Cricket: “India out-bowled and out-batted England in second Test”, says former Three Lions’ star Stuart Broad
England greats heap praise on India’s bounce back at Edgbaston
Indian cricket players and fans were left scratching their heads last week, when despite their team scoring five centuries - including an incredible double-ton by Rishabh Pant - they still ended up losing the first of their five Test matches at Headingley, a result that also confirmed our cricket predictions.
However, the Shubman Gill-led side bounced back spectacularly in their second match at Edgbaston this week, securing a commanding 337-run victory over the Three Lions on Sunday to level the series at 1-1 heading into what should be a blockbuster showdown at Lord’s.
India’s performance in the second Test has received massive praise from several former players, including the likes of former Englishmen Stuart Broad and Nasser Hussain, as well as legendary Indian batter Wasim Jaffer. Broad admitted on Sky Sports ahead of the final day:
"We have to be honest, India have out-bowled and out-batted England in this Test match - that's why they're 536 runs ahead, needing seven wickets to win the Test match. They have been superb this week, and that was just an outstanding spell from Akash, bringing the stumps into play.”
Not only did the victory allow the Men in Blue to level the series at 1-1, but it also earned major plaudits from former Indian batter Jaffer, who echoed similar sentiments to Broad and Hussain. He said:
"Outbatted. Outbowled. Outfielded. Outplayed England. What a comeback from Team India. 1-1 going into the Lord's! Congratulations on first Test win skipper @ShubmanGill. Many more to come.”
England and India now have a relatively short turnaround time before they go again, with the series set to head to the Home of Cricket in just three days for the third Test between these fierce rivals.
Akash Deep hands Gambhir major selection conundrum
In the lead-up to the Edgbaston Test, the majority of the news headlines revolved around the availability of the world’s top fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, who is only slated to play three matches in the series as part of his workload management.
Despite a week-long break between the first and second Test, Bumrah and India’s selection panel opted to allow the 31-year-old speedster to sit out the Edgbaston match, which caused major concern over whether they would be able to contain England’s Bazball approach.
Akash Deep was given the nod to replace Bumrah in the starting lineup for the second Test, and the 28-year-old grabbed his opportunity with both hands, notching up 4/88 in the first innings before earning a career-best 6/99 in the second innings.
Deep’s performance capped off an already incredible team effort from India, while individually, he became only the second Indian bowler to claim 10 scalps in England since Chetan Sharma did so way back in 1986.
While Bumrah is widely expected to return to the Indian team for the Lord's Test later this week, there are now major questions over how the team's selection committee will be able to leave out Deep and Mohammad Siraj after their incredible performances at Edgbaston.
