TALKING POINTS
Follow UsAnother day in this long tour and it's another frustrating day for England. They fought well but only in phases. And the phases in which they went down, they were deflated by the flair of Indian batters; first by the mix of youth and experience in Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, then by two youngsters in Devdutt Padikkal and Sarfaraz Khan, followed by the defensive aptitude of an uncharacteristic duo in Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav.
India ended Day 2 at 473/8, leading by 255 runs. England will aim to wrap up India’s first innings quickly but the way they have batted in the series, an innings defeat looks more probable than a fightback with the bat.
Here are the major talking points from Day 2 of the fifth Test in Dharamsala:
Rohit, Gill on song
The day started with England looking for quick wickets. However, the overnight Indian batters turned the table on England bowlers before they could settle into the play. Rohit smashed Shoaib Bashir for a six and a four to begin the third over of the day’s play. Next over, Gill charged James Anderson down the track for six over the veteran’s head. If ever there was a shot to make a statement, it was that.
Overall, India scored 51 runs in the first 10 overs of Day 2 and were just 33 runs behind England’s first innings total in no time. It was Bazball against Bazball - shifting pressure back on the opposition before they could make their first move.
The fact that India pummeled 129 runs in the first session without losing a wicket ensured England, irrespective of what they did later in the day, had much catching up to do in the final Test.
Padikkal impresses on debut
Devdutt Padikkal became the third Karnataka Ranji player to score a fifty in his debut Test innings. The left-hander walked out to bat in a comfortable situation when India were 57 runs ahead with eight wickets in hand. However, it soon became tricky when Gill was dismissed immediately after he walked in.
Padikkal impressed by forging an impressive partnership with Sarfaraz in tricky circumstances. In fact, Padikkal shifted the pressure back on England. He was 30 off 32 balls with seven boundaries. In a memorable moment, he reached his maiden Test fifty with his first six in Test cricket - a sailing maximum against Bashir.
Padikkal’s innings went through the gears. There were phases when he slowed down against Mark Wood and Bashir but never looked flustered. It eventually took one of the best balls of the innings from Bashir to get him out (explained later).
Sarfaraz takes on Wood
For anyone who saw Sarfaraz struggle against Mark Wood in IPL last year, it was refreshing to see him toy with the fast bowler today (March 8). In that IPL fixture, Sarfaraz got out to Wood without scoring a run against him.
However, today the 26-year old was up to the task when the fast bowler came on to bowl. Sarfaraz first struck Wood for a four down the ground clearing his front foot. In the same over, he played an upper cut for four. He then began Wood’s next over with a four and a six. The six came off a back of a length delivery which was pulled into the stands.
Sarfaraz’s onslaught also provided him some much needed acceleration. He was 8 off 22 balls to start with but completed his fifty in only 55 deliveries. The right-hander missed a chance to convert it into a hundred but his strokeplay against pace confirmed that pace isn’t a worry for him.
Bashir stymies India’s middle-order
Bashir was England’s best bowler on the day when very little went in their favor. His delivery to dismiss Padikkal, who was set and ready for a big one on debut, proved how he operated with discipline and precision.
He kept hitting the off and fourth stump line on a good length to Padikkal, who was playing him with patience. Eventually, Bashir was rewarded when he pitched one of his deliveries just a bit short from his earlier ones and got it to turn. The left-hander played the initial line of the ball, but the ball turned, evaded his bat and crashed into the stumps.
Bashir was also getting some deliveries to skid as well with the new ball by landing it on the leather. Hence, it was tricky to hit him for big ones even when he pitched it full. Dhruv Jurel realized it too, as he holed out in the outfield trying to attempt a big one.
With 4 for 170 in 44 overs at an economy of 3.9 and 16 wickets in the series overall, Bashir might have proved that he has enough potential for the England management to keep their trust in him intact even after the series gets over.
