happy with the execution today. If they are keeping an eye on the inswinger then the outside edge comes into play. Don’t look at numbers, just very happy to play Test cricket,” he went on to add.
Jonny Bairstow (25) and skipper Ben Stokes (47) took full advantage of the period when Bumrah was taken off the attack after the two-wicket burst. But England’s respite was all too brief as Bumrah resumed his duties at the start of the post-tea session, and started tearing the innings limb from limb. Bairstow succumbed to a fuller-length delivery that he went for the drive but the ball shaped away from him and instead took an edge to Shubman Gill stationed at first slip.
With Kuldeep further denting the English line-up with the quick wickets of Ben Foakes (6) and Rehan Ahmed (6), Stokes found Tom Hartley (21) a reliable hand to pile up some quick runs in the absence of Bumrah’s rockets. Sensing the urgency, Rohit got back his premier fast bowler into action, and needless to say, Bumrah ended the 47-run eighth wicket stand with the scalp of Stokes. The English skipper’s breezy 54-ball 47 did give England the wings for a counterattack before being clipped by a ripper from Bumrah, getting his 150th Test wicket in the process. Hartley and Anderson did survive a few scary moments but eventually bowed down to Bumrah’s skillful tactics.
Yashasvi makes a statement
Earlier in the morning session, young Yashasvi shouldered the responsibility of the Indian batting with a remarkable double hundred as the hosts ended with 396 in their first innings. Resuming at an overnight 336 for six, India added 60 runs to their total before being skittled out in 112 overs with little over 30 minutes left for lunch. As was the case on day one, India had to rely on Jaiswal (209 off 290) to get the majority of the runs. No other Indian batter even crossed 40.
After sweeping debutant off-spinner Shoaib Bashir for a six and four, the 22-year-old Jaiswal became the third youngest Indian to notch up a double hundred after Vinod Kambli and the great Sunil Gavaskar. The celebrations were euphoric for the youngster, who rose through the ranks after spending nights in tents at Azad Maidan in Mumbai in his growing up days, having come to the metropolis from a nondescript village in Uttar Pradesh.
The southpaw showcased his expertise in marrying caution with aggression as he got to the double century with a maximum, leaving the Indian dressing room to stand and applaud his daring feat.
While the effort of the rest of the India batters left a lot to be desired, the star of the session was 41-year-old James Anderson who produced another masterclass in seam bowling on a flat surface. In his relentless eight-over spell, Anderson got the ball to move both ways from a wobbled seam. Even for a well-set Jaiswal, his spell was watched off cautiously.
The old horse removed the other overnight batter Ravichandran Ashwin (20) with a peach that straightened from middle and took the outside edge of the bat. Thinking the ball had only brushed his right thigh, Ashwin took the DRS but ended up wasting it. The loss of Ashwin, probably the last recognized batter, forced Jaiswal to get some quick runs, and in the process, fell to Anderson after being caught by Bairstow at deep cover.