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First Post
16 hours ago
- Sport
- First Post
Akash Deep, Siraj prove their worth with Edgbaston heroics as momentum shifts sharply in Test series
Mohammed Siraj was left to lead the Indian attack after Jasprit Bumrah was rested for the second Test against England, with Akash Deep being drafted in as his replacement. And the two ended up greatly outperforming their English counterparts with the Dukes ball on a batting paradise at Edgbaston. read more Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep collected 17 of the 20 English wickets that fell during the second Test at Edgbaston, with the latter collecting 10 wickets across both innings. AP A team can score all the runs in the world, but cannot hope to win a match if they don't get their bowling combination right. That was the overwhelming worry for captain Shubman Gill, head coach Gautam Gambhir and the rest of the Indian team as they arrived in Birmingham for the second Test against England. And yet, level the series they did at Edgbaston on Sunday, thrashing Ben Stokes' men by a jaw-dropping margin of 336 runs. The very team that had failed to defend 370-plus targets in each of their last two away Tests against England had suddenly dominated a match from start to finish, with the five-match series suddenly thrown wide open. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The biggest change in India's performance in Leeds and in Birmingham was the manner in which the bowling unit stood tall and packed a punch. While Bumrah had cut a frustrated figure at Headingley due to lack of support from the other end, Mohammad Siraj and Akash Deep hunted like a pair of hungry wolves. Especially with the brand new Dukes cherry in hand. That too on a featherbed where India amassed more than 1,000 runs across both innings – with captain Shubman Gill alone scoring 430. One would have been forgiven for having doubts on this attack's ability to withstand the 'Bazball' charge, especially in the fourth innings. And especially after the team chose to retain Prasidh Krishna – the seamer who had been hit for more than six runs an over in both innings in the first Test, his expensive spells allowing the opposition batters to wriggle out of tight corners and surge ahead. Akash had enjoyed a memorable debut against the same team in Ranchi last year, but there were doubts over his effectiveness outside India after the tour of Australia, where he had collected five wickets in two matches at an average of 54. As for Siraj, he had the added weight of leading the attack in Bumrah's absence besides tightening his own lines and lengths to avoid getting hit all over the park. India's new-ball pair sets tone after batters flatten England On a surface where captain Gill's majestic 269 helped India post a mammoth 587 and ground the hosts' hopes to the dirt, it was Siraj and Akash who made the Dukes ball talk and had the top half of the English batting order dancing to their tunes. The two Indians breathed fire and troubled batters with late movement on a wicket where the English attack had run out of answers, especially during Gill's partnerships with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. The result – England getting reduced to 84/5, losing half their side while trailing the visitors by more than 500 runs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Mohammed Siraj had collected 6/70 in England's first innings that helped India collect a huge 180-run lead. AP Had it not been for Harry Brook and Jamie Smith's explosive rescue act, the two middle-order batters adding 303 for the sixth wicket that took their team past 400, the game might have very well inside three days. Siraj and Akash went on to prove that their heroics on Thursday evening and Friday morning were by no means a one-off – triggering a late collapse that saw the hosts lose their last five wickets for 20 runs. Also Read | Gill, Akash and Smith shine; Reddy, Pope disappoint: Rating Indian and English players' performances That was followed by an encore of India's clinical new ball show in the first innings, with the Englishmen reduced to 83/5 in their chase of an improbable 608-run target, leaving the result of the game a mere formality in the absence of a thunderstorm. And for a change, Siraj and Akash's disciplined spells appear to have rubbed off on their colleagues in the bowling department; after leaking 72 runs in 13 overs in the first innings, Prasidh had bowled with an economy under three and was clever with his slower deliveries. And Jadeja was breathing down the necks of the tail-enders with as many as five close-in fielders. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Akash proves his worth on foreign soil with 10-fer The most impressive of them all, though, was Akash, who only got better as the game progressed. After playing a supporting role in the first innings, it was the Bengal pacer originally hailing from Bihar's Sasaram who stood tall and took charge during the English innings. While Siraj had drawn first blood during the fourth innings by inducing an aerial drive straight to backward point off Zak Crawley's bat with 11 on the board, it was Akash who ran through the rest of England's top five in a memorable spell, which included a beauty to batting stalwart Joe Root that the legendary Sachin Tendulkar has described as the 'ball of the series'. India pacer Akash Deep celebrates after dismissing English batting star Joe Root on Day 4 of the second Test at Edgbaston. Reuters The cherry on top of the cake was Akash completing his maiden five-for and a 10-wicket match haul, which he later dedicated to his elder sister, whom he later revealed is fighting cancer. 'They (bowlers) were magnificent and I think the way we were able to get through the top-order, that was important to us, and both those bowlers bowled brilliantly and even Prasidh, he didn't get as many wickets as them, but he also bowled brilliantly,' Gill said during the post-match presentation ceremony after India bowled England out for 271 to level the five-match series 1-1. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'He (Akash) bowled with so much heart. The areas and lengths he hit, he was getting the ball to move both ways. On wickets like these, it's difficult to do that, he was just magnificent for us,' he added. Gill confirmed during the post-match interview that Bumrah will be returning to the playing XI during the third Test at Lord's, which gets underway just four days from now. And after the events of Edgbaston over the course of the last five days, India suddenly appear to have the more complete of the two attacks. Things certainly look promising for Gill, who collected his first win as India Test captain in Birmingham, and his men in their quest for a first series win on English soil in nearly two decades.
