After an enthralling first Test in which India were in a spot of bother in the last session, they completely outplayed England in all departments of the game to win the 2nd Test at Vizag by 246 runs. Kohli won his 11th Test as captain and played an important role with the bat and as captain to help India take a 1-0 lead in the 5 Test series.

The pitch for the 2nd Test at Vizag was expected to be more helpful for the spinners than the first one at Rajkot. Therefore the outcome of the toss was expected to be very crucial. Kohli won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat. India were rocked by 2 early wickets and were reeling at 22/2 when Kohli joined Pujara at the crease. The duo had a few close calls as far as running between the wickets was concerned. However, they soon got into their stride and started scoring at a brisk rate. When Kohli was on 56 he went to hook a delivery from Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid was late in reacting at fine leg and grassed the chance. This proved to be costly as Kohli is the type of batsman who capitalises after being reprieved.

England missed the penetration and miserly bowling of Chris Woakes and in his absence struggled to put a lid on the run rate. Both batsmen went on to score centuries. Pujara was the first to reach his century when he pulled a short delivery from Rashid for a huge six over mid-wicket. However, he was dismissed on 119 when he tried to cut James Anderson and Jonny Bairstow dived to his right to take an excellent catch. Kohli also reached his century and India were 317/4 at the end of the first day.

On the 2nd morning, Kohli was dismissed for 167 when he was caught brilliantly by Stokes off the bowling of Moeen Ali. His knock was studded with 18 fours. India suffered a mini-collapse and were reduced to 363/7 when the debutant, Jayant Yadav joined Ravichandran Ashwin at the crease. The pair batted well and put on a 64 run partnership for the 8th wicket to take India past the 400 mark. India were finally bowled out for 455. In reply, England suffered an early setback when Alastair Cook was bowled by a peach of a delivery from Mohammed Shami. England suffered a mini collapse and ended the second day at a precarious 103/5.

Stokes and Bairstow batted defiantly on the 3rd morning and batted almost the entire pre-lunch session frustrating the India bowlers. Umesh Yadav finally got the breakthrough when he bowled Bairstow with a quick inswinger. Adil Rashid was the only English lower order batsman to show some resistance as Ashwin rain through the tail to bowl England out for 255 and give India a lead of 200. However, they opted against enforcing the follow on.

In their 2nd innings, England made good use of the new ball and India were in a spot of bother 40/3. Kohli once again came to India’s rescue with an attacking fifty and India ended the day at 98/3. In the pre-lunch session on the 4th day, both Stuart Broad and James Anderson bowled great spells. At that point of time the pitch was misbehaving and there was a lot of uneven bounce. Some balls were kicking up from a length while some were staying low. India lost 6 wickets for the addition of just 64 runs. However, Kohli looked like he was batting on a different pitch as he seemed to be in no discomfort whatsoever. He was caught by Stokes off the bowling of Rashid for a well-made 81. Jayant Yadav and Mohammed Shami added 42 runs for the 10th wicket, which took the wind out of England’s sails.

England were set a target of 405 off a minimum of 150 overs. Alastair Cook showed why he is one of the greatest batsmen of all time as he was very circumspect and frustrated the Indian bowlers. Along with Hameed, he boosted the spirits in the England dressing room with a knock that was a lesson in how to preserve one’s wicket by keeping the good balls out. The opening pair but put on 75 runs in more than 50 overs when Hameed was caught plumb in front by Ashwin to a delivery that stayed low. In the last over of the day, Jadeja had Cook LBW for 54 and that shifted the balance of the match firmly towards India.

On the 5th morning, England came out with a defensive mentality and that played right into the hands of the Indian bowlers. Ben Duckett played an injudicious shot to be caught by Wriddhiman Saha off the bowling of Ashwin. Joe Root played a lone hand for England trusting his defence against the spinners. He was finally LBW to an inswinger from Shami. However, there was a steady procession of wickets from the other end and that took India closer to victory.They scored only 55 runs in 33.4 overs in the session and when that happens, the fielding side can exert pressure by having a lot of close in fielders in catching positions.

After lunch, the result was just a formality and India wrapped up the match in just 4.3 overs. Jayant Yadav took the last 2 wickets in 2 deliveries to cap a memorable debut. Virat Kohli was adjudged the Man of the Match for his 167 and 81 in the 2 innings.

The 3rd Test begins at Mohali on the 26th of November.

Image courtesy: BCCI