India v England: second Test, day two – live | England in India 2024

I’m off to brew up something strong and ice my eyeballs. I’ll leave you with some prime James Anderson. Eight overs and 2-17 in over an hour of relentless accuracy and skill this morning.

Lunch: England 32-0 (trail by 364 runs)

5th over: England 31-0 (Crawley 14, Duckett 17) Kuldeep Yadav replaces Bumrah which feels like a victory for England. Rohit has a slip and a short leg in for Crawley who uses his crease well to make room to glide away through the off side for two. Kuldeep flicks his wrist and sends down a wrong’un but Crawley picks it and defends back to the bowler. He keeps strike for the final over of the session with a single off the last ball.

4th over: England 28-0 (Crawley 11, Duckett 17) Crawley and Duckett are really excellent at negating dominating these tricksy little sessions. They did it a few times in the Ashes and in the last Test at Hyderabad and they are doing it again here. Duckett slams Kumar through the covers for four and then rocks back to slap another boundary through point. “He hasn’t left a ball since The Beatles broke up!” chirps Eoin Morgan on the commentary. And another! Duckett picks up his third boundary of the over by depositing a wide delivery with a flat bat to the fence on the off side. England taking a bitesize chunk out of the target before lunch.

3rd over: England 16-0 (Crawley 11, Duckett 5) A bucket hatted Ben Stokes watches on with a smile on his face as Crawley opens the face to glide Bumrah wide of gully for four.

2nd over: England 10-0 (Crawley 5, Duckett 5) Lucky ducky! Duckett plays an angled defence to a full ball from Mukesh Kumar and very nearly chops onto his stumps… the ball flying away instead for four runs to get England moving. A single brings Crawley on strike. Shot! Shades of KP as Crawley gets on the front foot and flicks away imperiously through midwicket for four.

1st over: England 0-0 (Crawley 0, Duckett 0) Bumrah splurts and stutters in that unmistakeable fashion, arriving at the crease and unleashing his bull-whip at the waiting Zak Crawley. A probing over, Crawley watches a few go by outside off stump and misses out on a flick off his pads. Close! Crawley has a swish at a shorter ball and for a second the bowler thought he had feathered it to the keeper. No dice though. A maiden to start.

Brian Withington has been casting his discerning eye over the scorecard: “Fine effort from the England bowlers and remarkably only two extras in 112 overs. Great discipline.”

Righto, here come Messrs Duckett and Crawley. There’s about 20 mins til lunch. My hangover is abating. Jasprit Bumrah has the ball. Should be fun this.

“Morning James, and sorry to hear about the stonking great hangover. Happens to the best of us. It is a very pleasant 27 deg here in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and I am about to take my mountain bike out for a bash around the bush. It would be jolly if you could report a clatter of wickets while I am away from my screen.”

Consider it done – David Blackah. Happy pedaling.

India added sixty runs this morning with Jaiswal going to a double century in style but then lost all four remaining wickets for 32 runs in relatively quick succession. Shoaib Bashir held up an end and got the final wicket but it was James Anderson who was the key performer for England this morning – the gnarled old gunslinger peeled off eight sumptuous overs in a row – over an hour of bowling in searing heat – and picked up two wickets for just 17 runs.

“Good morning James and everyone.” writes Dean Kinsella. “There may be better quicks plying their trades around the world at the moment. But there is not one I would rather watch tormenting and teasing batters than the wonderfully skilled and parsimonious James Anderson. Test cricket is going to be an impoverished place when (if) he finally calls it a day. Magnificent in this Test.”

Kumar c Root b Shoaib Bashir 0 (India 396 all out)

WICKET! Bumrah c Root b Rehan Ahmed 6 (India 395-9)

110th over: India 391-8 (Yadav 7, Bumrah 2) A couple to Kuldeep who flicks Bashir through square leg. Rehan Ahmed has been summoned by Ben Stokes.

109th over: India 389-8 (Yadav 5, Bumrah 2) Anderson once again. Into his eight of the morning. He really is the bionic man. Another probing over and surely his last of this spell (?) he beats Kuldeep with a ball that nips away off a lenght. Jasprit will be watching that with interest from the non strikers end – this new ball has been doing a thing or two for Anderson. He takes his cap from the Umpire and the England players give him a cheer and the odd bum pat. What a spell from the old master.

108th over: India 387-8 (Yadav 4, Bumrah 1) Bashir continues from the other end and England are on the prowl, men around the bat and plenty of chatter. They would dearly love to knock India over for less than 400, that would be nothing more than an unmitigated success after losing the toss and being asked to field. Like a sniper over a speed dating event -Kuldeep and Bumrah pick off the singles.

107th over: India 383-8 (Yadav 1, Bumrah 0) Jasprit Bumrah is the new batter. He and Anderson also have a bit of niggle in their recent history – remember the short ball barrage at Lord’s a couple of years back? A solid block from Bumrah sees out the end of the over. A wicket maiden from the indomitable Jimmy.

WICKET! Jaiswal c Bairstow b Anderson 209 (India 383-8)

106th over: India 383-7 (Jaiswal 209, Yadav 1) Bashir is into his groove and is tossing the ball up nicely on and around off stump. Jaiswal pokes a single off the first ball of the over and Kuldeep sees out five dots. The final ball skidded on and hit the knee roll, England go up but choose against a review, it was close though! Umpires call on height – the ball was clipping the bails. Teensy tiny margins.

105th over: India 382-7 (Jaiswal 208, Yadav 1) Anderson reels off his sixth over of the morning. Jaiswal is happy to see him off, nudging the fourth ball of the over down the ground for a single.

