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England gets a lift as Jadeja and Rahul are sidelined for the second Test in India
England’s chances in India have been notably enhanced as both Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul are unavailable for the second Test in Visakhapatnam, set to commence on Friday.
In addition to guiding his team to a remarkable 28-run triumph in the initial Test, Ben Stokes might have dealt another setback with his agile backhanded run-out of Jadeja on the fourth day. Stokes left the field holding his left hamstring, and a subsequent scan verified the injury, although India has not officially disclosed its extent.
Jadeja, who took five wickets and was the top scorer with 87 in his team’s first innings, is sidelined along with Rahul, who reported “right quadriceps pain.” With Virat Kohli already absent from the second Test for personal reasons and Mohammad Shami yet to recover from an ankle injury, England finds itself in a more advantageous position.
The significant question now is how India will respond, particularly considering the conditions of the pitch in Visakhapatnam. Ollie Pope’s impressive second-innings score of 196 underscored the success of a strategy to use the sweep against India’s spinners. Mark Wood, England’s lone seamer who remained wicketless across two innings, expressed, “They have the potential to adapt to any wicket they choose.”
“However, we’ve given them something to ponder. It’s not a guaranteed assumption that we will arrive here and they will easily dismiss us with spin. Ollie Pope has delivered an exceptional innings, and now they’ll need to analyze, just as we would if things didn’t go well, how they plan to counter that.”
England, scheduled to travel to the east coast on Tuesday, seem optimistic despite one fitness concern: the haematoma that Jack Leach developed in his left knee after a fall in the field on the first evening in Hyderabad. The issue seemed to worsen with another dive on day two of the match.
Leach, who recently returned after a seven-month hiatus due to a lower back stress fracture, persevered through the pain, delivering 36 overs in the match. Stokes managed his spells primarily in short bursts. On Monday, Leach was spotted in the team hotel with the knee still heavily strapped, but reports suggest he is “improving” with regular icing.
In response to Jadeja’s injury, India has brought in two all-rounders, Washington Sundar, an off-spinner, and the uncapped slow left-armer Sourabh Kumar. Either would serve as a similar replacement in terms of the team’s balance, with Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm wrist-spinner who bats lower down, being the alternative.
However, none of them possesses the extensive track record of Jadeja, who boasts an average of 40 with the bat and has taken 199 wickets at an average of 21 runs per wicket on home soil. Rahul, who scored 84 on the second day in Hyderabad, has been replaced by Sarfaraz Khan, a right-handed batsman with a first-class cricket average of 69 and who recently made 161 against England Lions.
In addition to injury updates, reflections from the first Test included the International Cricket Council (ICC) formally reprimanding Jasprit Bumrah and adding one demerit point to his disciplinary record for “inappropriate physical contact” on the field.
The incident occurred in the 81st over of England’s second innings when Pope attempted a run, and Bumrah, the bowler, shifted to his right, resulting in a collision of their shoulders. Bumrah, who had a clean record until then, admitted to the level-one breach of the ICC’s code of conduct, negating the need for a hearing.
