India vs England: Joe Root's 180 not out, Mohammed Siraj's 4/32 and other noteworthy performances in Test series so far
India vs England: Joe Root's 180 not out, Mohammed Siraj's 4/32 and other noteworthy performances in Test series so far
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The five-Test series between England and India in the early stages of the second World Test Championship cycle has already lived up to its expectations of being a cracker of a contest between two top-ranked sides in the world. This after only two matches have been contested so far, of which one ended in a draw thanks to the fickle English weather.
Virat Kohli and company didn’t exactly start their tour of the United Kingdom on a positive note as they lost to New Zealand in the WTC Final in June, but they’ve since turned things around and how? Not only did India put up a strong challenge in the opening Test at Nottingham, where they took the first innings lead and got off to a decent start in their chase of the 209-run target before the heavens opened up, they pulled off a Gabba-like heist in the next game at Lord’s, turning the game on its head on the final day to register an emphatic 151-run victory and go 1-0 up in the series.
Ahead of the third Test that takes place up north in Leeds in a few days’ time, we revisit some of the individual performances that stood out in the first two Tests:
KL Rahul, 129 at Lord’s
Rahul as an opener has been a revelation for the Indian team in the ongoing tour of England. The Karnataka batsman, who has batted at various positions across formats in the Indian lineup, grabbed the opener’s spot that was vacated by state teammate and best friend Mayank Agarwal after the latter was struck by a Mohammed Siraj bouncer in the nets before the first Test.
Rahul was unlucky to have missed out on a ton at Trent Bridge at the start of the series, but he more than made up for it at the Home Of Cricket as he became the first Indian to have his name on the Lord’s Honours Board in seven years, putting up a batting masterclass with vital support from Rohit Sharma as the pair gave Team India a dream start after being put in to bat by England captain Joe Root.
Rahul was especially cautious at the start of the innings, and took his time to get settled at the crease and let Rohit play the aggression, but shifted gears and took charge once his partner exited and ensured India ended Day 1 on a high.
Joe Root, 180 not out at Lord’s
Barring his dismissal for 33 in the second innings at Lord’s, in which he succumbed to pressure created by the Indians and got caught by his opposite number Virat Kohli in the slips off Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling, Root has almost been unstoppable in this series, and given his impact with the bat at Trent Bridge as well as at Lord’s, it can safely be assumed the English skipper will be central to the visitors’ planning in the remainder of the series.
Root looked especially unstoppable in the first innings at Lord’s in which he arrived at the crease at a time when England looked shaky at 23/2. Not only did he absorb the pressure created by the Indians early on, he anchored the innings thereafter, stitching multiple fifty-plus partnerships all along to ensure the balance of the game tilted in the visitors’ favour. Root could’ve brought up his double century if only the lower order stuck around for a little longer. Still, his unbeaten 180 would find place in a list of his greatest knocks in an England jersey.
Jasprit Bumrah, 3/33 at Lord’s
Jasprit Bumrah didn’t quite find himself among the wickets in the first innings of Lord's Test but bowled one of the most crucial spells during the final wicket partnership, in which he bowled a barrage of short balls to James Anderson that did rub the senior England paceman the wrong way.
Such was the impact of that spell that the hosts were rather too keen on returning the favour when Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were batting with India in a rather shaky position in the morning of the final day. And that’s where Root and Co lost the plot, spreading the field out and focusing on bowling short to the two lower-order batsmen, which allowed the pair to sneak easy singles and collect a boundary off the odd bad delivery, thereby building a crucial 10-wicket stand that helped them set a challenging 272-run target.
Bumrah then set the tone for the visitors by getting rid of struggling opener Rory Burns in the very first over of the English chase, and struck again later in the innings by getting perhaps the most important wicket, that of the in-form skipper Root himself.
Mohammed Siraj, 4/32 at Lord’s
Ever since he made his debut in the tour of Australia, where he only got a chance to express himself with the ball in hand after many of the seniors had to sit out due to injury, Siraj has had quite the journey and carved quite the reputation for himself in such a short period of time.
And on Monday at the Home of Cricket, while the Indian pace unit hunted like a pack, it was Siraj who stood out with his aggression and ability to make the opposition batsmen dance to his tunes as he finished the pick of the Indian attack with figures of 4/32, which included the scalps of Jos Buttler and James Anderson in what turned out to be the final over of the match.
Ravindra Jadeja, 56 at Trent Bridge
Jadeja once again proved his worth as a utility cricketer and repaid the team management’s faith in him with a handy 56 batting at five down, not only helping the visitors surpass the English total, but also finish with a handsome first innings lead.
Despite getting off to a positive start thanks to a 97-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma (36) and KL Rahul( 84), the latter soon started running out of partners with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane all getting dismissed for single-digit scores and Rishabh Pant (25) failing to convert a start.
Jadeja, though steadied the innings alongside Rahul as the pair added 60 for the sixth wicket. Jadeja stuck on even as Rahul and Shardul Thakur were dismissed in a space of a few deliveries, and brought out the sword celebrations yet again as he crossed the fifty-run mark for the seventeenth time in his career.
