Bumrah took all three English wickets that fell on Day 2 at Headingley.
England opener Ben Duckett acknowledged the genius of Jasprit Bumrah after the Indian pace spearhead produced another fiery spell on Day 2 of the first Test at Headingley.
After the close of play, Duckett appreciated Bumrah’s skill and also spoke about how pleased the hosts were to have ended the day at 209/3 in reply to India’s first innings score of 471.
“It was a hell of an over, you know, watching him do his thing, Jasprit (Bumrah). He’s very good to watch, you know, and Brookie (Harry Brook) just to come off air. He’s not out. So happy days,” Duckett said about Bumrah’s fiery opening spell where he dismissed Zak Crawley in the first over and when he almost got Harry Brook, only for the ball to be called a no-ball.
Duckett, who scored 62 off 94 balls, was also dismissed by Bumrah, who went on to claim the prized scalp of Joe Root as well.
“Well, I think very good. It could have been a lot worse. I think we took six for 40, maybe, you know, on another 41. Another day, you know, that there’s 600 plus or whatever. So I think starting off like that and then, as I’ve spoken about Jasprit running down the hill there with the lights on, it wasn’t easy against that new ball. So to be where we are, I think we will definitely take the day we’ve had. It’s just about trying to win that first session tomorrow.”
Riding on centuries from skipper Shubman Gill (147 off 227), Yashasvi Jaiswal (101 off 159) and Rishabh Pant (134 off 178), India racked up 471 in their first innings. The visitors were on course for a 600+ total on the board, but they squandered the advantage on Day 2 by losing seven wickets for 41 runs.
For England, Josh Tongue and Ben Stokes returned with four wickets each. After Crawley was dismissed cheaply, Duckett and Ollie Pope stitched a 122-run partnership and helped England steady things. Pope went on to score a century and finished the day at an unbeaten 100 off 131 balls.
“Exactly. It’s just a game we play, you know, blue skies all day yesterday and those conditions and it’s swinging around a bit more. The pitch is still good. But yeah, it certainly felt like there were a couple more balls in it today.”