India v England, 2nd Test – 5 Talking Points

India needed only three overs after Lunch to wrap up the England second innings for 158 and clinch a massive a 246-run victory in the second Test, their second biggest against England in terms of runs, and go 1-0 up in the 5 match series. India needed eight wickets on day five and got the first five in the first session of the day. England could not bat in the way they did in the first innings and were quickly bundled out. Shami bowled exceptionally well with the new ball to get the wickets of Joe Root and Adil Rashid. The spin trio of Ashwin, Jadeja, and Jayant Yadav then did the rest of the job.

1.Spinners take India home:

Ravichandran Ashwin and spin bowling junior Jayant Yadav shared the spoils to help Indian wrap up the match after lunch. Ashwin, who had already pocketed the wicket of Haseeb Hameed in the previous day, the off–spinner struck quickly into the fresh day with the wicket of Ben Duckett and later added Zafar Ansari to his tally to finish with three wickets for 52 after taking a five-for in the first innings. Ravindra Jadeja was also no statue and picked one wicket of Moeen Ali and finished with 2/35.

While Ashwin and Jadeja took care of the core of the English batting line-up, debutant Jayant Yadav contributed with 3/30 and mopped the lower order to finish the match quickly. The dangerous Ben Stokes was his first scalp in the second innings followed by quick dismissals of Stuart Broad and James Anderson.

2. Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium becomes 24th Test venue:

After Rajkot’s SCA Stadium, the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, situated in the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, made its debut as India’s 24th Test venue today. The entry at the venue today was free and it saw a healthy spectator turnout today.

The auspicious occasion was marked by the presence of some of the biggest names belonging to the state’s political and sports fraternity. Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu, Chief of Selectors MSK Prasad, VVS Laxman and many others appeared as guests before the start of the play.

Established in 2003, the stadium has a capacity of 38,000. It has hosted six ODIs between 2005 and 2016, all of which featured India. Of those, India won five and lost one, the most recent being the deciding fifth match with New Zealand which MS Dhoni’s team clinched to take the series 3-2.

3. Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow – The Saviors:

Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow’s alliance worked for England yet again as the duo showed the Indians that the resilience to bat in the India is plenty and enough in their setup. Their 110 runs stand for the 7th wicket on a pitch were cracks began to show up and a puff of dust showing up every time the ball bounced off the good length area.

The duo has been really fabulous for England and has scored 772  between them in Tests in 2016, the most by any pair. The next best is 750, by Alastair Cook and Alex Hales. Their contribution has also helped England muster 1759 runs  for England’s sixth wicket in Tests in 2016, the fourth highest by any team for a wicket in a calendar year. Keeping aside these facts, their performances have been very special due to their habit of rescuing their team from sticky situations.

4. The DRS chaos:

The Decision Review System (DRS) was one of the headlines of the series. It has always been a cause of confusion and caused similar aituations at Vizag too. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena would perhaps loathe the DRS. Indians would start doing it after this match.

The DRS was used whole heartedly in the match. But, the incident which happened on day four were perhaps the most chaotic ones. The 46th and the 47th over created a lot of drama and saw two DRS appeals from the Indians getting turned down. Hameed and Cook clearly looked in no discomfort batting against the Indian spinners. But, both the Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja kept bowling relentlessly. The result was soon visible as in the 46th over, Jadeja hit Cook right in front of the pad.

The ball which turned sharply from the rough beat the inside edge off the bat. The umpire did not agree and turned down the decision. After a long chat with the bowler and wicket-keeper, Kohli called for the review. Unfortunately, the projection showed the umpire’s call on clipping leg stump and the on-field decision stayed on. The following over then saw a similar thing happen.

It was Cook once again but Ashwin on the other side this time. The ball beat the left hander’s defense and the Indians roared once again. There was more confidence this time and a mini-celebration already took place. But the umpire Dharmasena gave it not out. Kohli did not think much this time and went for the review. Luck, unfortunately, did not favor the Indians as the third umpire stuck with the umpires call.

5. Stuart Broad brings cutters into play:

Slow tracks act as deterrence for the fast bowler to succeed in India. But, Stuart Broad, on day four, joined the list of those exceptional seamers, who overcame the challenge. After a pretty satisfying time in the first Test at Rajkot where he took 2/31 in the second innings to play a part in helping side gain a draw, the right arm fast bowler was once again troubling the Indians and snapped 4 for 33 to bundle out the hosts for just 204.

It was an appreciable fact that Broad outplayed his spin bowling counterparts on a dusty wicket and emerged with the best figures. While he generally relies on swing and pace to get wickets, this time it was not his But, it was not his wrists that brought him wickets, it was his fingers that brought him wickets. His subtle pace variations and well-disguised cutters proved to be the very effective.

He proved that cutters are still a fashionable asset for a fast bowler and can help the workhorses progress on slow tracks. After snapping both the Indian openers on day three, Broad began the 4th day with the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin. Both the wickets came as a result of leg cutters.