 "Bumrah praised for another stellar display; Siraj, Prasidh slammed for lack of support: 'Very definition of World Class'")
England mounted a strong response with the bat after bundling India out for 471 on Day 2 of the first Test at Headingley, Leeds. Ollie Pope led the way as he remained unbeaten on 100 at close of play, scoring his second century on the trot and his ninth overall in Test cricket, with Harry Brook yet to open his account after facing 12 deliveries.
Not only did the Englishmen trigger an Indian batting collapse , with Shubman Gill’s men losing their seven wickets for just 41 runs, they put themselves in an ideal position to secure a first innings lead on what is an excellent surface to bat on at Headingley.
This despite Jasprit Bumrah getting rid of Zak Crawley with a peach of a delivery in the very first over of the English innings. Bumrah stood tall once again, and it was to no one’s surprise that he was the standout Indian bowler with figures of 3/48, accounting for all three English wickets on Saturday.
Bumrah the sole threat among Indian pacers on Day 2
England, however, could have been in a lot more trouble had Bumrah received more support from the remaining bowlers. Mohammed Siraj was expensive with the brand new ball and had to be taken off after conceding 23 in his first three overs, but settled into a nice rhythm later in the day and nearly accounted for Pope’s wicket with the English No 3 batting in the 30s.
Prasidh Krishna, however, simply proved ineffective as he leaked 56 runs from 10 overs without collecting a wicket. Shardul Thakur was picked as the bowling all-rounder ahead of Nitish Reddy but did not a noteworthy contribution either with bat or ball, falling for 1 before conceding 23 runs in three overs towards the close of play.
Here’s how social media reacted to Bumrah’s heroics as well as the lack of support from the rest of the Indian pace department on Day 2 of the Headingley Test:
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIf you had to pick one bowler to bowl for humanity against an invading horde of cricket-playing Martians, you’d have to pick Jasprit Bumrah.
— WG RumblePants (@WG_RumblePants) June 21, 2025
He is the very definition of World Class. pic.twitter.com/1ywv9r3K4S
Bumrah the genius! 🙇🙇🙇🙇
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) June 21, 2025
Only Jasprit Bumrah is a relevant bowler in this team 🇮🇳
— Richard Kettleborough (@RichKettle07) June 21, 2025
~ Siraj seems to be over-rated, Prasidh is still learning and Jadeja only performs at spin tracks 🤐
~ What's your take on this 🤔 #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/HA0cdgZawA
Unless they turn it around dramatically, for now Prasidh and Thakur are bowling what Boycott would call ‘right arm roobish…’
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) June 21, 2025
For a guy who is 37 Tests old, Siraj doesn't give nearly as much assurance as he should, he has his moments of brilliance but most of the times he neither is a proper wicket taking threat nor a holding Bowler, falls way short of what's expected of second choice bowler in the XI.
— Akash (@Akashkumarjha14) June 21, 2025
12 pacers have bowled more than 500 overs in Tests since 2022. No one has had a higher boundaries per over record than Siraj (0.52)
— Somesh Agarwal (@someshagarwal22) June 21, 2025
Prasidh Krishna has bowled absolute filth for 10 overs, got smacked at almost 6 runs an over, manages to beat Ollie Pope once on a bouncer and tries to have a few words with him. Bhai, pehle 3-4 gend toh ek saath theek daal le. Wicket le wahi sabse bada jawab hoga.
— Zucker Doctor (@DoctorLFC) June 21, 2025
When I saw Siraj going at 5 RPO, I knew Prasidh will go at 6 RPO
— Ebuka (@iamsportsgeek) June 21, 2025
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