The English team has made a comeback in the second Test of the five-match Test series between India and England at Lord’s Historic Ground. England kept themselves in the game with good innings by Joe Root and Rory Burns, while James Anderson’s five-wicket haul quickly ended Team India. On the second day of the Test, India lost the remaining 7 wickets by adding just 88 runs. Team India’s last four batsmen were in a situation where they could only add 8 runs. In such a situation, the question now is whether it is okay to feed Ishant Sharma to Ravichandran Ashwin instead of Shardul Thakur.
Virat had said during the toss that Ashwin was among the 12 players selected before the match, but considering the conditions and pitch, Ishant was slated to play. Kohli’s decision gave strength to Indian fast bowling, but that depth was not visible in the batting order of Team India and the lack of all-rounders like Shardul or Ashwin clearly hurt India in the first innings. Ishant, who was included in the squad to replace Shardul, was dismissed for 8 in the first innings, unable to open the account of Mohammad Shami and Bumrah. India’s tail-batsman has always been a big weakness of the team, and the lack of an all-rounder for Team India in the Lord’s second innings could be a problem.
IND vs ENG: Another record for Joe Root, the second England batsman to achieve this feat in a Test
For England, James Anderson took five wickets while bowling. In reply to India’s 364 runs, England were 119 for 3 at the end of the day. Captain Joe Root was in the crease after scoring 48, while Rory Burns was dismissed for 49. In India’s bowling, Mohammad Siraj gave England two early shots in the form of Dominic Sibal (11) and Haseeb Hamid. After this, before the game was over, Ishant brought some relief to the Indian team by sending Burns to the pavilion.
