The second Test of the five-match series between India and England got underway in Vishakhapatnam on February 2, 2024. India trailing 0-1 in the series came into the match aiming to level the series with a win.
Rohit Sharma started well by winning the toss and choosing to bat first. Rajat Patidar made his Test debut for India in place of KL Rahul. Kuldeep Yadav came in for Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj made way for Mukesh Kumar.
Rohit Sharma was also the first wicket to fall on 14 runs, becoming the first Test victim of England debutant Shoaib Bashir. After that, it was a procession of Indian batters getting set and looking good for a big one, but getting out to a nothing shot. The only thing common was Yashasvi Jaiswal anchoring one end and scoring runs.
Shubman Gill fell to James Anderson for 34 runs in 46 balls with 5 fours. Jaiswal then added 90 runs with Shreyas Iyer (27). The Rehan Ahmed bowled Rajat Patidar for 32 good-looking runs on debut and 70-run partnership with Jaiswal.
Jaiswal then added 52 runs with Akshar Patel (27) and 29 runs with KS Bharat (17), before both of them fell to spinners in dying overs of the first day.
However, the day belonged to Yashasvi Jaiswal who remained unbeaten on 179, his highest Test score. He has hit 17 fours and 5 sixes in his knock. He will have R Ashwin for the company on the second day.
India ended day 2 on 336/6. Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed took two wickets each while James Anderson and Tom Hartley took one scalp each.
Jaiswal received unanimous praise on social media from the cricket fraternity who lauded him for his brilliant batting under pressure.
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