India’s new found left handed superstar Yashaswi Jaiswal’s second Test ton offset, to some extent, the mistakes that India’s other batters committed after opting to bat on day one of the Vizag Test. His unbeaten 179* powered India to 336/6 by the end of the day with the next highest score of the day being a mere 34. Former Indian player now commentator Aakash Chopra expressed about England being dominant with the ball despite Yashaswi’s valiant innings
Yashaswi Jaiswal, after a fifty in the first Test, applied himself more in the second and worked his way to a stroke-filled hundred, getting to the landmark with an emphatic six over long on. The left-handed opener was the glue around which India’s batting revolved on a pitch that held no demons. He had partners stitching together stands but throwing it away eventually as England managed to garner some kind of control over the Indian batting line up in the final session at the end of first day in the second test at Vizag.
After the loss in the first test to England everyone was speculating India to be in a strong position after electing to bat in the second test at Vizag. However though India scored 336 till the end of DAY 1, it was England who with immaculate bowling display gained an upper hand with 6 Indian wickets falling with the second best score being only 34 next to Jaiswal’s marathon 179 not out which propelled Aakash Chopra to be vocal about other Indian batters barring Jaiswal being mere spectators on the pitch supporting batters.
The pitch is actually very good- Aakash Chopra
Former Indian player now commentator Aakash Chopra reckons England hold the edge over India after the first day of the second Test in Visakhapatnam on Friday, February 2. India ended Day 1 at 336-6 after Rohit Sharma opted to bat first. Yashaswi Jaiswal (179*) and Ravichandran Ashwin (5*) are at the crease and will hope to take the hosts beyond the 400-run mark.
Reflecting on the day’s proceedings in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra opined that India lost too many wickets on a flat surface (1:25):
“The Indian team won the toss, which is a very big job, and decided to bat with closed eyes. The pitch is actually very good, which is generally the case here. Big runs are scored here in the first innings. 450 to 550 runs is possible, and this is also that type of pitch,”
“When you see from that perspective, the scales are not tilted towards India. To be fair, England look slightly ahead. Of course, they haven’t batted yet, and they have to bat last but it wasn’t a 336/6 pitch. It was a 336/3 or 336/2 pitch,” the former India opener added.
Aakash Chopra recalled the 2019 Visakhapatnam Test against South Africa to substantiate his point. India posted 502-7 declared after opting to bat first, with openers Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma scoring 215 and 176 respectively.
Shoaib Bashir was fantastic – Aakash Chopra on England’s star performers
Aakash Chopra chose Shoaib Bashir (2-100) and Rehan Ahmed (2-61) as the star performers for England. Chopra said about the debutant off-spinner Bashir (4:15):
“Shoaib Bashir was fantastic. He was playing his first match and dismissed captain Rohit Sharma at the start,”
“His specialty is high-arm action, gets very good bounce, and the consistency is not that bad. He got Axar Patel out because of that extra bounce. It was a wicket against the run of play,”
The reputed commentator noted that Rehan also struck crucial blows despite being introduced late into the attack:
“Rehan Ahmed came late but did a very good job. It seemed like he wasn’t going to be given the ball. “We were saying that Ben Stokes had forgotten him, but when he got to bowl, he first dismissed Rajat Patidar and then (Srikar) Bharat. It wasn’t a wicket-taking ball, but it was a huge setback for India,”
“We were saying that Ben Stokes had forgotten him, but when he got to bowl, he first dismissed Rajat Patidar and then (Srikar) Bharat. It wasn’t a wicket-taking ball, but it was a huge setback for India,”
Chopra also praised James Anderson for bowling a parsimonious spell, with the veteran seamer dismissing Shubman Gill and conceding only 30 runs in 17 overs. India ended Day 1 at 336-6 after Rohit Sharma opted to bat first. Yashaswi Jaiswal (179*) and Ravichandran Ashwin (5*) are at the crease and will hope to take the hosts beyond the 400-run mark.