It was a day of India flexing their batting muscles. England managed to take only five wickets after a tiresome day in Hyderabad. Jadeja and Rahul may have batted England out of the day with some proper cricketing shots. The strength of India’s batting lineup was on show, number nine Axar Patel batted like a seasoned Test batsman. It would be another perilous day for the visitors if they are unable to take a wicket or two quickly after play resumes on day three.
Team Lineups
Virat Kohli was the most notable absentee from the Indian lineup that vanquished the South Africans at Newlands. The 34 year old batter would not be available for selection due to personal reasons. Srikar Bharat came in to replace Virat Kohli. The 30 year old from Andhra Pradesh would don the gloves for team India, which means KL Rahul is playing as a specialist batsman.
Mukesh Kumar and Prasidh Krishma are the other two missing from the Indian XI at Newlands. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel were added to the team. This decision would not surprise anyone,anyone as these two were pivotal difference makers in last series, with 59 wickets among them. The return of Jasprit Bumrah would sure please Indian fans. The 30 year old pacer returned to the Test side after two long years without a game. Mohammed Siraj was playing the first test before his home crowd.
Just like Virat Kohli, Harry Brook is absent from the English test setup due to personal reasons. Ben Foakes came in to replace him and was handed the keeping gloves. Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad have announced their retirements after the Ashes series, so there were plenty of spots up for grabs for the newcomers.
England team management opted for a trio of spin attack. 24 year old Lancashire spinner Tom Hartley makes his debut in this match. Rehan Ahmed played only one test match before this one. Ben Stokes’ preferred spinner Jack Leach is back to the team after missing the Ashes series due to a lumbar stress fracture. James Anderson is benched for this game as England chose only one pacer to play in Hyderabad.
England
1. Zak Crawley 2. Ben Duckett 3. Ollie Pope 4. Joe Root 5. Jonny Bairstow 6. Ben Stokes (Cap.) 7. Ben Foakes (WK) 8. Rehan Ahmed 9. Tom Hartley 10. Mark Wood 11. Jack Leach
India
1. Rohit Sharma (Cap.) 2. Yashasvi Jaiswal 3. Shubman Gill 4. KL Rahul 5. Shreyas Iyer 6. Ravindra Jadeja 7. Srikar Bharat (WK) 8. Ravichandran Ashwin 9. Axar Patel 10. Jasprit Bumrah 11. Mohammed Siraj
The English captain Ben Stokes won the coin toss and chose to bat first. The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad is known to be a paradise for pace bowlers. The surface looked hard, it may assist the spinners as the game progresses. In the last test match at this ground, India emerged victorious against the West Indies by a huge margin of 10 wickets. India had three spin bowlers in their lineup but Umesh Yadav was the key bowler who dismantled the West Indies lineup. The pitch was revealing more cracks than day one, the runs would likely flow in the next three days.
The third day pitch of Hyderabad got much slower compared with the first. The first day offered a lot of bounce and drift for the spinners. It still allowed slow turn and reacted differently to different deliveries. The humid weather favoured reverse swing deliveries. The lack of bounce created an issue for the batsmen with the occasional ball keeping low to deceive them. A target close to 250 can pose a tricky situation before India if they are not careful enough.
Fixture
These two cricket heavyweights have met on 131 previous occasions in Test cricket. In those games, India has emerged victorious on 31 occasions. England has the upper hand with 50 wins. The remaining 50 matches ended in a draw. On Indian soil, the hosts are clearly ahead with 22 wins. England won on 14 occasions during their tour of India.
These two sides met in the Test format back in 2020-21 in an entertaining series. Top quality cricket was played across five matches in this series and it ended in 2-2. In the last series in India, the three lions succumbed to the spinning power of the hosts and lost the series 3-1. The last time India were beaten on home soil was back in 2012. An energetic English side led by Sir Alastair Cook recorded a famous win.
The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has hosted five games before this. The wins were equally shared by teams batting first and second. No visiting team has ever recorded a Test victory at this ground. India is a dominant force in Hyderabad, they even scored an astronomical 687/6 against Bangladesh back in 2017. India has secured 16 successive series wins since 2012, seven of these series have been whitewashes.
| Venue | The second day of the first Test match between India and England was held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. |
| Date | The game started on Friday, 26 January, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. local time. |
Captaincy & Tactics
England changed their regular approach to adapt to the Indian surface in the first innings. Four of the five batsmen got out while attempting to play a defensive stroke. So, the Three Lions were less orthodox and more expressive in the second innings. The batsmen were not reluctant to take a few risks to tackle the formidable spin attack of India. Reverse sweeps were a common occurrence throughout the day. 45 runs were scored from reverse sweeps on the day, the most in any Tests on Indian soil. This method of playing paid dividends as England were able to take the lead despite trailing India after the first innings.
