'Reminds me of Sarah Taylor' - Twitter lavishes praise on Ben Foakes for his impressive wicketkeeping

England have been firmly on the backfoot in the ongoing second Test against India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. On a pitch where things are extremely difficult for the batsmen right from the start, the hosts have taken command of the proceedings. In the first innings, India rode on Rohit Sharma’s century and fifties from Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant to post a competitive total of 329.

Rohit scored 161 while Rahane and Pant scored 67 and 58* respectively. In reply, England’s batsmen fell like a pack of cards in their first innings. The visiting batsmen failed to apply themselves on the tough track as England were bundled for a paltry total of 134 on a deteriorating track. For India, Ravichandran Ashwin starred with the ball by taking five wickets for just 43 runs.

Senior batsmen like Ben Stokes and Joe Root failed to deliver too as India put themselves in the driver’s seat. But unlike most of the England players, one player who has managed to impress is Ben Foakes. In a country where sometimes even the Indian wicketkeepers struggle, Foakes has looked a class apart and is deservedly receiving praise from all over.

Twitter praises Ben Foakes

Ben Foakes was not a part of England’s playing eleven for the first Test. But after Jos Buttler’s return to home as part of the England team’s rotation policy, Foakes has been backed by the team-management to keep wicket in the final three Tests of the series and he has started on a brilliant note. The wicketkeeper-batsman has impressed not only with the wicketkeeping gloves but also with the bat.

In the first innings, England did not concede a single extra on the tough track thanks to Foakes. The 28-year-old, who is playing his first Test in India, took two catches off and completed a fine stumping off Moeen Ali to send back Axar Patel. It was followed by an impressive knock with the bat. He was the only England batsman who provided some resistance on the tough track.

Foakes was looking set to score a well-deserved fifty but eventually ran out of partners. He scored an unbeaten 42 from No. 7 after coming in at 52 for 5 to help England score 134. Foakes has started the second innings in the same manner and has already completed two stumpings to send back Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant and reduce India to 65 for 4. And as Foakes impressed on the field, the cricketing fraternity lavished praise on him on Twitter.

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