London: Twelve days after helplessly watching England chase down 371 in the fourth innings to win the opening Test, Team India roared back strongly to carve out a whopping 336-run victory in the second match at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
The thumping series-levelling victory, ahead of the third-Test showdown at Lord’s, is historic as India had never won at Edgbaston before. In eight previous Tests India played at this venue, they had lost seven and drawn one.
The Indian team management copped a lot of flak for deciding to rest Jasprit Bumrah at Edgbaston, and not later in the series, as this was an extremely important game. But the way Akashdeep (10 wickets in the match) and Mohammed Siraj (7/127) performed, Bumrah was just not missed.
Akashdeep was easily the best bowler from both sides in this Test, moving the ball both ways, making the new ball count and rocking the England top order with crucial wickets in both innings.
It was a pity Akashdeep’s stellar performance with the ball came in a match in which his captain amassed 430 runs, so it was impossible for Man-of-the-Match adjudicators to look beyond Shubman Gill.
As for England, the best phase was a 303-run partnership in the first innings between Jamie Smith (184) and Harry Brook (158). Smith stood out yet again in the second innings, with a strokeful 88 on Sunday to be England’s top scorer in both innings. But he needed a lot of support at the other end if England were to save the game, chasing an improbable 608-run victory target.
BRIEF SCORES
India first innings: 587
India second innings: 427/6 declared
England first innings: 407
England second innings: 271 (Jamie Smith 88, Akashdeep 6/99).
Man of the Match: Shubman Gill (269 & 161).
Result: India won by 336 runs.
Series position: Tied 1-1, 3 matches remaining.
Coming up: Third Test from July 10 at Lord’s.
