England Dominates Day 2, Puts India On Back Foot In Manchester Test

The second day of the Manchester Test turned out to be contrary to expectations for the Indian team. The way England's opening pair started, it pushed the Indian bowlers on the back foot. While on the other hand India scored 358 runs in the first innings, England scored 225 runs by losing only two wickets by the end of the day. This is a clear indication that the match is now going from being a draw to being in England's grip.

When England was bowling in the morning, the weather was cold and there were clouds in the sky; this really helped the bowlers. But as soon as it was India's turn, the sun came out and the pitch became calm. In such a situation, the bowlers got neither swing nor seam movement. But it would not be right to blame only the weather, because the line, length, and energy of the Indian bowlers also looked weak.

Bumrah, Siraj, Thakur, and debutant Anshul Kamboj—no one left their mark on the second day. Bumrah's balls had neither edge nor direction; his spell did not show what is expected from him. Siraj's run-up was fine, but the balls did not have the speed and bounce to trouble the batsmen.

England's opening pair—Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett—completely smashed the Indian bowling attack; both took full time to play the bowlers in the first hour and gradually increased the pace of scoring runs.

Crawley hit Ravindra Jadeja for a six over long-on in one over, which made it clear that England was not going to play slow. At the same time, Duckett scored runs with continuous drives and cuts on the off side. India's strategy also seemed lacking—neither was the fielding setup right, nor were the bowlers able to stick to their line.

Team India also tried to adopt the strategy of short balls like England, but it lacked control. At the same time, Duckett kept the same balls low and sent them towards square and third man. India's left-handed batsmen like Washington Sundar and Sai Sudarshan fell into Stokes' leg-side trap, but Duckett played those deliveries cautiously.

India got two successes in the last hour of the day—Crawley got out at slip, and Duckett was caught after playing a poor shot. However, both these wickets did not come due to any particular bowling but were the fault of the batsmen.

As soon as the game ended, coaches Gautam Gambhir and Sitanshu Kotak reached the pitch and started looking at the grass and the pitch carefully. Concern was clearly visible on their faces. If India has to make a comeback in this match, then the bowlers will have to change both their strategy and performance.

Overall, Day 2 belonged to England. The challenge for India now is not only to take wickets but also to maintain morale. If early wickets are not taken quickly the next day, England can take the lead.