Seams like magic

PTI

Visakhapatnam, February 6

England came prepared for the usual trial by spin that greets touring sides in India but a “magical” seam-bowling masterclass by Jasprit Bumrah here saw their hopes of victory in the second Test vanish into thin air.

To deal with the expected conditions, England picked spin-heavy attacks complemented by a lone fast bowler both in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. The frequency with which their batters played the sweep shots also indicated their resolve to conquer the spin challenge.

And after their spinners accounted for 18 of India’s 20 wickets en route winning the first Test, the tourists would have been anticipating another spin-fest in Visakhapatnam.

What they probably did not expect is that Bumrah would emerge as their main threat despite having hardly any assistance from the pitches so far in the series.

Armed with an unorthodox sling-shot action and a reversing ball, Bumrah went wide off the crease to create angles and operated with pinpoint accuracy to torment the batters.

His 9/91 on a spin-friendly track saw him named the Player of the Match, despite Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maiden double hundred.

Bumrah’s domination of England’s top batters particularly stood out in India’s series-levelling victory.

Joe Root has become Bumrah’s ‘bunny’, the England batter falling to the Indian for the eighth time in Test cricket and prompting former England captain Alastair Cook to say he feared it had become a “mental game”.

But Bumrah saved his best for England vice-captain Ollie Pope, whose match-winning 196 in Hyderabad is considered the best knock by a visiting batter in India.

The jaw-dropping yorker which splattered Pope’s stumps will be talked about for a long time.

“Sometimes you can be critical of your own team ... But sometimes you also have to just doff your cap to the opposition and say they were touched by genius,” former England captain Nasser Hussain told Sky Sports.

“That spell from Bumrah in England’s first innings was genius,” he said, referring to Bumrah’s 6/45. “I think, really, it was just the magic of Jasprit Bumrah that was the difference.” — Reuters

McCullum desperate to solve Bumrah puzzle

New Delhi: England were at the receiving end of Jasprit Bumrah’s sensational spell in the second Test but head coach Brendon McCullum expects his players to work out a way to tackle the threat posed by the star Indian pacer. McCullum, also known for his aggressive batting during his playing days, was non-committal when asked how England plan to deal with Bumrah in the remaining three Tests, simply saying that his team does not believe in theories. “We don’t really do theories. It is about making sure the guys are totally clear and present, confident and have conviction in their method,” McCullum told a website. “No doubt he is very good, but we have come up against very good bowlers all through the last 18 months or so and found ways to counter them and that is what we have got to do in this one,” he said. PTI

There is a lot of work to be done: Zaheer on India’s batting

Visakhapatnam: Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has highlighted the hosts’ batting frailties in the ongoing series against England, saying it was only because of the individual brilliance of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill that India won the second Test. “There are a few concerns when you look at the team — batting is something that they will be talking about because under these conditions, on this sort of a surface, we have seen India do better,” Zaheer said. “You look at England’s second innings, there is only one half-century and they still managed to get close to 300. That is what collective effort can do. We have seen two brilliant innings — Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, but with the bat, there is a lot of work to be done,” he added.

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