Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and captain Jasprit Bumrah joined forces to leave England tottering at 84-5 at stumps on Day 2 of the rescheduled fifth Test against India at Edgbaston. A major part of the day was marred by rain as only 39 overs were bowled during the day.
While Jadeja cracked his third Test hundred, Bumrah blitzed a quick-fire cameo and snapped up three scalps.
India resumed the day from 338-7 as Jadeja and Mohammed Shami frustrated the England bowlers in the first half an hour. Jadeja, who was dropped at 92 in the slip cordon, slapped Matthew Potts through covers for a boundary to reach his hundred off 183 balls.
However, both Shami and Jadeja were soon dismissed. But there was still a twist in the tale.
In the 84th over of the innings, Bumrah created a stir by plundering 35 runs in one over of Stuart Broad. No bowler has conceded more runs in an over in the history of Test cricket. Out of those 35 runs, 28 came off Bumrah’s bat as he clouted four boundaries and two sixes. Remaining 7 runs were a result of wide balls and no balls.
Broad seemed completely flustered as he kept bowling short and Bumrah hooked and pulled those deliveries with impunity. In 2007, during the World T20, Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh had walloped six sixes off Broad and pillaged 36 runs in the over. Bumrah almost came to replicate his former teammate’s feat against the same bowler in a different format.
Eventually, India were bowled out for 416 in their innings with Bumrah remaining unbeaten for 31 off just 16 balls.
If Bumrah was deadly with the bat, he was outrageously fatal with the ball. The England’s opener Alex Lees was castled in the third by the Indian captain with a sharp nip-backer. The play was stopped three times due to rain but Bumrah kept bowling with demonic precision.
He also nipped out Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope for 9 and 10 respectively and left England in tatters.
Joe Root, who has been in superlative form, held one end stoutly for a while and scored 31 before he was undone by a delivery from Mohammed Siraj which came back slightly and induced an inside edge as he tried to cut. Rishabh Pant grabbed a simple catch to send England’s best batsman to the pavilion. The nightwatchman Jack Leach was prised out by Shami for a duck.
At stumps, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes were batting at 12 and 0 respectively. The hosts are still trailing by 332 runs.