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Brilliant bowling spells from Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin helped India overcome a fighting England as they levelled the series with a 106-run win in the second Test at Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
India has levelled the five-match series 1-1. England started the second session at 194/6, with skipper Ben Stokes joined by wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes. A boundary by Foakes to Bumrah helped England reach the 200-run mark in 46.1 overs. But disaster struck for England before they could have a big partnership. Some lazy running between the wickets ran out skipper Stokes for just 11 runs in 29 balls. Shreyas Iyer's remarkable effort saw him assist India in removing England's crisis man, reducing them to 220/7. Foakes was next joined by Tom Hartley, with England needing something great and supportive out of this young spinner with a first-class batting average of over 28. Having troubled the Indian batters earlier, Hartley now irritated the Indian spinners with some occasional big hits. England reached the 250-run mark in 59.5 overs. A half-century partnership was up between Foakes and Hartley in just 63 balls and it seemed England could breathe a little. In the next tense few minutes, Hartley survived a close leg-before-wicket call on a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery and Foakes threw his wicket with a soft dismissal, with the catch landing in Jasprit Bumrah's hands, who got his second wicket. Foakes was gone for 36 in 69 balls, with four boundaries and a six. England was 275/8, 124 runs away from a win but with just two wickets left. Pacer Mukesh Kumar removed the debutant Shoaib Bashir for an eight-ball duck after being caught behind by KS Bharat. England was 281/9, 118 runs away from a victory, but with just a wicket left. Everything now was dependent on Hartley, who was joined by James Anderson. Bumrah got the final wicket, cleaning up Hartley for 36. England was bundled out for 292 and lost by 106 runs. Bumrah (3/46) and Ashwin (3/72) were the pick of the bowlers for India. Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh and Axar Patel managed to get a wicket each. Earlier, Zak Crawley unleashed a solid counterattack, but the brilliance of India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav derailed England's solid effort at chasing 399 runs in the second Test, reducing them to 194/6 at the end of the first session on day four at Visakhapatnam on Monday. At Lunch, England was 194/6, with skipper Ben Stokes (0*) unbeaten. England started the day four at 67/1, chasing 399 runs to win, with Zak Crawley (29*) and Rehan Ahmed (9*) unbeaten. England kept going with their aggressive approach as Rehan targetted spinner Axar Patel and Crawley smashed Jasprit Bumrah for two cracking fours. However, Axar soon swung things in India's way, removing Rehan for 23 in 21 balls, with five fours. England was 95/2. Ollie Pope was next up on the crease. England reached the 100-run mark in 22.1 overs, with a double by Crawley. Crawley and Pope kept punishing bowlers, hitting Axar for a hat-trick of boundaries. Crawley also reached his half-century in 83 balls, with seven fours and a six. Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin sent the English camp into worries once again, getting Ollie caught by skipper Rohit at slips for 23 and getting the big scalp of Joe Root for 16 in 10 balls. Root played another ugly shot and was caught by Axar. England was 154/4 in 31 overs. Jonny Bairstow was next up on the crease. Crawley was punishing bowlers as usual and along with Bairstow seemed to bring England back on track and towards the 200-run mark. However, Kuldeep Yadav changed the game, trapping Crawley leg-before wicket for 73 in 132 balls, with eight fours and a six. In the next over, Bairstow was removed for 26 in 36 balls by Bumrah with another lbw. England sunk to 194/6 at the end of the first session. Brief Scores: India: 396 and 255 (Shubman Gill 104, Axar Patel 45, Tom Hartley 4/77) beats England: 253 and 292 (Zak Crawley 73, Tom Hartley 36, Jasprit Bumrah 3/46). (ANI)
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