Day two of the third test between India and England has drawn to a close with the visitors sitting comfortably at 207 for 2 replying to the hosts 445 thanks to Ben Duckett’s 88-ball spectacle in Rajkot.
The 29-year-old, who finished the day unbeaten on 133 from 118 balls, claimed the record for the fastest test ton by an Englishman in the sub-continent.
India were hit with a five-run penalty due Ravichandran Ashwin running on the protected area of the pitch while batting during the first session, meaning the visitors kicked off their 1st innings with a 5-0 advantage.
Zak Crawley (15), Ollie Pope (39) and Joe Root (9, not out) completed the unbelievable batting display has left the series in great position for tomorrow.
There is now no clear cut favourite, as the tourists trail India by 238 at stumps with seven yet to bat.
Yet, Duckett wasn’t the only one who blessed the Saurashtra surface with history in today’s proceedings, with others adding milestones of their own.
Captain Ben Stokes recorded a personal accolade for himself as he received his 100th cap for England whilst compatriot James Anderson is also one step closer to one of his own.
The bowling veteran is now just four wickets away from 700 scalps in test cricket, after he claimed his 696th when Suryakumar Yadav nicked behind to Ben Foakes.
Another story that has captivated English cricket fans in this series is the story of the promising spin-bowler Shoaib Bashir who was scouted by his captain via social media.
Bashir’s arc is empowering to the sport and living proof that the power of the online community is unprecedented.
The 20-year-old’s introduction into international cricket skyrocketed after a clip of Bashir bowling to former England captain Sir Alistair Cook on twitter impressed Ben Stokes.
He then passed the clip on to manager director Rob Key and Head coach Brendan McCulum and from there the his growth on the ball has been spellbinding.
Bradley Adams, who is a content producer for the county championship, compiled the video that eventually reached Ben Stokes and speaking on the shocking rise of Bashir he said:
“We (the county championship account) put these clips of Bashir bowling really nicely to Sir Alistar Cook and there was clearly something about him it seemed.
“It was then revealed to us that in the second test of this series in India that Ben Stokes thought the same thing after seeing the video on twitter.
“Since Stokes and McCulum have taken over, one thing they have made key is nurturing talent so it’s not a surprise that he (Bashir) was selected despite his lack of experience.”
To get more of an insight on the series and the full exclusive with Adams, follow the link below:
