Rohit Sharma being animated today. India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan set a 557-run target for England in their second Test match. Jaiswal scored his second double century of his Test career, and Sarfaraz scored a consecutive fifty. India declared their second innings on 430/4, but Rohit Sharma caused confusion before the declaration. As drinks were called for, Jaiswal and Sarfaraz walked towards the dressing room, giving England the impression that the innings had come to a close. However, Rohit shooed Sarfaraz and Jaiswal back to carry on, as the captain was yet to put on his spikes. India’s innings continued for just another over, with Sarfaraz taking strike against Rehan Ahmed.
India’s innings carried on for just another over, with Sarfaraz smoking the leg-spinner for 6, 4, 6, 0 and 1, and Rohit calling for the declaration. India’s chase got off to the worst possible start as they were four down inside 12 overs. Ben Duckett, was the first to ball, as he ran himself out thanks to a brilliant runout by Dhruv Jurel. Zak Crawley was the next in line, getting out LBW to Jasprit Bumrah – the fourth time the England opener fell to him. Ravindra Jadeja struck twice in quick succession, Rohit seizing a sharp catch at slips to dismiss Ollie Pope, followed by Johnny Bairstow being trapped in front as the double blow saw England slump to 28/4.
Jaiswal’s manic innings saw him reserve a special place in the legend of Indian cricket. He became only the third batter from India after Vinoo Mankad and Virat Kohli to score more than one double century in a Test series, but next only to Kohli to do so in consecutive matches. This marked India’s third occasion of scoring 400 or more in both innings of a Test match, alongside setting a record for the most sixes hit in a Test series, tallying up to 48 and in a match – 21. The biggest stat of the day is 434, India’s margin of victory against England in Rajkot on Day 4 – their biggest-ever in the history of Test cricket.
India hammered England by 434 runs – their biggest in Test cricket – to storm to a 2-1 lead. India asserted dominance over the English team right from the start, with England adopting an unusually cautious approach at the beginning of their innings. England’s mainstay, Root, attempted to anchor the innings alongside Stokes, but a close LBW decision favoured India, with the review showing the ball clipping the stumps. Tom Hartley and Mark Wood went out with a swing, especially the latter as he struck a few entertaining boundaries, but it was only a matter of time. It took India less than 40 overs to knock over England and storm to a 2-1 lead.