Ben Duckett was especially instructed to play the ball on the front foot. The southpaw batter hit seven boundaries in his entertaining innings. Duckett was more aggressive in anything that was offered around the stumps. He scored 73% of his runs from balls that were aimed at the stumps. The Indian spinners had to re-adjust their lengths while batting to the diminutive opener. Pope was the dominant force which tore apart the menacing Indian attack. Like every other top order batsmen, Ollie Pope used the sweep shots to good effect, scoring 41 runs through this particular. Pope reached his hundred in 135 balls, the quickest of his career.
Luckily for India, Jasprit Bumrah bowls too fast to sweep away. The magnificent pacer is playing a Test match after a two year hiatus. He fervently attacked the stumps, delivering 52% of his balls in that line. Bumrah was successful in stemming the flow of runs and picked up two wickets.
Indian spinners had a relatively easy task in the first innings: tossing the ball up around the off stump line and letting the pitch do the rest of the work. The Hyderabad surface did not crack and the amount of moisture started helping the batsmen out. Jadeja and Axar was guilty off bowling too full and had to redress their length after Pope started asserting his authority over them. Ashwin was expensive throughout the day, his carrom balls and stock deliveries were easily picked up from hand by Pope.
Pope was reluctant to follow the usual path of Test batting. The right hander had some mishits throughout his time at the crease. He had 51 false responses during his stay at the crease, a stat that is anomalous in Test cricket. But the result suits the English agenda. They were willing to take the maximum amount of risks to counter Indian domination. Bazball was in full flow on day three thanks to the ingenious Pope.
Batting Analysis
Pope’s unbeaten 148 made him the second highest run scorer in an innings after Alastair Cook’s heroic innings of 175 in Nagpur. This was his first century in the second innings of a Test match. His batting was a pleasant sight, an innings that was touched by grace. The right hander relied more on timing than strength. However, his innings was played in a T20 style.
Pope was sweeping the ball towards the boundary on a regular basis. The began to toy with the length of the spinner who simply had no answer for the Englishman’s innovative approach. The pitch looked slow and there was a hint of turn still somewhere within. But the visiting batters opted for the high risk option, playing against the turn. Ben Duckett played in the front foot, Joe Root on the other hand was eager to let the ball come towards the bat.
Crawley adopted different approaches against different bowlers. The towering opener used the reverse option against Ashwin. Axar received an alternate treatment, Crawley used his feet to come down the wicket. Axar quickly had to rectify his length to rein in Crawley. It was a defensive that became his faux pas, edging an Axar delivery to the first slip.
Duckett and Pope continued to execute the Bazball plan. It was evident that they have practised this particular shot a lot. Ben Stokes perfected this shot during the first innings. Much like their skipper, Duckett and Root were changing their stance without switching the grip. This approach enabled them to generate more power to their shots and hit the ball in front of the point fielder.
Once Bumrah came to the attack, the approach was altered once again. Jonny Bairstow stayed leg side to avoid lbw. The two paced nature of the pitch then helped the hosts. Bairstow was bowled by Jadeja after letting one go past the bat.
Bowling Analysis
Ben Stokes was the batsman the English fans were mostly relying on. But the skipper was pegged back by the brilliance of Ashwin. Eventually, Stokes was bowled by the spin maestro when he attempted to play a full delivery on the backfoot. It was the 12th time when Ashwin dismissed the English all-rounder.
Jasprit Bumrah has been leading the Indian pace bowling attack since his debut. The right arm pacer gave another glimpse of what India have been missing out on over the past two years. Bumrah’s reverse swing was constantly causing panic in the English camp. Joe Root couldn’t contain a delivery that moved away from him and he was adjudged lbw by the umpire. Among all the stroke making, Bumrah was a shining exception. He took three maidens, gave away just 29 runs in his 12 year spell. Bumrah bowled Ben Duckett with a screamer, hitting the top of the off stump with a pinpoint accurate delivery.
After the dismissal of Ben Stokes, England was forced to play defensive strokes. There was a period of 70 balls when England did not hit a single boundary. Ben Foakes was content playing the ball on the back foot, Pope also nudged the ball around for singles.
