Ben Duckett's sensational 88-ball century, the third fastest against India, left the hosts shell-shocked in Rajkot.
Ben Duckett scored a sensational century against India in India, taking only 88 balls, which is the third fastest century against India in India. This left the hosts shell-shocked as they once again failed to score runs in their first innings of 445. Duckett's century was not streaky, as none of his 19 fours and one six in his first 102 runs came off an edge. No bowler seemed to have an answer for his stroke-play. Duckett took advantage of any wide deliveries from the quicks, and effectively used sweeps and reverse-sweeps to unsettle the spinners. As a result, he was able to capitalise on the shorter deliveries.
On the second day, he scored 133 of the 207 runs that England made for the loss of only two wickets in just 35 overs. During the first half of the day, India only managed to add 119 runs to their overnight total of 326 for 5, batting for 45 overs. The recurring theme of India losing wickets without England's bowlers building up or having a discernible plan continued.
Plans and build-ups were not effective, as demonstrated by Duckett. India attempted to bowl in the channel, but Duckett remained beside the line and powerfully struck the quicks through the off side. Kuldeep Yadav attempted to use his wristspin, but Duckett responded with seven fours in his first four overs, using both the sweep and reverse-sweep techniques. R Ashwin reached his 500th Test wicket with the dismissal of Zak Crawley. However, he was unable to celebrate as Duckett hit a slog-sweep off a good length ball from the stumps and then followed it up by pulling him from the back.
Duckett encountered some trouble in the first four overs when he was beaten five times. He attempted to hit a four off each of those balls and persisted in doing so when he saw width again.
Ollie Pope, who scored a breathtaking 196 to snatch the first Test away from India, and Crawley, who has been England's best batter throughout this series, were reduced to mere spectators, despite batting with assurance and comfort. In the first-wicket stand of 89, Crawley only managed to score 15, and Pope contributed just 39 in the 93 added for the second wicket. But, as in the first Test, Pope still managed to impress with a reverse dilscoop that left the crowd in awe.
The partnership between Crawley and Pope once again set India back, marking their fourth association of 50 or more in five innings this series. It is worth noting that between 2018 and 2023, all visiting openers had only managed to put together four stands of 50 or more. When Ashwin began bowling, Duckett and Crawley had already advanced significantly. Ashwin started with a negative line outside leg to Crawley, which resulted in his landmark wicket. The ball bounced from the rough and took the top edge on the sweep.
This was India's opportunity to take another wicket. Pope is not a strong starter, and Kuldeep began by beating his bat on the outside edge. At 2 off 11, Pope, who may not have identified the earlier wrong'un, decided that it wouldn't matter which way the ball was turning if he could get to its pitch and hit it over the infield. This sparked another wave of attack, including an audacious slog-sweep off Ashwin for his first six.
Pope utilised the pace from Ravindra Jadeja to score boundaries behind the wicket. He executed a paddle-sweep, followed by an outrageous reverse Dilscoop, and then a reverse-sweep. Duckett also contributed with an orthodox shot. India's closest chance of getting a wicket during this phase was when Bumrah hit Duckett's toe with a yorker, but he had made contact with the inside half of the bat just as the ball landed.
India's best possible attack at home, with the exception of Mohammed Shami for Mohammed Siraj, was struggling against England without any scoreboard pressure.
To counter this, India decided to slow the game down by setting up a field for bouncers and continuously bowling them. This not only slowed down the run rate momentarily but also affected the over-rate. When Siraj bowled a length delivery, it behaved like his wobble-seam ball with the new ball. India had to rely on a review to get some relief after Pope was trapped on the crease. But England had already scored 182 runs in just 30 overs.
Despite the stumps being around the corner, Duckett showed no signs of hesitation. He immediately switched his stance and hit Jadeja for a flat six over what would have been point. In the last over, Ashwin almost got Duckett out when he defended for a change, but the offbreak had landed just outside leg.
India will be reminded of how easily they gave their own wickets away, as they are having to put in a lot of effort to get their wickets. Following the run-out on the first day, centurion Jadeja returned a catch to Joe Root early on day two, similar to how Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed in the first over in Hyderabad.
Ashwin and debutant Dhruv Jurel then added 77 runs for the eighth wicket. However, Ashwin also hit leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed straight to mid-on, leaving him with his hand on his head in disbelief. The spinners had not created any dot-ball pressure on India, as loose balls were readily available.
One of these partnerships, which was responsible for 30 of the remaining 87 runs in the last wicket, highlights the team's struggle to consistently produce runs throughout the series. India's inexperienced batting line-up has heavily relied on three partnerships to score the majority of their runs in the series.