Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], February 2 (ANI): Yashasvi Jaiswal’s belligerent century put India in a commanding position against England on Day 2 of the ongoing second Test match at YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Friday.
At the time of Tea, India’s score read 225/3 with Jaiswal (125) and Rajat Patidar (25) standing unbeaten at the crease.
Jaiswal played a typically explosive knock of an unbeaten 125 to accelerate India’s innings while the hosts kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Starting the second session at 103/2, the duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer stitched up a good partnership and carefully took India ahead in the game.
After a slow start to the second innings, Jaiswal pushed the accelerator button and effortlessly hammered England’s first match hero, Tom Hartley, as he smoked back-to-back three boundaries, gathering 13 runs in the 45th over.
Jaiswal delighted the Vizag crowd his with aggressive innings. The opener breached the three-figure mark and brought up his second Test century with a maximum.
Hartley provided his team with a big breakthrough as he removed Iyer for 27, breaking a terrific 90 partnership. Iyer got bamboozled by the spin delivery as the ball touched the lower edge of the bat and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes took an excellent catch.
After analyzing the situation for some time, debutant Rajat Patidar finally opened his arms and smashed two boundaries off Joe Root.
The duo of Jaiswal and Rajat Patidar made the England bowlers toil hard making merry of the excellent batting conditions on offers. With the aggressive batting, India breached the 200-run mark in the 57th over of the game.
India ended the second session on a solid note with 225/3 runs on board.
Earlier, after opting to bat first, India started their innings on a comfortable note as openers Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal stitched a steady partnership.
The duo were decisive in their approach made the visitors toil hard making merry of the excellent batting conditions on offer.
The Indian batters rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the England bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer.
Jaiswal was the aggressor of the batting pair, smashing boundaries regularly. The first session was completely dominated by the hosts’ batters as runs came thick for India. Jaiswal was fearless with his approach and showcased his variety of shots.
Debutant Shoaib Bashir provided his team with a big breakthrough as he removed Rohit for 14 runs, breaking an opening partnership of 40 runs.
Even the veteran bowlers were at the receiving end of young Indian batters. In the 29th over, veteran pacer James Anderson provided England with a massive breakthrough as he dismissed under-fire Gill for 34. Gill got completely confused by the swing in Anderson’s delivery and the ball touched the edge of the bat and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes made no mistake and took a terrific catch behind the stumps.
Jaiswal smoked the first six of the match in the 30th over and with a boundary on the next ball, he brought up his half-century in 89 deliveries.
The pair of Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer displayed great resilience and determination as they took India’s total beyond the 100-run mark at the stroke of Lunch with a powerful boundary.
Brief score: India 225/3 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 125*, Rajat Patidar 25*; James Anderson 1-24) vs England. (ANI)
