The second day of the ongoing fourth Test of the series between India and England belonged to Shoaib Bashir; the spinner, who made his debut in this series, picked up four crucial wickets in the first innings to wreck the Indian batting order. Bashir’s bowling performance helped England gain firm control over the proceedings on Day 2, as the hosts ended at 219/7, still trailing by 134 runs.
While Bashir’s bowling prowess helped England, an incident during his short batting stay at the crease has also gone viral on social media. Bashir, having played just one Test prior, came in to bat at number 10 following the dismissal of Ollie Robinson.
During this time, his interaction with Sarfaraz Khan sparked a viral sensation on social media. The Indian batter – also one Test old – poked fun at Bashir as he talked about his Hindi. “Arey yaar, ise toh pata hai kaise khelna hai. Ise Hindi bhi aati hai badhiya (Guys, he knows how to play and knows Hindi),” Sarfaraz said.
In return, Bashir hilariously said, “Aati hai thodi thodi (I know Hindi a little bit).”
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Unfortunately, Bashir’s stint at the crease lasted only two deliveries, as his attempted slog resulted in a catch off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja. England were eventually bowled out for 353, with Jadeja picking four wickets. Akash Deep, who made his debut in the Ranchi Test, also had three dismissals to his name.
Bashir has claimed figures of 4-84 so far, while left-arm spinner Tom Hartley chipped in with 2-47, restricting India to 219-7 (73 overs) by Stumps.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal led the Indian batting with a top score of 73 runs, but none of the other batters managed to surpass the 40-run mark. Dhruv Jurel (30*) and Kuldeep Yadav (17*) were unbeaten at the end of Day 2, having stitched a 42-run stand for the eighth wicket so far.
Earlier, Joe Root remained unbeaten on 122, making a much-needed return to run-scoring after a series of low scores across the first three Tests.
