Jasprit Bumrah’s frustration was palpable as Day 2 of the first Test against England came to a close. And who could blame him? He was undoubtedly the standout bowler in the series’ opener of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, yet his efforts were undermined by a lack of support from both his teammates in the field and the other fast bowlers. As a result, England managed to reach 209/3, posing a challenge to India’s impressive first innings total of 471. The mounting pressure led to an animated discussion between Bumrah and head coach Gautam Gambhir in the dressing room during the final hour of play on Saturday.
The pivotal moment came during the 40th over of England’s innings, with Bumrah off the field for the first time as Shardul Thakur stepped into the bowling attack. Thakur’s first over went unnoticed, but the cameras caught Bumrah in the Indian dressing room, visibly voicing his concerns about the match’s flow.
Bumrah had initially provided India with a strong opening by claiming a wicket in the very first over of England’s innings. He bowled a brilliant delivery that angled in before moving away to trap Zak Crawley, who edged it for just 4 runs. He almost dismissed both Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope soon after, but luck was not on his side. A tight LBW call went against Duckett, and Ravindra Jadeja dropped him at gully, while Pope was fortunate to evade the slip cordon on a couple of occasions.
Returning for his second spell, Bumrah maintained the same intensity and finally got his reward when he dismissed Duckett, who fell for 62 after an inside edge disturbed the stumps. This wicket allowed Bumrah to surpass Wasim Akram’s longstanding record for the most wickets by an Asian bowler in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries. He now boasts 147 wickets in just 55 innings.
A few overs later, Bumrah had another chance to add to his tally when Pope edged one, but Yashasvi Jaiswal couldn’t hold onto a sharp catch at third slip, allowing Pope to continue and eventually score a century.
Bumrah’s determination paid off later in the day when he claimed the wicket of Joe Root, who fell to a delivery that bounced more than expected. In the day’s closing over, Bumrah nearly got another when Harry Brook was caught out, only for replays to reveal that he had overstepped the crease.
Earlier, India had posted a formidable 471 in their first innings, with notable contributions from skipper Shubman Gill, vice-captain Rishabh Pant, and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, all scoring centuries.
Gil (147) and Pant (134) forged a remarkable partnership, adding 209 runs for the fourth wicket after openers Jaiswal (101) and KL Rahul (42) set a solid foundation with their 91-run stand for the first wicket.
Jaiswal’s innings included 101 runs from 159 balls, featuring 16 boundaries and one six, while Gill dazzled with 147 runs off 227 balls, highlighted by 19 fours and a six.
Pant, displaying aggressive intent, unleashed a flurry of shots with 12 fours and six sixes to score 134 off 178 balls, marking his seventh Test century—the highest for any Indian wicketkeeper-batter in this format.
On Day 2, as India resumed at 359 for three, they stumbled, losing seven wickets for just 112 runs, with Ben Stokes claiming 4/66 and Josh Tongue contributing with 4/86.
