On Day 2 of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, Jasprit Bumrah delivered a stellar performance, claiming six wickets for 45 runs. Jasprit Bumrah‘s display of reverse swing bowling was a masterclass, helping India secure a significant lead of 143 runs in the match.
In response to India’s first-innings total of 396, England made a strong start at 114-1 with aggressive batting. However, Jasprit Bumrah’s exceptional reverse swing bowling changed the course of the match, and England was eventually bowled out for 253, conceding a first-innings lead of 143. By the end of the day, India had reached 28 for no loss, extending their overall lead to 171. After his remarkable innings of 209 in the first innings, Yashasvi Jaiswal was at the crease with a score of 15, while captain Rohit Sharma was accompanying him with 13 runs.
A Masterclass of Reverse Swing from Jasprit Bumrah
England made a solid start in response to India’s total, with Zak Crawley scoring 76 and Ben Duckett contributing 21. Crawley reached his fifty in 52 balls, including hitting Jasprit Bumrah for four fours in an over and reaching the milestone with a six off Kuldeep Yadav (3-71). Kuldeep broke the partnership by dismissing Duckett caught at silly point, but Srikar Bharat missed a stumping chance against Ollie Pope on the next delivery. Zak Crawley’s aggressive innings came to an end when he miscued a shot against Axar Patel, and Shreyas Iyer took a stunning tumbling catch while running backward. This wicket triggered a collapse.
With the ball starting to reverse, Jasprit Bumrah was brought back into the attack. He dismissed Joe Root, who was caught in the slip for five and bowled a yorker off the top tier to the new batter Jonny Bairstow who somehow managed to dig it out. Bumrah showcased his mastery once again and got his man this time with Ollie Pope (23) failing to block a yorker that crashed through his defense and into the base of his middle and leg stumps.
Ben Stokes stood in disbelief to Jasprit Bumrah’s delivery
Jasprit Bumrah made a significant impact after the tea break, dismissing Jonny Bairstow (25) and delivering a stunning delivery to dismiss Ben Stokes. England was struggling at 159 with their top five batters back in the pavilion. Kuldeep Yadav removed Ben Foakes and Rehan Ahmed, adding to England’s woes. Stokes, after a brisk 47, was left in disbelief as Bumrah delivered a ball that jagged back to disrupt his off-stump, this wicket was the 150th scalp for Bumrah in the longer format of the game.
The ace pacer picked the wicket of Tom Hartley caught at slip to complete his fifer his 10th overall in test cricket. The Indian Vice-captain capped off his spell with one more scalp dismmising James Anderson and bundling England out for 253.
Earlier in the day, Yashasvi Jaiswal played a remarkable innings, scoring his maiden Test double hundred, featuring seven sixes and 19 fours. His innings provided the foundation for the Indian total, where no other batter managed to reach fifty. Seamer James Anderson, along with spinners Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed, claimed three wickets each for England.
Trivia:
6781- Balls taken by Jasprit Bumrah to the milestone of 150 wickets makes him the fastest Indian in terms of balls taken. He surpassed the previous record held by Umesh Yadav, who took 7661 deliveries to reach the milestone. Among Asian pacers, only Waqar Younis achieved this landmark in fewer Test matches (27) than Bumrah’s 34.
6/45- Jasprit Bumrah figures in the first innings, is the best by an Indian seamer at home in this century. The only other Indian seamer to pick six wickets in an innings during this period is Umesh Yadav, who achieved figures of 6/88 against West Indies in Hyderabad in 2018. The last time any Indian seamer matched or bettered Bumrah’s figures was Javagal Srinath, who took 6/45 against New Zealand in Mohali in 1999.
20.28- Jasprit Bumrah now has the second best average in Test Cricket. Only Sydney Barnes of England, who last played in 1914, has a better average (16.43) among players with a minimum of 150 wickets.
44.7- Jasprit Bumrah’s Test bowling strike rate is also among the best in cricket history. Only four players have a better strike rate than him: Kagiso Rabada (39.2), Sydney Barnes (41.6), Dale Steyn (42.3), and Waqar Younis (43.4).
India are ahead in the game at the end of Day 2 but you cannot take this English side easily. India would preferably like to bat the entirety of Day 3 and will try and post an unachievable target for England in the fourth innings.