India win the match against England by 106 runs, level the series 1-1
Shubman Gill scored a century and Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin each took three wickets to help India overcome England by 106 runs in the second Test on Monday. England required 332 runs on Day 4, and Zak Crawley and Rehan Ahmed were undefeated at the crease. However, Ashwin’s spell helped the hosts get back into the contest. Crawley departed for 73, and no other English batsman scored more than 40 runs. Bumrah and Ashwin each took three wickets as England were bowled out for 292. With this victory, India has tied the five-match series 1-1.
England made a great start and reached 95-1, but promoted Rehan Ahmed was caught leg before by Axar Patel, signalling a regular wicket fall. Opener Zak Crawley appeared to be England’s best hope, batting with elegance for 73 runs. The game slipped away when he was ruled lbw to Kuldeep Yadav during a review. Ben Stokes provided a glimmer of optimism, but the skipper was run out in a wasteful way by a direct hit from Shreyas Iyer. With 179 needed and with three wickets remained, India could rest easy.
Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley delayed India with a 56-run partnership, with Hartley surviving two reviews that would have awarded Ravichandran Ashwin his 500th Test wicket. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was called in and took a return catch off Foakes, and after Shoaib Bashir was caught behind by Mukesh Kumar, Ashwin was given another chance at the milestone. But Bumrah removed Hartley’s off stump to finish with three in the innings and nine in the match, leaving Ashwin with 499 wickets heading into the third Test in Rajkot on February 15.
Earlier in the game, India scored 255 runs in their second innings, led by a stunning century from Shubman Gill, with significant contributions from Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel. Gill scored 11 fours and two sixes. Shubman Gill is now the third Indian to achieve a century while batting at number three since 2018. Even before that, Indian bowlers, headed by Jasprit Bumrah’s ‘Sixfer’, dominated DAY 2 play, restricting the visitors to 255 runs and taking a 143-run lead, which proved critical in the game. For England, Tom Hartley claimed four wickets, Rehan Ahmed three, and James Anderson two. Debutant Shoaib Bashir took one wicket in the second innings.
Hartley fought for 36 minutes before getting cleaned up by Bumrah. India ultimately ended up England’s innings before tea at 292, winning by 106 runs. The two sides will now meet in Rajkot for the third Test, which is likely to be an interesting contest considering the history of the first two.
India 396 all out (Yashasvi Jaiswal 209, James Anderson 3/47) & 255 (Shubman Gill 104; Tom Hartley 4/77) beat England 253 (Zak Crawley 76; Jasprit Bumrah 6/45) & 292 (Zak Crawley 73; Jasprit Bumrah 3/46) by 106 runs
Ben Stokes England Captain: “We had full belief in ourselves that we could chase that down. The way we have gone about taking on challenges like that is what we are about. In moments like that, when you have scoreboard pressure, that is when we get the best out of ourselves as individuals. The way we applied ourselves and put India under pressure was great, unfortunately we didn’t end up on the right side of the result. There is no suggestion on how to go out and play. We know there is a task ahead, we know there is 330 to get, everybody in that dressing room is a quality player. It wasn’t a challenge. I absolutely loved. To look at at Tom, Bash and Rehan with three matches between them and watch them put in the performance yesterday was great. They showed a lot of maturity, a lot of skill. Jimmy is amazing. You look at Jimmy, and Jasprit Bumrah, two great fast bowlers. Even when you are in the opposition, you put your hand up. Jimmy is that player for us.”
Rohit Sharma, Indian Captain: “He’s a champion player for us, done the job for a while. When you win a game like that you have to look at the overall performance. We know that winning a Test match in these conditions is not going to be easy, the bowlers stepped up. Looks like a very good player, understands his game. Got a long way to go, of course. It was an exceptional knock. He has a lot to offer the team, I hope he stays humble. The wicket was good to bat on, a lot of the batters got starts and didn’t convert. They are young, new to this format, it will take some time. This win gives us a lot of confidence. Very proud of such a young squad, to come up against a team like that. Very positive. We want these guys to have time in the middle. It’s a good challenge, England have been playing food cricket. Not going to be an easy series. Three more games to go, need to make sure we do most things right.”
Jasprit Bumrah, Player of the Match: “I don’t look at numbers. If you think about numbers there is a lot of pressure. I’m very happy that we won and contributed to that. As a youngster that was the first delivery I learned in tennis-ball cricket. I used to feel that is the only way to take wickets. Not the leader but we are going through a transition so it’s my responsibility to guide them. We discuss everything, about what I am thinking and what he thinks we should do. Not really, I always enjoy watching fast bowling, whether it’s the other team or not. If someone is doing well, good on them. Look at the situation, look at the wicket. I look to solve the problem, every wicket is different and I have to use what I have in my armoury.”
