No history was rewritten. No new height was scaled by Bazball. No stopping India wrapping up the second Test on the fourth day, grounding the high-flying England.
India won by 106 runs on Feb. 5 to square the five-match series 1-1. Chasing 399, England was bowled out for 292.
India’s winning moment came in the first over after the second session was extended at the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium, with the host needing just one wicket.
That wicket was fittingly taken by Jasprit Bumrah. His sensational spell of reverse swing — six for 45 — on the second day had turned the match decisively in India’s favour. He added three second-innings wickets to his tally. R. Ashwin, the other senior bowler in the Indian attack, also took three.
One more would have taken the champion off-spinner to that rare milestone of 500 Test wickets. But he won’t be minding that, having helped India score what must be a very satisfying victory, after having to play without the injured duo of K.L. Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, not to mention Virat Kohli, who had pulled out of the first two Tests because of personal reasons.
Earlier, England resumed at 67 for one and Rehan Ahmed, the nightwatchman, made the visitors’ intention clear, hitting Axar Patel for successive boundaries. The left-arm spinner, however, had the last laugh, trapping Rehan lbw, as the batter was beaten while trying to flick.
The other overnight batter Zak Crawley (73, 132b, 8x4, 1x6) was always going to be a worry for India and the tall opener was stroking handsomely. Ollie Pope, whose 196 helped England win the first Test at Hyderabad, was another man India would not have wanted to see too much of.
Pope had hit five fours during his brief stay when he was snapped up superbly by Rohit Sharma at slip off Ashwin. It was an excellent reflex catch the Indian captain took towards his left with both hands.
Joe Root, who had damaged his finger while fielding on the previous day, had seemed a man in a hurry. He started by reverse-sweeping Ashwin for a couple of fours and also stepped out to hit Axar over long-off for a six.
Root didn’t last long, though. He came down the track against Ashwin, only to give a top-edge to backward-point.
Crawley was now joined by Jonny Bairstow and it was a partnership England needed to click. The stand was worth 40 when India’s review against Crawley yielded success. The DRS found him lbw to Kuldeep Yadav, and the Indian fielders erupted in joy: they knew how important that wicket was.
Then Bumrah brought one in sharply to beat the defensive bat of Bairstow, who was lbw; the DRS didn’t help.
England went to lunch, with a mountain to climb.
It needed another miracle from Stokes, but he was run out by a brilliant direct-hit from Shreyas. Ben Foakes (36, 69b, 4x4, 1x6) and Tom Hartley (36, 47b, 5x4, 1x6) put up a fight.
Both were dismissed by Bumrah, who finished with a match-haul of nine for 91, was the Player-of-the-Match.
Scoreboard:
INDIA — 1ST INNINGS
396 in 112 overs
ENGLAND — 1ST INNINGS
253 in 55.5 overs
INDIA — 2ND INNINGS
255 in 78.3 overs
ENGLAND — 2ND INNINGS
Zak Crawley lbw b Kuldeep 73 (132b, 8x4, 1x6), Ben Duckett c Bharat b Ashwin 28 (27b, 6x4), Rehan Ahmed lbw b Axar 23 (31b, 5x4), Ollie Pope c Rohit b Ashwin 23 (21b, 5x4), Joe Root c Axar b Ashwin 16 (10b, 2x4, 1x6), Jonny Bairstow lbw b Bumrah 26 (36b, 5x4), Ben Stokes run out 11 (29b, 1x4), Ben Foakes c & b Bumrah 36 (69b, 4x4, 1x6), Tom Hartley b Bumrah 36 (47b, 5x4, 1x6), Shoaib Bashir c Bharat b Mukesh 0 (8b), James Anderson (not out) 5 (8b, 1x4); Extras (b-8, lb-5, nb-2): 15; Total (in 69.2 overs): 292.
FALL OF WICKETS
1-50 (Duckett, 10.5 overs), 2-95 (Rehan, 21.5), 3-132 (Pope, 28.2), 4-154 (Root, 30.6), 5-194 (Crawley, 41.6), 6-194 (Bairstow, 42.4), 7-220 (Stokes, 52.4), 8-275 (Foakes, 64.6), 9-281 (Bashir, 67.3).
INDIA BOWLING
Bumrah 17.2-4-46-3, Mukesh 5-1-26-1, Kuldeep 15-0-60-1, Ashwin 18-2-72-3, Axar 14-1-75-1.
PoM: Bumrah.
India won by 106 runs to level the five-match series 1-1.
Third Test: February 15 to 19, Rajkot.
