England opener Ben Duckett was all praise for Jasprit Bumrah after the Indian pace spearhead once again turned up the heat during a fiery spell on Day 2 of the first Test at Headingley . Speaking after stumps, Duckett praised Bumrah’s skill and also spoke about how happy England were to have ended the day at 209/3 in reply to India’s 471.
“It’s a hell of an over, you know, watching him do his thing, Jasprit (Bumrah). He’s very good to watch, you know, and Brookie (Harry Brook) just to come off air. He’s not out. So happy days,” Duckett said about Bumrah’s fiery opening spell where he dismissed Zak Crawley in the first over and when he almost got Harry Brook, only for the ball to be called a no-ball.
Duckett says England pleased with Day 2 effort
Duckett, who scored 62 off 94 balls and added a century partnership with Ollie Pope, was also dismissed by Bumrah, who went on to take one more wicket in the form of England’s top batter in Joe Root. Duckett, however, said that England were pleased with the way they bounced back after India’s strong start with the bat on Days 1 and 2.
“Well, I think very good. It could have been a lot worse. I think we took six for 40, maybe, you know, on another 41. Another day, you know, that there’s 600 plus or whatever. So I think starting off like that and then, as I’ve spoken about Jasprit running down the hill there with the lights on, it wasn’t easy against that new ball. So to be where we are, I think we will definitely take the day we’ve had. It’s just about trying to win that first session tomorrow.”
India collapsed from 430/3 to 471 all out in the morning session of Day 2, losing their last seven wickets for just 41 runs. That gave England some hope after a frustrating Day 1, when Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill smashed a century each to pile up a big total. Rishabh Pant scored a record-breaking ton of his own on the second day, putting England under more pressure.
England’s openers faced a tough time too, especially with Bumrah charging in under gloomy skies. After Crawley was dismissed early on, Duckett and Ollie Pope forged a 122-run stand and helped England steady things. Pope went on to score a century and finished the day at an unbeaten 100 off 131 balls.
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More Shorts“Exactly. It’s just a game we play, you know, blue skies all day yesterday and those conditions and it’s swinging around a bit more. The pitch is still good. But yeah, it certainly felt like there were a couple more balls in it today.”