104th over: India 381-7 (Jaiswal 207, Yadav 1) Bashir has three slips and a couple of short legs. Stokes is still showing faith in the rookie and attacking. Bashir stitches together a tidy maiden to Kuldeep.

103rd over: India 381-7 (Jaiswal 202, Yadav 0) Anderson scuds one into Kuldeep’s pads but Umpire Gaffaney shakes his head in response to the vociferous appeal. Top work again from the official, it pitched outside leg stump. Stokes wisely opts against the review at the last second. Close! Anderson takes the shoulder of Jaiswal’s bat but the edge flies wide of the cordon and away for four. This has been a masterclass of sub-continental seam bowling by the – checks notes – 41 year old.

Yashasvi Jaiswal goes to a majestic double century by smearing Bashir over square leg for SIX and following up with another sweep off a full toss for four more. What a moment for the young man, he drops his bat and removes his helmet to blow a few kisses into the crowd. And why not eh. His batting has mixed eye catching aggression with solid defence, the 22 year old has held this innings together and then some.

102nd over: India 375-7 (Jaiswal 202, Yadav 0)

101st over: India 364-7 (Jaiswal 191, Yadav 0) Kuldeep Yadav is the new batter and he is beaten all ends up by Anderson, who is visibly pumped. As well he might be, he has this new ball on a string.

WICKET! Ashwin c Foakes b Anderson 20 (India 364-7)

1ooth over: India 360-6 (Jaiswal 183, Ashwin 15) Bashir sends down three dots to Jaiswal. SIX! Jaiswal decides enough is enough and springs out of his crease to loft a decent length ball over mid-on for a biggun. He moves into the 190s with that lusty blow.

“Morning Jim”

It very much is, Martin Wright.

“Don’t Anderson and Ashwin have form? Could be quite spicy of if the latter stays around. I predict a send-off… Keep that coffee flowing!”

I think they have had a ding dong or two over the years, I remember Virat Kohli paying peacemaker during one heated exchange a few years ago.

99th over: India 352-6 (Jaiswal 183, Ashwin 15) The Talented Mr Anderson has got the ball wobbling both ways off the wicket. He brings one back into Jaiswal and England go up for the lbw. It looked like it may have pitched outside leg? I know nuthin’. It is NOT OUT as the ball was just going over the top of the bails but it did pitch in line. Nevertheless, England lose a review. Just a solitary leg bye off the over.

98th over: India 351-6 (Jaiswal 183, Ashwin 15) Shot. Ashwin leans on a full ball from Bashir and plays it in-to-out, threading through the covers for four. He’s a dangerous batter and England will want to see the back of him before he gets properly settled at the crease.

This was summat and nothing by the way.

97th over: India 346-6 (Jaiswal 182, Ashwin 12) Anderson nearly cleans up Jaiswal with a delicious wobble seam ball that beats both the stumps and the outside edge by a whisker. The splosh of blond in his hair gives him a raffish quality, it’s a bit Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr Ripley. Just a couple of singles to keep India ticking over.

96th over: India 344-6 (Jaiswal 181, Ashwin 11) Bashir continues with the new ball and there’s just a single to Ashwin off it. Anderson is ticking (even more than usual) as the tv replays show him getting riled up by Ashwin standing so close to the umpire at the non-striker’s end. One to keep an eye on.

95th over: India 343-6 (Jaiswal 181, Ashwin 10) England have taken the new ball and the blonde streaked James Anderson has it in his mitts. Now then. There is movement straight away off the seam, Anderson does his thing and nips the ball past Jaiswal’s outside edge with his very first delivery. There are two slips in place and two men out on the fence for the hook/pull. Close! Anderson takes the edge but it doesn’t carry to the cordon. Promising signs for England.

94th over: India 341-6 (Jaiswal 180, Ashwin 9) Bashir will begin proceedings on day two. The crowd looks plentiful and is particularly loud, lots of schoolchildren are in as it is a Saturday. They emit a huge cheers as Jaiswal rocks back and collects a single off the first ball of the day and then go absolutely bananas as Aswhin gets on the front foot and drives handsomely for four through the covers.

We’ve got a about five minutes until the start of the action. The players are beginning to emerge. So is my headache.

Mood.

Elsewhere…

An early email from Michael Meagher:

“Mood music from England is good but… WinViz has India at 90%”

With that, he’s gone. Like a Keyser Söze of the OBO mailbag.

I’m cranking into action too, slowly. I knew I shouldn’t have stayed for that final pint… eeejit. A vat of the inevitable bean based liquid is brewing and should sort me out. Do get in touch on the emails or social meedja’s and we can take this first session down together. Please?

The TV coverage cranks into action. SirAlastair Cook and Steve Finn both reckon it was England’s day yesterday and that is a crucial day coming up in the context of the series.

Here’s the magnificent Tanya Aldred on Woking’s finest and the Rohit snaring Shoaib Bashir:

Shoaib Bashir, was making his Test debut. Bashir is just 20, with only six first-class games and 10 first-class wickets under his belt. As tall as the office blocks sprouting all over his home town of Woking, he has fingers that curve over and around a cricket ball, shrinking it to dried cranberry proportions. Shirt loose in the Bazball way, he reacted to Stokes throwing him the ball in the 12th over with astonishing calm, after England lost the toss on a flat wicket.

All easy action, he rattled through a first accurate over, conceding only a single, and 2.3 overs later had his first Test wicket, when Rohit Sharma angled his bat and the ball plopped into Ollie Pope’s hands at leg slip, with Bashir watching its arc the whole way. Bashir pumped his long arms in glee before being smothered by his loving new teammates.

Preamble

James Wallace