Rohit Sharma decided to attack with the two bowlers who looked the least likely to give a breakthrough. Ollie Pope seized the opportunity to break out of the stupor. He scooped the ball over the keeper’s head from a Jadeja delivery. The sweeping was also back in full flow.
Axar Patel eventually dismissed Ben Foakes with a delivery that kept relatively low. But Pope was unfazed by the dismissal and he continued to find the boundary as youngster Rehan Ahmed provided support from the other end. The new ball was just three overs away. It would be interesting to see how the English batters handle the new ball. This interesting battle would define how much longer can they bat on to stretch their lead.
Fielding Analysis
Axar Patel missed a golden chance to dismiss Ollie Pope when the batsman was at the score of 110. It proved to be costly as Pope added 38 more to the total and remained unbeaten till the end of the day.
The humidity proved to be a challenge for all the fielders. Some of the fielders looked visibly frustrated with the lack of application of their teammates. Ravindra Jadeja was in his usual best, saving runs while standing at point. All the other fielders applied pressure to the batsmen by quick releases and accurate throws. But the Indian bowlers could not manage enough opportunities for them to pounce on.
Key Performances
Ravindra Jadeja could not reach the third triple figures of his career. The Gujarati all-rounder was dismissed at the score of 87, one of the four victims of Joe Root. Root was an exception on the third day, hitting the right spots to extract extra bounce off the pitch. The 33 year old part timer bowled the longest spell of his Test career. Root bowled 29 overs on the day, conceding 79 runs and claiming four wickets. Tom Hartley recovered from the severe beating received on the first day, claiming two wickets on the day.
It was a day for Ollie Pope to finally shine in the middle order of England. The Chelsea born wicketkeeper batsman has been struggling for form lately. His average in the last Test innings has been hovering around early twenties. Pope was unbeaten at the score of 148 with England looking to stretch the lead beyond 200 in the second innings. Ben Duckett was showing all the intent and aggression that is typical of the term “bazball”. The left hander played a important cameo of 47 from 52 balls with the help of seven boundaries.
Jasprit Bumrah has been brilliant in a Test match which is dominated by the spin bowlers. The 30 year old pacer claimed the important wickets of Ben Duckett and Joe Root and ended the day with the figures of 2 for 29. Ravichandran Ashwin got closer to the 500 wicket mark with the wickets of Zak Crawley and Ben Stokes. But the off spinner from Tamil Nadu was expensive, conceding 93 runs from 23 overs. The left arm spinner duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel claimed one wicket apiece.
Turning Point
The turning point on the 64th over of the second innings of England. Ollie Pope looked settled with a score of 110, tormenting the Indian spinners in the process. Ravindra Jadeja pitched the ball on the leg stump line. Predictably, Pope employed the reverse sweep shot to whack it towards the boundary line. But the ball found the outside edge of his bat and ballooned up towards the point region.
Axar Patel anticipated it well, shuffled across and got both hands to it. But the ball eventually popped out of his hands. It was a tough chance, but the Indians were desperate to see the back of Pope. However, Pope survived and continued to play unconventional strokes till the end of the day
Day Result
England was leading India by 126 runs in their second innings. The Englishmen were at the score od 316 for 6 thanks to stunning hundred by Ollie Pope (148*).
Brief Scorecard
| England First Innings: 246/10 (64.3 overs) | England 2nd Innings: 316/6 (77 overs) | India 1st Innings: 436/10 (121 overs ) |
| Ben Stokes 70 (88) | Ollie Pope 148* (182) | Ravindra Jadeja 87 (180) |
| Jonny Bairstow 37 (58) | Ben Duckett 52 (47) | KL Rahul 86 (123) |
| Ravindra Jadeja 3/88 (18 overs) | Jasprit Bumrah 2/29 (14 overs) | Joe Root 4/79 (29 overs) |
| Ravichandran Ashwin 3/68 (21 overs) | Ravichandran Ashwin 2/93 (23 overs) | Tom Hartley 2/131 (25 overs) |
Day Highlights
Day Wrap-Up
It was a day dominated by the batting prowess of one Englishman. Ollie Pope was still at the crease with his personal score reaching 148. The right hander made the Indian bowlers sweat with his innovation and stroke making. From 190 runs behind, India are now 126 behind the English aggregate total. Chasing anything past 200 would be a tough job, especially on the fourth or fifth day of a test match. Rohit Sharma would look to dismiss Pope and wipe out English tail-enders as soon as possible. India hasn’t won their last two Tests at home soil. Can Pope and co. claim an unlikely victory in Hyderabad?
