ENG vs IND 1st Test Day 2: Pant-Bumrah shine as India keep ENG in check

Bumrah, with three wickets, was India's only successful bowler on day 2

Day 2 at Headingley delivered a gripping contest as India, powered by Rishabh Pant’s stroke-filled century and Jasprit Bumrah’s incisive bowling, maintained a firm grip on the opening Test. The morning belonged to India, who began from a position of strength and extended their dominance through disciplined batting. However, England clawed back with a burst of wickets before lunch and later with the bat through Ollie Pope. Despite losing early ground, the hosts ended the day on a steady note, thanks to Pope’s fighting hundred. With both sides landing key blows across three sessions, the match remains delicately poised, though India still hold the upper hand with a healthy first-innings total and three English wickets already back in the pavilion. 

Pant’s century headlines India’s strong start

Rishabh Pant gave India the ideal launchpad in the morning session, bringing up his century with trademark aggression. Team management reportedly lauded his knock as “the innings that set the tone for the day.” Shubman Gill, who had crossed 150, fell soon after to Shoaib Bashir, triggering a collapse. England’s bowlers bounced back impressively, taking four wickets for just 24 runs. Stokes removed Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur, while Tongue accounted for Pant to swing momentum back slightly in England’s favour.

Tongue shine in second session India post 471

The post-lunch session saw Josh Tongue dismantle India’s tail. He dismissed Bumrah, Jadeja, and Prasidh Krishna in quick succession, sealing his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests. India were bowled out for 471, a total that reflected their early control but also left a sense of what could’ve been with better lower-order resistance.

Pope counter-punches after Bumrah's early strike

England’s reply began shakily with Crawley falling in the opening over to Bumrah. But Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett steadied the innings with a 103-run stand. Bumrah struck again to remove Duckett and later sent back Root. However, Pope stood tall, reaching an unbeaten 100—his second century against India—as England closed Day 2 on 207/3, still trailing by 263. 

England 1st innings scorecard:   

England 1st Inning
209-3 (49 ov) CRR:4.27
Batter	Dismissal	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Zak Crawley	c K Nair b J Bumrah	4	6	1	0	66.67
Ben Duckett	b J Bumrah	62	94	9	0	65.96
Ollie Pope	Not out	100	131	13	0	76.34
Joe Root	c K Nair b J Bumrah	28	58	2	0	48.28
Harry Brook	Not out	0	12	0	0	0
Extras	15 (b 0, Ib 7, w 1, nb 7, p 0)
Total	209 (3 wkts, 49 Ov)
Bowler	O	M	R	W	NB	ECO
Jasprit Bumrah	13	2	48	3	4	3.69
Mohammed Siraj	14	0	50	0	1	3.57
Prasidh Krishna	10	0	56	0	0	5.6
Ravindra Jadeja	9	2	25	0	0	2.78
Shardul Thakur	3	0	23	0	2	7.67

 

India 1st innings scorecard: 

India 1st Inning
471-10 (113 ov) CRR:4.17
Batter	Dismissed	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Yashasvi Jaiswal	b B Stokes	101	158	16	1	63.92
KL Rahul	c J Root b B Carse	42	78	8	0	53.85
Sai Sudharsan	c JL Smith b B Stokes	0	4	0	0	0
Shubman Gill (C)	c JC Tongue b S Bashir	147	227	19	1	64.76
Rishabh Pant (WK)	lbw b JC Tongue	134	178	12	6	75.28
Karun Nair	c O Pope b B Stokes	0	4	0	0	0
Ravindra Jadeja	b JC Tongue	11	15	2	0	73.33
Shardul Thakur	c JL Smith b B Stokes	1	8	0	0	12.5
Jasprit Bumrah	c H Brook b JC Tongue	0	5	0	0	0
Mohammed Siraj	Not out	3	7	0	0	42.86
Prasidh Krishna	b JC Tongue	1	3	0	0	33.33
Extras	31 (b 1, Ib 14, w 2, nb 9, p 5)
Total	471 (10 wkts, 113 Ov)
Bowler	O	M	R	W	NB	ECO
Chris Woakes	24	4	103	0	4	4.29
Brydon Carse	22	5	96	1	3	4.36
Josh Tongue	20	0	86	4	1	4.3
Ben Stokes	20	2	66	4	1	3.3
Shoaib Bashir	27	6	100	1	0	3.7