India beat England in Vizag Test: Here are the takeaways
After facing a humiliating defeat in Hyderabad, India beat England in the 2nd Test Vizag. The Rohit Sharma-led side successfully defended 398, restricting the visitors to 292. A counter-attacking ton from Shubman Gill helped India gain a 350-plus lead. Yashasvi Jaiswal's resounding double-ton and a six-fer from Jasprit Bumrah were the highlights. Here are the key takeaways from the 2nd Test.
India claim a 106-run win
India compiled 396, riding on Jaiswal's historic double-century. James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir, and Rehan Ahmed took three wickets each. England perished for 253, with Bumrah demolishing them. Gill's heroics then powered India (255), who set up a 399-run target. Tom Hartley took four wickets. Zak Crawley fueled England's run-chase, while a 50+ partnership between Ben Foakes and Hartley inspired hope. However, England fell short.
Another even pitch in the series
For the second successive match, the pitch had an even contest between bat and ball. Like in Hyderabad, both pacers and spin were in play throughout the 2nd Test. The surface was certainly not a rank-turner. In each of the four innings, both pacers and spinners took at least two wickets. Meanwhile, India scored nearly 400 in the first innings.
Anderson replaced Mark Wood
England recalled their veteran pacer, Anderson, for the Vizag Test. He replaced Mark Wood as England's lone specialist seamer of the match. England's decision reaped dividends as the pacer perturbed the Indian batters in both the innings. Anderson took a total of five wickets and kept his economy rate under two in each of the two innings. The 41-year-old also bowled long spells.
Gill ends his run-drought
Indian batter Shubman Gill, who batted at number three, finally ended his run-drought with a splendid ton in the second innings. The right-handed batter had not breached the 50-run mark in whites since his 128 against Australia in the Ahmedabad Test last year. 13, 18, 6, 10, 29*, 2, 26, 36, 10, 23, 0, and 34 read his scores in this period.
England's Bazball ploy
England continued with their Bazball ploy in Vizag. Interestingly, only one England batter played more than 100 balls in innings. Zak Crawley, who scored half-centuries in both the innings, faced over 100 deliveries in the second.
The field-placements of Stokes
Although England lost the Test, England skipper Ben Stokes aced his field-placements. In the second innings, Gill fell prey to this tactic. Stokes placed a couple of close-in fielders as the former fell to debutant Shoaib Bashir. Interestingly, Stokes was run-out while batting with the tail in the run-chase. This was the first instance of him getting run-out in Tests since January 2016.
