Rohit Sharma's 3 captaincy decisions that helped India win the 2nd Test vs England
Rohit Sharma-led India made a dramatic comeback in the second Test against England, winning by 106 runs to level the five-match series 1-1. After losing the opening Test, the home team showed their mettle and came out triumphant against a strong England side who came out with a real intent of chasing down the target of 399.
The win was set up by Yashasvi Jaiswal who scored a magnificent double century in the first innings to take India to a competitive score of 396. None of the other batters could convert their starts into a significant score which didn't allow India to post a massive score in the first innings. It was just about a par score and it looked like England had the ascendancy.
Just when England were going great guns in the first innings, Jasprit Bumrah produced a spell for the ages, which helped India stage a grand comeback. He finished with figures of 6/42, including the wickets of Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, and Ben Stokes. It was a masterclass of reverse swing bowling to which the English batters had no answers.
India's batting was tested in the second innings and it required a monumental effort from Shubman Gill to bail them out of trouble. He scored a magnificent century but India again lost their way in the final stages of the innings and were skittled out for 255 in the second innings. The target of 398 proved to be enough in the end, as India registered a convincing 106-run win to set up the series beautifully.
Let us now have a look at the three captaincy decisions of Rohit Sharma which helped India win the second Test.
#1 Bringing back Jasprit Bumrah immediately after the wicket of Zak Crawley in the first innings
The decision to bring Jasprit Bumrah back into the attack after the fall of Zak Crawley's wicket proved to be a masterstroke as Bumrah ran through the English middle order and the lower order. After Axar Patel induced a false shot from Crawley, Rohit sensed an opening and handed the ball to his premier bowler Bumrah and he didn't disappoint.
Bumrah induced the outside edge of Joe Root's bat with an away swinging delivery before rattling the stumps of Ollie Pope with a searing yorker right at the base of the middle stump. Bairstow and Stokes were the next casualties as England lost their way and ended up conceding a massive lead to India.
Bumrah then came back for his final spell and removed Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir to finish with figures of 6/42. This performance also helped him earn the Player of the Match Award. The next Test in Rajkot is about nine days away and it has been speculated that Bumrah could be rested for the third Test.
#2 Taking the DRS call of Zak Crawley in the second innings
Zak Crawley was batting beautifully in the second innings and his proactive demeanor of scoring runs kept England in the hunt of chasing down the biggest fourth innings score to win a Test in India. Crawley was making light work of the Indian bowling attack when Rohit brought Kuldeep back into the attack.
With England's second innings score reading 194/4, Kuldeep Yadav bowled a slider which skidded off the surface and struck Crawley on the front leg. To the naked eye, it certainly looked like it was sliding down leg. However, replays showed the ball pitched in line and was going on to hit the leg stump.
The debate surrounding the decision was sparked further by Ben Stokes who claimed that the technology got it wrong on that occasion but conceded it was his personal view. The decision to take the review turned the game on its head as England were eventually bowled out for 292.
#3 Setting attacking field despite England's attacking approach during the run chase
England fast bowler Jimmy Anderson had commented that England would go after the target even if India set them something around 600. The target of 398 was always going to be a tall ask for the visitors but it was their style of play which gave them a realistic chance at the start of Day 4.
Zak Crawley started brilliantly and continued from where he left in the first innings. Despite his positive strokeplay, Rohit continued with close-in fielders and kept mid-off and mid-on up inside the imaginary thirty-yard circle for a considerable amount of time.
Even when Joe Root came out all guns blazing and made his intentions very clear, Rohit kept his fielders inside the circle which eventually led to his downfall. Towards the latter half of the chase, Tom Hartley took on the Indian bowlers but it didn't force Rohit to change his plans.