
Jadeja is on…
He hoped his bowling wouldn’t be needed here last night. But now Bumrah needs him to conjure something here. Bairstow has played Jadeja well previously. And has good recent numbers vs spin too… 75/1 off 46 balls vs NZ’s spin
A century in three straight Tests
An incredible innings this and he gets to the milestone with his 14th four (he also has 2 sixes) and is helped in his cause by a misfield in the deep by Jadeja. It’s a third straight hundred for him too. 136 at Trent Bridge. 162 at Headingley. And now 100*, off just 119 balls. Do add the tons at Sydney and Antigua and that makes it 5 tons in 9 Tests. Different class!
India have started poorly in the second session. A few too many loose balls. Their third and fourth bowlers, as anticipated, have struggled.
Jonny Bairstow is the second player to score five or more hundreds in a calendar year batting at five or below after Michael Clarke, who hit five hundreds in 2012.
Completely ignored, Sam Billings have quietly gone up to 20 and is playing his part in this partnership.
119 balls to hundred by Bairstow is the fastest any player has reached hundred against India in Tests since Jan 2016
Killer of the full lengths
19 runs come off the first 10 balls of the session and England have avoided the follow-on
Update: Resumption of play at 13:30 Local; 18:00 IST
Should be a cracking period of play. Will Jadeja get into the game now. There might be another Shami-Bumrah spell at the start of the session…
Lunch: Bairstow 91*; England trail by 216
He reviews correctly after Aleem Dar adjudges him out LBW. He’s got a bat on it. This happens just before a burst of rain that sends the players in for early lunch. Uff some session that. England score 116. India one wicket away from exposing the tail. Should be a cracking second session.
Bairstow unstoppable
He’s just smoked a length ball from Shardul Thakur over mid-wicket for six. He’s on 88 off 106. He had 16 from his first 64. This has been some assualt. And within no time, another partnership is worth 48. Billings has scored 7 of those runs.
Thakur breaks dangerous stand
Thakur and Bumrah atone for their catching lapses. It’s the first over for the medium pacer, coming close on the heels of his dropped catch. He gets Stokes driving but Bumrah puts down a catch at mid-off. The very next ball, however, he holds on to a much tougher catch. Stokes falls for 25. England 149/6, end of the 66-run stand. In comes Sam Billings.
Bairstow: A thrilling half-century
Six fours in his last 14 balls. This has been some counter-attack from JB. He was connecting with thin air at the start of the days play and even indulged in a war of words with Virat Kohli. He’s clearly fired up and now and the runs are coming along rapidly.
Bairstow this innings First 64 balls: 16 runs @SR 25 (1 X 4) Last 17 balls: 34 runs @SR 200 (6 X 4s)

8 overs, 46 runs and now a drop…
Stokes charges down the pitch to Shami and mistimes it horribly. Shardul Thakur gets under the skier at cover and clangs it. Stokes dropped on 18. England were 130/5. Bairstow follows that up with back to back boundaries. The partnership is past 50. Pressure on India. How will they respond to this onslaught?
Stokes, Bairstow survive the first half-hour
For the addition of 39 runs. They’ve been positive whenever there’s been a fuller ball. They’ve survived many plays and misses. But that’s about par for the course. India have their first bowling change. Siraj comes on.
Intent from Stokes…
Twice in two overs, Ben Stokes have charged down the pitch – against both Bumrah and Shami – and hit the latter for a four over his head. The cameras instantly panned to the England balcony where Brendon McCullum clapped in approval.
Bowlers three, four and five
India had a great bowling day yesterday but England haven’t yet had the chance of a good look at the visitors’ second line of attack. The start-stop day meant Bumrah and Shami bowled 24 off the 27 overs that India sent down. Will Bairstow, Stokes and the rest look to take on Siraj, Shardul and Jadeja? That’ll make for an engrossing battle on Day 3.
We will once again start with Shami and Bumrah on the third day! Cracking first hour coming up…
Pre-play read
“When the cover or point is vacant, there is a temptation to hit the ball through that area for a boundary, but then you can get out in the slips. My thought was only to hit the ball that was really close to me and to hit it straight…”
That was Ravindra Jadeja in a very revealing chat post the day’s play yesterday. It shows his evolution as a Test cricketer. He’s no longer defined by his batting position at No.7 and now has a technique as good as, if not better, than the ones above him. You must read this piece .
Meanwhile, returning to the subject of India’s fast bowlers, bowling in England, who better than the former bowling coach of the side, B. Arun, to talk us through what’s changed for India since their visit in 2018. Pratyush Sinha caught up with him and uncovered some gems like this…
“When Shami is beating the bat several times and not picking wickets, he keeps the pressure on the batters; they feel they have not overcome this bowling attack and it would allow the other bowlers to exploit. But in the earlier tours, Shami would bowl one brilliant ball and then try to move the ball from legstump. In trying to do so, the angle of the wrist would change and the ball would go down the leg side, and most likely go for a boundary because you don’t have protection on the legside. Of course, picking wickets is at the back of the mind for every bowler and you need to also plan for it, but if you are bowling very well and still not picking wickets, it can be a challenge to keep it going and keep building the pressure for your teammates. It’s not about your own ability, it’s often about the team and about bowling partnerships. And what is going to define that? Being consistent.”
Prelude – Day 3
India on top, surely. They have a gun bowling attack, are 332 ahead and have only five first-innings England wickets to take as the Test match moves into Day 3. Lest it be forgotten though that India themselves were 98/5 before going on to post 416. So England are not out of it. They have Bairstow, Stokes and then Billings to follow. Nos 5,6 and 7 have been the best positions to bat in England recently and there’s precedence for a comeback still.
Just to peak that optimism further, it’s a bright and sunny day in Birmingham !
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