India lose Jadeja and Rahul... but Leach fighting fit
ENGLAND spent what should have been the final day of the first Test relaxing yesterday while problems piled up for an India side under pressure at home like rarely before.
As England spoke optimistically about the chances of Jack Leach being fit for the second Test, two crucial India players were ruled out with injury and another was reprimanded by the ICC. Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul will be missing in Visakhapatnam and Jasprit Bumrah has been admonished for stepping in the way of Ollie Pope during his monumental 196.
They are huge blows for an India side facing severe criticism here for crashing to only their fourth home Test defeat in the last 10 years as they struggled against Ben Stokes’ ultra-positive England. Jadeja, who top scored with 87 in India’s first innings but took only five wickets with his left-arm spin, damaged his hamstring as he tried in vain to avoid being run out by Stokes. His absence will affect the whole balance of their side. Jadeja will probably be replaced by the left-arm wrist-spin of Kuldeep Yadav but India have added a like-for-like option to their squad in the uncapped Saurabh Kumar.
Rahul has a problem in his right thigh and will be a huge miss after stepping into Virat Kohli’s shoes at No 4 and making 86 in the first innings.
Middle-order batsman Sarfaraz Khan has been added to the squad but another uncapped player in Rajat Patidar is the more likely replacement for Rahul. India’s problems worsened when Bumrah received an official reprimand for ‘inappropriate physical contact’ and was given a demerit point for stepping in Pope’s way as the batsman went for a run. He was reported after the match by umpires Paul Reiffel and Chris Gaffaney.
No such issues in a buoyant England camp, with players even turning down the chance to play golf yesterday in favour of relaxation around the team hotel.
Leach (left), who suffered bruising and swelling to his knee when he twice banged it in the outfield, is improving and England are confident he will be fit for Friday. Meanwhile, Tom Hartley says he hopes he has earned the respect of the India batsman who tried to turn his debut into a nightmare. India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal hit his first ball for six as he took the attack to the Lancastrian.
Hartley ended the first innings with two expensive wickets but gained revenge by becoming the first English spinner to take a seven-wicket haul on Test debut since the great Jim Laker in 1948.
‘I was so nervous that first day,’ admitted Hartley as the scale of what he achieved in Hyderabad began to sink in. ‘I was happy to tick off a few things with the bat, like my first six, but then there was frustration that I was the bowler getting picked on.
‘I was wondering if this was how it was going to be the whole series. But to come out in the fourth innings and do what I did, hopefully they can put a bit more respect on my name now.’ Asked about life under the leadership duo of Stokes and Brendon McCullum, Hartley replied: ‘I’ve watched a bit of how they have gone about things and they’ve done some rogue things. That’s just the way they are, and after playing in this first Test I’m all aboard. ‘Even before this game, I was happy with it — I was all in anyway. They’re just such a great combo and they bring so much confidence and life to this team. I didn’t bowl the way I wanted to in the first innings here but the way Ben just builds you up ensures there are no negative thoughts at all.
‘If you’ve not bowled great it’s, “Right, what can we do better in the second innings?” Coming out here I was just looking to get a game or two. I might have a big role now but I’m more than ready for that. I want more of it.’