‘You’ve got to watch the ball so hard’ – Ben Duckett lauds Indian seamer after day two of ENG vs IND Test

The England cricket team ended day two of the opening Test match in Leeds at 209 for three. The hosts still trail India by 262 runs with seven wickets in hand, with Ollie Pope batting on 100 and Harry Brook yet to open his account. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah has picked three wickets for 48 runs from his 13 overs. It would have been four wickets as Brook was out in the last over of the day but in the end it was a no-ball. 

Bumrah got things going with the wicket of Zak Crawley for four runs caught by Karun Nair in the first over of England’s innings. Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope added 122 runs for the second wicket in 165 balls to put Indian bowlers under pressure. Duckett was out for 62 runs after he inside edged the ball back onto his stumps to Bumrah. 

Former skipper Joe Root was the third and final wicket to fall as he was caught by Nair in the slips for 28 runs. English opener Ben Duckett praised Bumrah at the end of the day and revealed that the Indian pacer was the best pace bowler in the world. Duckett also said that Bumrah is a tough pacer to face. 

Ben Duckett lauds Jasprit Bumrah after day two of Leeds Test

The left-handed batter speaking about Jasprit Bumrah at the end of the day said, “He’s the best bowler in the world. He’s extremely hard to face. He’s good in any conditions, and when he’s coming in down the hill with the lights on and it’s swinging both ways, it’s tough.”

“Just his ability to bowl three or four different balls with no cue – you don’t know if he’s bowling a bouncer, a slow ball, a yorker, an away-swinger or an inswinger until it comes out of his hand. You’ve got to watch the ball so hard with him." Said Ben Duckett about the Indian pacer. 

While speaking about Ollie Pope, the English batter said, “He was just so calm coming out. He probably couldn’t come out in tougher conditions, with Jasprit Bumrah running down the hill with the lights on. I don’t know what’s inside his head, but he’s just stayed true to the way he plays, and there’s no better feeling than that, scoring a hundred against that attack, coming out in the first over. You could see it in the way he celebrated, and it didn’t just mean a lot to him; it meant a huge amount in the dressing room as well. I had goosebumps for him."