Vengeance in Visakhapatnam
England fought hard, but India’s second Test win saw the hosts always one step ahead
England went to battle with India for the second of five Tests in Visakhapatnam, and despite a fiery effort, fell to a 106-run loss. The game was one in which England were always fighting uphill, and the quality of India’s side shone through.
Jasprit Bumra was a menace to the English batters, and his nine wickets made sure he and his counterparts kept England at arm's length. Indian batters had a mixed affair, but Yashasvi Jaiswal had nothing to be ashamed of with his double ton in the first innings. He scored 209 of his side’s 396 runs, with the next top score of 34 making for a top-heavy-looking scorecard.
There were big scores to be had, with Shubman Gill reaching an attritional ton in India’s second innings. Zak Crawley was the pick of the English batters, his 76 and 73 helping to further cement his place as a first name on the team sheet. His solidifying opening partnership with Ben Duckett is becoming a constant, with two 50+ stands in Visakhapatnam getting their side off to a good start.
Question marks were raised over England’s inexperienced spin options before the series got underway, but the trio of Shoaib Bashir, Rehan Ahmed, and Tom Hartley have answered critics emphatically in these opening tests. Bashir picked up an attritional four-wicket haul in the first innings in Visakhapatnam, but it was Ahmed who came into his own with six wickets in the match.
Taking 20 Indian wickets in Indian conditions is no mean feat, but England have done it in both Tests so far on the tour. Taking all of these wickets in ample time to win a match is even harder, and England are currently one from two in this department. The conditions in India have proven a challenge that, in most cases, England have stepped up to.
All of these column inches, and I’ve not even mentioned England’s bowling maestro. James Anderson took five wickets in the match and had an economy rate that any bowler in the game would kill for. His often unplayable style has moved him to 695 Test match wickets as the Lancastrian King of Swing continues to age like fine wine.
The Visakhapatnam Test was always going to be seen as a tough prospect for England to take a 2–0 lead. India aren’t used to losing matches on home soil, and their lethal bowling attack and plentiful batting line-up can’t be kept out of the picture for too long.
England won’t change their approach for the remaining three Test matches. They’ve now lost five games in the McCullum/ Stokes era, and none have deterred them from a playing style that has seen them win on 14 occasions. If they didn’t stop after going 2–0 down to Australia last summer, it’s safe to say they’ll not stop after this loss in India.
This highly anticipated series is on a knife edge as it reaches the halfway point. This feels like the best side England have taken to India for a series in some time, and the question of whether or not there is enough in this squad to overcome a dominant India side will be answered in the coming weeks. The early signs of one factor are clear- it’s going to be a close call.
