VISAKHAPATNAM: Yashasvi Jaiswal’s blitz inflicted woes on England’s bowling set-up on the first day of the second Test against England on Friday at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. At the end of Day 1, India managed to put up 336/6 on the board with Jaiswal and Ravichandran Ashwin unbeaten on scores of 179* and 5* respectively.
The Vizag pitch continued to witness Jaiswal’s prowess with the bat, his maturity to hold on to his end and keep the scoreboard ticking while stitching up small yet effective partnerships. Jaiswal’s composure saw him have a fine balance between attack and defence. His 179* saw him score 17 boundaries and tonk five maximums which made England rethink their plans.
India stumbled thrice in the third session of the day with Rajat Patidar, Axar Patel and K S Bharat falling to England’s spin duo of Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir. Patidar (32) was taken by surprise by Rehan’s full-length delivery carried extra bounce and ended up hitting him on the glove and fell to the ground. Fortune wasn’t on Patidar’s side in his bid to stop the ball from hitting the stumps but ended up kicking straight at it.
Axar joined Jaiswal on the crease and both batters managed to put up 52 runs on the board before Axar saw his cut shot go straight into the hands of Rehan in Bashir’s over. KS Bharat (17) also got dismissed in a similar fashion as he tried to cut but failed to get the correct timing. Ashwin and Jaiswal ensured that India didn’t lose further wickets before the stumps were called.
Earlier in the innings, Jaiswal played a typically explosive knock of an unbeaten 125 to accelerate India’s innings while the hosts kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Starting the second session at 103/2, the duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer stitched up a good partnership and carefully took India ahead in the game.
After a slow start to the second innings, Jaiswal pushed the accelerator button and effortlessly hammered England’s first match hero, Tom Hartley, as he smoked back-to-back three boundaries, gathering 13 runs in the 45th over. Jaiswal delighted the Vizag crowd his with aggressive innings. The opener breached the three-figure mark and brought up his second Test century with a maximum.
Hartley provided his team with a big breakthrough as he removed Iyer for 27, breaking a terrific 90 partnership. Iyer got bamboozled by the spin delivery as the ball touched the lower edge of the bat and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes took an excellent catch. After analyzing the situation for some time, debutant Rajat Patidar finally opened his arms and smashed two boundaries off Joe Root.
The duo of Jaiswal and Rajat Patidar made the England bowlers toil hard making merry of the excellent batting conditions on offers. With the aggressive batting, India breached the 200-run mark in the 57th over of the game. India ended the second session on a solid note with 225/3 runs on board.
Earlier, after opting to bat first, India started their innings on a comfortable note as openers Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal stitched a steady partnership. The duo were decisive in their approach made the visitors toil hard making merry of the excellent batting conditions on offer.
The Indian batters rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the England bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer. Jaiswal was the aggressor of the batting pair, smashing boundaries regularly. The first session was completely dominated by the hosts’ batters as runs came thick for India. Jaiswal was fearless with his approach and showcased his variety of shots.
Debutant Shoaib Bashir provided his team with a big breakthrough as he removed Rohit for 14 runs, breaking an opening partnership of 40 runs. Even the veteran bowlers were at the receiving end of young Indian batters. In the 29th over, veteran pacer James Anderson provided England with a massive breakthrough as he dismissed under-fire Gill for 34.
Gill got completely confused by the swing in Anderson’s delivery and the ball touched the edge of the bat and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes made no mistake and took a terrific catch behind the stumps. Jaiswal smoked the first six of the match in the 30th over and with a boundary on the next ball, he brought up his half-century in 89 deliveries.
The pair of Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer displayed great resilience and determination as they took India’s total beyond the 100-run mark at the stroke of Lunch with a powerful boundary.
Brief score: India 336/6 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 179*, Rajat Patidar 32; Rehan Ahmed 2-61) vs England. (ANI)