Thrilling India-England Tests: Key Talking Points

India and England have provided thrilling cricket in the first two Tests, with India winning the second Test in Visakhapatnam by 106 runs to level the series 1-1. As they prepare for the third Test in Rajkot, set to begin on February 15, AFP Sport highlights three key talking points from the pulsating contests.

England's "Bazball" style of play is garnering admiration in India. In the opening Test, Ben Stokes and his team mounted an impressive comeback, overcoming a 190-run first innings deficit to secure a thrilling 28-run victory. They followed it up with a record-breaking chase of 399 runs in the second Test. Ollie Pope's masterful 196 in Hyderabad, featuring an array of sweep shots against both orthodox and reverse spin, earned him applause from the crowd. England's dominant display inflicted only the fourth home defeat on India in their last 47 Tests. India faced a nervy fourth-inning chase in the second Test, with Zak Crawley leading the charge with his aggressive batting approach.

India coach Rahul Dravid commented, "They have obviously shown that they’ve shown good skills. I think it’s not like wild slogging."

Despite having only six Test caps between them, England's rookie spinners Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, and Rehan Ahmed have posed challenges to India's traditionally strong batting lineup on spin-friendly pitches. Hartley, a left-arm spinner, made an impressive debut in Hyderabad, claiming match-winning figures of 7-62. He picked up four more wickets in India's second innings in Visakhapatnam. His tally of 14 wickets is just one behind Jasprit Bumrah, who leads the series bowling charts. Bashir, whose visa delay affected his availability, made an impact in the second Test by dismissing India's captain Rohit Sharma on debut. Teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed has claimed eight of the 33 wickets taken by England's spinners so far. England's Ben Stokes praised their efforts, saying, "For young guys who haven’t experienced this level of cricket, this was an amazing effort."

Jasprit Bumrah once again displayed his mastery of swing bowling, particularly with the new ball and reverse swing. In the second Test, he clean bowled Ollie Pope with a trademark yorker, sending the stumps flying. Bumrah's exceptional first innings figures of 6-45 restricted England to 253 all out, giving India a lead of 143 runs. He continued to trouble England's batsmen in their second innings, taking three more wickets and earning the man of the match accolade. Ben Stokes hailed Bumrah as "an absolute champion of a bowler," emphasizing his ability to make an impact whenever he is brought back into the attack.

Image Caption: Jasprit Bumrah cleans up Ollie Pope