On Friday’s second Test, Team India didn’t take full advantage of the easy batting conditions and lost six wickets. This match against England happened in Vizag on February 2. The English bowlers put a lot of effort into a straightforward deck and got the benefits. They took wickets consistently, keeping their team competitive despite losing the toss.
Rohit Sharma did not appear to be as fluent after electing to bat first. He was overly defensive, unable to handle a few of full throws from Joe Root early in the day. He ultimately left in the 18th over without scoring a single boundary during his slow knock of 14 (41).
Shubman Gill (34) came in at No. 3 and looked in good rhythm, rotating the strike and smashing boundaries when the opportunity arose. After all of his hard work against spinners, Gill chased James Anderson’s delivery away from his body and edged it to the wicketkeeper.
Yashasvi Jaiswal batted effectively at the other end, putting together a 90-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer (27) for the third wicket. Iyer was expecting to be taxed by short balls during his time at the crease before being dismissed by a low ball.
Aside from Yashasvi Jaiswal, debutant Rajat Patidar appeared to be India’s most confident batter on the day. He battled the spinners with strong technique and smashed a couple nice boundaries on his way to 32 (72). In the 72nd over, he fell victim to ill fate as the ball dribbled back and struck the stumps after he guarded it.
Axar Patel (27) and Srikar Bharat (17) got off to a good start but lost wickets due to careless ariel shots. All of this stopped India from building a lead on the first day of the second Test. Yashasvi Jaiswal (179*) batted through the 93 overs on the day, leading India with a mature innings.
Fans were angry with Team India’s hitters for failing to help Yashasvi Jaiswal and squandering a potential to score large in the first innings of the match. They taunted the batters by posting humorous memes on social media. Here are some of the better examples:
Sanjay Manjrekar praises Yashasvi Jaiswal for covering up India’s top-order collapse
Ex-cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar piled praises on Yashasvi Jaiswal following his spectacular hundred run knock in the second Test versus England. He voiced that the team’s management must be thrilled with his performance, as he expressed on ESPNCricinfo:
“A knock that Rahul Dravid and the team management will be very happy with and obliged to Jaiswal. What he did was make up for those who got in and got out. A Lot of the batters got 30s on a much more manageable pitch but couldn’t go on to get a 100.”
Sanjay Manjrekar
India have 336/6 at stumps on Day 1 of the second Test against England.