Root Robinson star as England annihilate India | England vs India 2nd Test Match Review |

After riding the highs from the historic win at Lord’s, India’s spirits were crushed at Headingley in a tragic turn of events. The visitors were left searching for answers for the brilliancy shown by the English bowlers. The game was a match of two halves, England dominating India with bat and ball in the first innings and India’s fight in the second innings to stay in the match. Want to know how it all went down? Read the full article to find out just how.

Playing XI:

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

England: Haseeb Hameed, Rory Burns, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson.

 

India 1^st Innings: When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside

After winning the toss, skipper Kohli decided to bat first. What followed next was a complete and utter disarray of the Indian batting line-up bit by bit. Losing Rahul (0), Pujara (1) and Kohli (7) to the king of swing, Jimmy Anderson in the early hours of Day 1, India knew the road ahead was going to be tough, being 21-3. Ajinkya Rahane’s resourceful cameo of 18 didn’t last long as he was dismissed by Robinson. Dismissals of Pant (2) and Rohit (19 off 105) signalled India’s defeat in the first battle of the warfare ahead of them as the hosts were eager to seal the deal as quick as possible. Being 67-5 at a stage, India was shell shocked by the fantastic precision shown by the Englishmen as they stopped the visitors for just 78, registering their third lowest total in England since 1974. Anderson (3-8) and Overton (3-14) were the pick amongst the bowlers as Sam Curran and Ollie Robinson grabbed a brace each. The road ahead looked tough for the Indians but they weren’t going down without a fight.

 

England 1^st Innings: Joe. Joe. Joe. Joe.

India had to pick early wickets if they wanted to have some sort of a resurgence in the match but English openers Rory Burns (61) and Haseeb Hameed had other idea, the latter of which looked especially good with his outing with the bat in his innings of 68. Crushing the hopes of over a billion people watching at home, the duo put a solid 135-run stand for the 1^st wicket, silencing the critics who raised questions on their selection in the process. India’s misery, however, did not end after the dismissal of the English openers as Dawid Malan and in-form Joe Root arrived in the middle. The duo upped the ante and put up a 139-run stand before Malan was dismissed for 70 by Siraj, missing out on a well-deserved century. The pair had batted through the second new ball and had put England in such a stage which was almost impossible to give away. Root continued to ride his momentum from the first two matches and registered his 3^rd straight century in the series. Joe Root’s dominant innings came to a befitting end when he was bowled by Jasprit Bumrah for 121 but this wasn’t enough for India. Cameos from Bairstow (29), Curran (15) and Craig Overton (32) towards the later stages of the innings helped England post a humongous total of 432, having an indomitable lead of 354 runs. Mohammad Shami was the pick amongst the bowlers registering figures of 28-8-95-4 while Bumrah, Siraj and Jadeja grabbed a brace each.

 

India 2^nd Innings: India’s batting gets exposed on Day 4 in a humbling defeat

The road ahead for India was grueling as they had to withstand 3 full days of relentless English bowling in order to draw the game which was the only viable course of action left for them. Rahul’s early dismissal for 8 did put the visitors in a state of frenzy but a solid partnership between Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma set the tempo for the Indian innings. Fighting to defend his place in the playing XI, Pujara batted exceptionally well while Rohit took his time in the middle, occasionally hitting the odd boundary. Sharma continued his hot streak in red ball cricket with the bat, registering yet another half century in the process as the pair put up an 82-run partnership, weathering the new ball storm in the process. After Rohit’s dismissal for 59, skipper Virat Kohli marched to bat with a purpose and bat he did. Leaving his past failures behind him, Kohli started on a new front with positive intent as the runs started flowing with the bat. Pujara wasn’t there to play second fiddle to his skipper as he joined the party as well. The duo joined hands and put up a 99-run partnership before Pujara was dismissed by Jimmy Anderson for 91, missing a well deserved hundred in the first hour of play on day 4. Kohli soon fell after scoring a half century as India went from ending Day 3 looking comfortable at 215-2 to struggling in Day 4 at 237-4. The flamboyant English pace attack changed the complexion of the match in the next couple of overs as they dismissed Pant (1) and Rahane (10) having completely exposed the out of form Indian middle order as India was left searching for answers at 239-6. An inspired cameo from Ravindra Jadeja (30) wasn’t enough for the visitors as England beat India by an innings and 76 runs as India was bowled out for 278. Ollie Robinson stole the whole show, grabbing a 5-fer in the process and finishing with figures of 26-6-65-5. Craig Overton registered figures of 3-47 as well as England comprehensively leveled the series 1-1.

 Man of the Match: Ollie Robinson (10-3-16-2) & (26-6-65-5)

Conclusion: The rising tension in the camps can be cut by a knife, now that both the teams stand at a win each, fighting for bragging rights. Changes are eminent in the Indian playing XI but it would be interesting to see if they’re bold enough to take those brave steps. Kohli and his men would like to right the wrongs from this test while Root and co. would like to sail the ship, riding on the momentum gained from the Massacre they left behind at Leeds. The Oval is likely to be a belter, and the glimmer of hope from India's batting in the second innings needs to carry over into London. The series is reaching its crescendo and the hype is real. We have lots of exciting cricketing action coming our way and I, for one, cannot wait.