India needs four more wickets to level the series.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri was disappointed to see Mohammed Siraj not opening the bowling on Day 5 of the second England vs India Test alongside pacer Akashdeep Singh. Previously, he ran through the English batting lineup in the first innings to claim a six-wicket haul. This was also the seamer’s fourth fifer in the format.
“I can’t believe that the senior-most bowler, the man who has taken the maximum number of wickets in this game, is not bowling,” said Shastri while commentating on the match.
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The former India batter has taken a dig at the captain’s call to introduce their main pacer late in the attack. He discussed how Siraj becomes the most experienced pacer in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence and stated that he should have opened the bowling alongside Akashdeep, instead of Prasidh Krishna.
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Notably, Krishna has had an average outing in the five-match series so far. All of his five wickets have come in the series opener in Leeds as the pacer is yet to scalp a wicket in this fixture.
“Mohammed Siraj, six in the first innings, one in the second. He’s watching from mid-on as his junior partners are bowling. He’d be hoping they strike, otherwise he would be itching to get the ball,” he added.
Captain Shubman Gill continued with his scintillating form to notch up a mammoth 269 runs in the first innings. This knock, coupled with some crucial contributions from Yashasvi Jaiswal (87), Ravindra Jadeja (89) and Washington Sundar (42), powered them to a massive 587 runs.
While bowling, the Indian pace attack, consisting of Siraj and Akashdeep, stepped up at the right occasion. India were missing their prime pacer Jasprit Bumrah as he did not feature in the match due to his workload management. But the duo swept the English batting order for 407 runs.
Skipper Gill continued his blazing form in the second innings to score another record-breaking century. His 161 runs, along with some valuable knocks from KL Rahul, vice-captain Rishabh Pant and Jadeja, saw them declare the innings for 427/6 with a 607-run lead. The pace pair struck thrice in the final session to end Day 4 on a high.
However, after a delayed start due to rain, Akashdeep once again struck with two crucial dismissals of Ollie Pope and Harry Brook. Sundar also sent back England captain Ben Stokes for 33. At the time of writing, England are 173/6, with Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes at the crease. They need 435 runs more to win the second match at Edgbaston.
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