Jaiswal remains unbeaten with a commanding 179, yet England consistently make breakthroughs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s second Test century partially mitigated the errors committed by India’s other batsmen after choosing to bat on day one of the Vizag Test. His unbeaten 179* propelled India to 336/6 by day’s end, with the next highest individual score being a modest 34.
Jaiswal, following a fifty in the previous Test, exhibited increased determination in the second match, crafting a century marked by emphatic strokes, including a resounding six over long-on. The left-handed opener served as the linchpin of India’s batting on a pitch devoid of challenges, forming partnerships that, unfortunately, couldn’t be sustained.
At the outset, captain Rohit Sharma was so focused on defense that he missed several boundary opportunities when spinners erred in length. Despite a boundary-less 41-ball innings, he eventually fell, glancing debutant Shoaib Bashir straight into the hands of leg-slip.
Meanwhile, Jaiswal adeptly exploited the spinners’ errors, capitalizing on boundary opportunities. He found support in the positive Shubman Gill, who skillfully manipulated the spinners’ lengths using footwork and occasional sweeps.
However, a well-set Gill fell into a trap set by England, as James Anderson returned for a second spell before lunch. Gill, attempting to unsettle Anderson’s lengths by early jumps, edged past the slip cordon dangerously and eventually fell chasing a wide delivery, dismissed by the bowler for the fifth time in seven innings.
Jaiswal, alongside Shreyas Iyer, reached his fifty but faced disciplined bowling after the lunch break. The momentum shifted when Jaiswal seized an opportunity after a chance was dropped at slip by Root, hitting three consecutive boundaries to reach the nineties. Soon after securing his first Test hundred on home soil, India faced another setback when a restless Iyer got an underedge, safely pouched by Ben Foakes, giving Tom Hartley his first wicket.
Despite India’s batters getting promising starts, England effectively disrupted partnerships worth 40, 49, 90, 70, and 52 with regular breakthroughs. Notably, this marked the first instance in Test cricket where each of No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 all got dismissed between 25 and 35 in the same innings.
Rajat Patidar’s dismissal was unfortunate as the ball trickled onto the stumps after encountering extra bounce, while Axar Patel and KS Bharat squandered their starts by cutting the spinner to backward point towards the end of the day, providing England with a significant boost despite Jaiswal’s marathon innings.
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