India beat England by 106 runs in the second Test in Visakhapatnam on Monday to level the five-match series 1-1.
Both sides have played richly entertaining cricket and the contest is finely poised as they take a break before the third Test in Rajkot, beginning on February 15.
AFP Sport highlights three talking points after the first two pulsating contests.
– Batting wow –
England’s much-hyped “Bazball” style is winning fans in India.
Ben Stokes’s team took a thrilling opening Test by 28 runs after overcoming a 190-run first innings deficit then went down guns blazing in a record 399-run chase in the second.
Ollie Pope’s masterful 196 in Hyderabad featured sweep shots of both orthodox and reverse varieties to blunt the Indian spinners and the crowd rose to applaud as England inflicted only the fourth home defeat on India in 47 Tests.
India had some nervy moments in winning the second Test as England came out roaring in their fourth-inning chase, with Zak Crawley hitting 73 and almost all the batsmen taking on the bowlers.
“They have obviously shown that they’ve shown good skills. I think it’s not like wild slogging,” said India coach Rahul Dravid.
– Raw spin –
England’s rookie spinners Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed may have only six Test caps between them but they have all challenged India’s batters, who are usually masters on turning pitches.
Raw left-armer Hartley had match-winning figures of 7-62 on debut in Hyderabad and he took four more in India’s second innings in Visakhapatnam.
His 14 wickets are just one behind Jasprit Bumrah in the series bowling charts.
Bashir’s visa was delayed but his first wicket on debut in the second Test was worth waiting for — it was India captain Rohit Sharma.
Teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed has taken eight of the 33 wickets to fall to England spin so far and Stokes said: “They just kept coming and coming at India.
“For young guys who haven’t experienced this level of cricket this was an amazing effort.”
– Champion bowler –
Stumps flew all over the place as Bumrah bowled Ollie Pope with a trademark yorker in the second Test.
The seamer’s mastery of new ball and reverse swing saw him take a first innings 6-45 as England were all out 253, a deficit of 143.
Stokes paid tribute after he bagged three more in England’s chase to be named man of the match.
“Jasprit Bumrah’s an absolute champion of a bowler. Whenever he comes back on, you know Rohit’s looking for a wicket,” said Stokes.
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