Jasprit Bumrah in action
Captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl and his bowlers bowled straight. The likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Matty Potts took India 98-5. Jadeja walked on the other side with flamboyant Rishabh Pant. Pant smashed the red cherry across the ground, Jadeja was determined to stick to one end as he remained unbeaten on 83 off 163 balls. Both Pant and Jadeja shared a 222-run partnership and saved India’s ship from sinking.
When play resumed on the second day of this final Test match, Jadeja took it upon himself to score runs with the bat of the tail. Jadeja scored a scintillating century in this final Test match and it is an innings that will be part of Jadeja’s folklore, an innings that cements the fact that he is an underrated batsman. When play resumed on the second day at Edgbaston, not many believed that India would cross 400 with Pant being dismissed and Jadeja batting with a tail. The task seemed even more difficult when both Jadeja and Shami walked into the dressing room with Siraj and Bumrah.
Stuart Broad, who took his 550th wicket as Mohammed Shami, was picking up steam to take the last two wickets cheaply and restrict India to under 400, but the Indian captain Jasprit Bumrah He had some other plans in the back of his mind. The Indian captain dismissed Broad for 35, making him the only bowler to concede expensive overs in both T20I and Test cricket.
With almost two seasons of rain, India did not hold themselves back. He restricted England to 86/5 with his man in form Joe Root went away. It will be interesting to see how England proceed with the game when the third day’s play resumes.