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
No Lions, no worries as depleted England shock Pumas
England without 13 British and Irish Lions have stunned recent Lions conquerors Argentina 35-12 in the first Test of their two-match series. England winger Tom Roebuck scored two tries and veteran flyhalf George Ford delivered a virtuoso performance to secure the visitors' upset victory in La Plata on Saturday. Argentina beat the Lions 28-24 in Dublin two weeks ago for the first time and left most of the team intact for their first Test at home this year. But Argentina's failure to score any points in a first half they dominated came back to bite them as England opened the new half by suddenly running the ball and scoring three tries in seven minutes. The Pumas rallied with two tries to forwards Pablo Matera — his 110th appearance tying Agustin Creevy's national caps record — and Pedro Rubiolo. But that's all England allowed in an impressive show of depth and ruthless efficiency. It even finished with a flourish. Replacement wing Cadan Murley scored the fourth try and co-captain Ford, who became the eighth man to play 100 England Tests, capped off a surprisingly emphatic win with 15 points and a try assist. "It's a great win for us," Ford told broadcaster Sky Sports. The Pumas arrived at halftime utterly frustrated. They were held up over the tryline three times and England flanker Sam Underhill was underneath two of them. England lock Alex Coles and new midfielder Seb Atkinson were yellow-carded. For at least four minutes, Argentina was playing against 13 men. But by the time Argentina was facing 15 again, England led 3-0 after a drop goal by Ford. England absorbed everything and turned a 3-0 halftime lead into 22-0 by the 50th minute. Sweeping backline moves that England kept under wraps in the first half sprouted two tries for Roebuck and another for fullback Freddie Steward. "The first five minutes of the second half we were very poor," Pumas captain Julian Montoya told Sky Sports. "We can't have those gaps where we concede very easy points." The Pumas closed the gap to 10 going into the fourth quarter but England pinned them down and finished on a high, giving it confidence of sweeping the two-Test series in San Juan next weekend. England without 13 British and Irish Lions have stunned recent Lions conquerors Argentina 35-12 in the first Test of their two-match series. England winger Tom Roebuck scored two tries and veteran flyhalf George Ford delivered a virtuoso performance to secure the visitors' upset victory in La Plata on Saturday. Argentina beat the Lions 28-24 in Dublin two weeks ago for the first time and left most of the team intact for their first Test at home this year. But Argentina's failure to score any points in a first half they dominated came back to bite them as England opened the new half by suddenly running the ball and scoring three tries in seven minutes. The Pumas rallied with two tries to forwards Pablo Matera — his 110th appearance tying Agustin Creevy's national caps record — and Pedro Rubiolo. But that's all England allowed in an impressive show of depth and ruthless efficiency. It even finished with a flourish. Replacement wing Cadan Murley scored the fourth try and co-captain Ford, who became the eighth man to play 100 England Tests, capped off a surprisingly emphatic win with 15 points and a try assist. "It's a great win for us," Ford told broadcaster Sky Sports. The Pumas arrived at halftime utterly frustrated. They were held up over the tryline three times and England flanker Sam Underhill was underneath two of them. England lock Alex Coles and new midfielder Seb Atkinson were yellow-carded. For at least four minutes, Argentina was playing against 13 men. But by the time Argentina was facing 15 again, England led 3-0 after a drop goal by Ford. England absorbed everything and turned a 3-0 halftime lead into 22-0 by the 50th minute. Sweeping backline moves that England kept under wraps in the first half sprouted two tries for Roebuck and another for fullback Freddie Steward. "The first five minutes of the second half we were very poor," Pumas captain Julian Montoya told Sky Sports. "We can't have those gaps where we concede very easy points." The Pumas closed the gap to 10 going into the fourth quarter but England pinned them down and finished on a high, giving it confidence of sweeping the two-Test series in San Juan next weekend. England without 13 British and Irish Lions have stunned recent Lions conquerors Argentina 35-12 in the first Test of their two-match series. England winger Tom Roebuck scored two tries and veteran flyhalf George Ford delivered a virtuoso performance to secure the visitors' upset victory in La Plata on Saturday. Argentina beat the Lions 28-24 in Dublin two weeks ago for the first time and left most of the team intact for their first Test at home this year. But Argentina's failure to score any points in a first half they dominated came back to bite them as England opened the new half by suddenly running the ball and scoring three tries in seven minutes. The Pumas rallied with two tries to forwards Pablo Matera — his 110th appearance tying Agustin Creevy's national caps record — and Pedro Rubiolo. But that's all England allowed in an impressive show of depth and ruthless efficiency. It even finished with a flourish. Replacement wing Cadan Murley scored the fourth try and co-captain Ford, who became the eighth man to play 100 England Tests, capped off a surprisingly emphatic win with 15 points and a try assist. "It's a great win for us," Ford told broadcaster Sky Sports. The Pumas arrived at halftime utterly frustrated. They were held up over the tryline three times and England flanker Sam Underhill was underneath two of them. England lock Alex Coles and new midfielder Seb Atkinson were yellow-carded. For at least four minutes, Argentina was playing against 13 men. But by the time Argentina was facing 15 again, England led 3-0 after a drop goal by Ford. England absorbed everything and turned a 3-0 halftime lead into 22-0 by the 50th minute. Sweeping backline moves that England kept under wraps in the first half sprouted two tries for Roebuck and another for fullback Freddie Steward. "The first five minutes of the second half we were very poor," Pumas captain Julian Montoya told Sky Sports. "We can't have those gaps where we concede very easy points." The Pumas closed the gap to 10 going into the fourth quarter but England pinned them down and finished on a high, giving it confidence of sweeping the two-Test series in San Juan next weekend.
