The second day of the third IND vs ENG Test in Rajkot, was a tale of two contrasting halves, dominated by the batsmen. As the hosts were reduced to 331/7 in the first half and hour of the day’s play, debutant Dhruv Jurel applied himself well, and labored his way to a classy 46, to take the team to 445.
On the other hand, opener Ben Duckett (133 N.O.) on a wicket that had not changed much, powered his way to a century in 88 balls, once again bringing to the fore, the Bazball approach.
While both have their importance in the context of the match, yet Duckett’s third Test ton did give the visitor’s a slight edge, as they ended the day on 207/2. India did have their moment too, when Jasprit Bumrah’s with searing yorker almost got him if not for the faintest of edges, but the damage had already been done.
The southpaw slammed 18 fours and a six to reach his milestone, and in the process, strung crucial 89-run partnership with Zak Crawley, and 93 with Ollie Pope. Such was England’s domination with the bat that they scored at a run-rate close to 6 throughout.
Indian Bowlers Shine With Bat, Struggle With Ball
While Ashwin (37) & Jasprit Bumrah (26) provided some late flurry with the bat, but that wasn’t enough on the day, as they weren’t as effective with the ball. India spearhead Bumrah returned with figures of 0/34 in the day, leaking at over 4 RPO, Ashwin was no good as he picked 1/37 in his seven overs.
Kuldeep Yadav gave away 42 runs in six overs with no success, and Jadeja was outfoxed by the English batters, giving away 33 runs at 8.33 RPO. Meanwhile, Zak Crawley would consider himself a bit unlucky to miss out on the opportunity to score big.
