India beat England by 106 runs in the second match of the five-match test series at Vizag and levelled the series by 1-1 after chasing. India set a mammoth target of 399 against a solid English batting lineup. In response, shrewd Zak Crawley, who top-scored with 73 and hit half-centuries in both innings, led England’s chase, which saw them make as many as 292 runs. 292 also became the second-highest team score of the game.

At the beginning of the day, Rehan Ahmed, who batted overnight, was hitting freely while Rohit Sharma continued to partner with Axar Patel. After a 45-run stand, in which he had Rehan playing across one, sliding on and keeping low to be trapped LBW, Axar eventually got his reward.

England continued attacking, and Ollie Pope started quickly. Despite this, Crawley continued to be the most composed batter, using his reach and taking deliberate shots to keep turning the tables.

Veteran R Ashwin started challenging both edges after finding some drift and loop across the right-handers from around the wicket. He also caught an attacking Joe Root mid-air after Rohit caught him with a sharp catch of Pope.

After Root’s departure, Crawley and Bairstow responded with a rapid 40-run partnership. However, late in the session, India turned the tide of the match with two close LBW calls that went their way. Following a series of deliveries that went wide, Bumrah brought one sharply back into Bairstow to trap his leg before the umpire’s call. Initially, Kuldeep beat Crawley with a skidder and had him declared LBW on review.

By the end of the opening session, England only needed 205 more runs with four wickets in hand, with Ben Stokes, their captain, standing at one end. England’s captain wick, keeper Ben Foakes, began the final session playing both cautiously and aggressively, but a straight blow from Shreyas Iyer brought him down as he tried to go for a quick single.

The chase appeared to be over at 220/7, but England’s struggle continued thanks to a stand of 55 runs between Tom Hartley and Foakes. However, as the two continued to cut into the deficit, Rohit brought back Bumrah. And the modern-day great tricking Foakes produced a straightaway with a slower ball. Using a little reverse swing, Mukesh Kumar hit a ball to remove Shoaib Bashir, and Bumrah completed the match by blowing out Hartley.