Jasprit Bumrah took a match haul of nine wickets (9 for 91), the best-ever by an Indian fast bowler against England in the last 40 years, as India thrashed Ben Stokes and his men by 106 runs in the second Test on Monday and levelled the five-match series at 1-1 in Visakhapatnam. Chasing an improbable 399 for victory, England were folded for 292 runs in the second session on Day 4, despite an attacking start and Zak Crawley’s well-planned 73. Following the win, former India cricketers Ravi Shastri and Sachin Tendulkar lauded the Indian side on their emphatic win as the hosts tamed the Bazball threat.
England came out swinging with their “Bazball” brand of cricket, with Crawley leading the charge. But India kept chipping away with wickets at regular intervals. After Axar Patel removed ‘night hawk’ Rehan Ahmed, Ravichandran Ashwin struck twice to dismiss Ollie Pope and Joe Root, before it turned out to be an all-Bumrah show. The pace spearhead, who picked up a six-wicket haul in the first innings, dismissed Jonny Bairstow at the stroke of lunch, which capped off an opening session comprising five dismissals for India. Bumrah later returned to dismiss Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley, to wrap up a series-levelling win at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.
Thrilled at India’s fabulous win, batting legend Sachin took to social media to lead congratulations for the home team. He wrote: “What a fantastic game of cricket we have had here! Fabulous performance by India. The series is beautifully poised at 1-1!”
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri and T20 World Cup-winning all-rounder Irfan Pathan joined the bandwagon in hailing India’s third consecutive Test victory in Vizag.
Rohit credits Bumrah for Vizag win
India captain Rohit was all praise for Bumrah, who recorded the third-best match figures of his career and best at home, and reckoned that the fast bowler has a long way to go in international cricket.
“He is a champion player for us. When you win a game like that, you have to look at the overall performance as well. We were good with the bat. You know winning a Test in these conditions is not easy. Wanted our bowlers to step up and they did that. He looks like a good player, understands his game really well. Long way to go for him, has got a lot to offer for our team. Hope he stays humble,” he said.
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