Jasprit Bumrah in action
Skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first and his bowlers delivered straightaway. The likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Matty Potts left India reeling on 98-5. Jadeja walked in with the flamboyant Rishabh Pant on the other side. With Pant smacking the red cherry all over the ground, Jadeja was determined to hold on to one end and he remained not out with 83 runs off 163 deliveries. Both Pant and Jadeja stitched together a partnership of 222 runs and rescued India's ship from sinking.
When play resumed on day 2 of this final Test match, Jadeja took the onus upon himself to score runs with the tail batting. Jadeja scored a gritty century in this final Test match and this is one innings that will be a part of Jadeja's folklore, an innings that cements the fact that he is one underrated batsman. When play resumed on day 2 at Edgbaston, not many believed that India will get past 400 with Pant dismissed and Jadeja batting with the tail. The task looked even tougher when both Jadeja and Shami departed with only Siraj and Bumrah left in the dressing room.
Stuart Broad who claimed his 550th wicket in the form of Md. Shami was steaming in to get the last two wickets cheaply and restrict India under 400, but Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah had some other plans in the back of his mind. The Indian skipper smacked Broad for 35 runs which makes him the only bowler to concede expensive overs both in T20I and Test cricket.
With rain plaguing almost two sessions, India did not hold themselves back. They restricted England to 86/5 with their man in form Joe Root gone. When play resumes on day 3, it will be interesting to see how England proceed with the game.
