What happened on Day 4 of the 2nd IND vs ENG 2024 Test?
India beat England by 106 runs in the second Test at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Monday, February 5 to level the five-match series 1-1. Chasing a target of 399, England were bowled out for 292 on Day 4 as Jasprit Bumrah (3/46) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3/72) starred with the ball.
Resuming their second innings at their overnight score of 67/1, Zak Crawley and nightwatchman Rehan Ahmed took the score to 95 before Axar Patel ended the latter’s stay at the crease. The left-arm spinner trapped Ahmed lbw for 23 with an arm ball that slid in and kept a bit low.
Ashwin, who had dismissed Ben Duckett (28) in the dying moments of Day 3, then accounted for the major scalps of Ollie Pope (23) and Joe Root (16). Pope attempted to cut one from Ashwin that was angled across him, but got a thick edge that was sharply held by skipper Rohit Sharma at slip. Root’s attempt to hoick the off-spinner ended as a simple catch to backward point.
Opener Crawley (73), who was holding fort for England, was the next to go, trapped lbw by Kuldeep Yadav. A length ball that stayed a bit low hit Crawley on the pads as he missed his whip. India went for a review and DRS showed the ball pitching on leg and going on to hit the stumps.
Bumrah gave India another massive boost ahead of the lunch break on Day 4, trapping Jonny Bairstow (26) leg before with a length ball that seamed in. England ended the session in big trouble at 194/6.
Bumrah ends England’s resistance in 2nd session as India level series
Even though England were on the back foot, they had hope as long as skipper Ben Stokes was at the crease. He, however, perished for 11, run out by a brilliant piece of fielding by Shreyas Iyer. With a superb one-handed pick up and throw from short midwicket, Shreyas found Stokes short of his crease at the striker's end as the England captain seemed to take it a bit too easy.
Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley offered resistance, adding 55 for the eighth wicket. Bumrah ended the frustrating stand, dismissing Foakes for 36 as the batter chipped an off-cutter back to the bowler. Mukesh Kumar then picked up a wicket as he forced Shoaib Bashir (0) to nick an outswinger.
Fittingly, Bumrah brought the curtains down on the game by knocking over Hartley (36) with a jaffa that nipped away and squared up the batter. The Indian pacer was also named Player of the Match for his stupendous nine-wicket haul.