India vs England 2016: Second Test - 5 Talking Points

India finally managed to get the wickets of England's openers at the end of day 4 and the breakthroughs opened the floodgates as the rest of their line-up crumbled on day 5 to hand a 246-run win to India. The five-match series is now lead 1-0 by India.

Chasing an improbable 405, England decided to try and block their way to a draw rather than chase after the huge target. Hameed, the young sensation, and his senior partner and captain of the side, Alastair Cook, withstood India's bowlers for 50 overs, scoring only 75 runs.

Once the duo were sent back to the pavilion, none of Root, Stokes or Bairstow could withstand Ashwin and co. Wickets fell in clusters and England lost their last 8 on Day 5 while adding just 71. Ashwin and debutant Yadav shared three apiece while Shami and Jadeja had two each.

England may have lost the Test and given an early advantage to India in the series but their fight with bat and ball needs special appreciation. Let us take a look at five talking points from the Test.

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#5 Jayant Yadav has a dream debut

The young off-spinner was handed a debut in place of Amit Mishra and the decision came in for a lot of criticism at first. Yadav silenced his critics with an all-round performance in the Test. A composed 35 in a 60+ run stand with Ashwin ushered India to 400 in the first innings.

Yadav was known for his batting skills in the Ranji for Haryana, but to replicate the same in international cricket on debut bodes well for the player.

He later showed his capabilities as a fielder by effecting a brilliant run out to send back Haseeb Hameed. A quick throw from the outfield caught Hameed short. He later got the red cherry and displayed his main trait, bowling. Capturing Ali with a trademark off-spinner’s delivery in the first innings was his first wicket in Test cricket.

A stunning off-break to bowl Ben Stokes in the second innings deserves special mention. Stokes has been a thorn in India's flesh since Rajkot and to get rid of him early on Day 5 was important. Yadav delivered the right delivery to send back Stokes and later ended England's Test with back to back wickets to finish the innings.

#4 Kohli stamps his class

Kohli was awarded the man of the match for his fine performance in both innings (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

An exceptional knock in the first innings from India's skipper set the tone for this Test. A brilliant partnership with Pujara virtually put England out of the Test, given that they had to bat last on a crumbling pitch.

If in the first innings, he was aided by a fluent Pujara, and in the second he single-handedly helped India to set a fighting target. The 81 in the second innings was a knock of supreme quality, on a tough wicket against an on fire seamer, Stuart Broad.

England will need to find new ways to dismiss this one man army if they are to comeback in this series. The second innings knock too was ended courtesy a brilliant effort by Stokes at slips rather than the bowler effecting the dismissal.

#3 England show their fight

Cook was dismissed after playing a resolute innings (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

If India thought that they had an easy series awaiting them after watching England in Bangladesh, they were proven wrong in the first Test itself. A stable partner for Cook went a long way in stabilising a haphazard top order and suddenly England were no longer the same team that visited Bangladesh.

In Rajkot, they fought tooth for tooth and eked out a draw. If the pitch was one of the reasons for India failing to win, Vizag showed that England can fight even on turners. They may have lost the Test, but there were several moments in the game which proved that this series is far from over.

Hameed, Cook, Broad, Moeen Ali, Anderson and Rashid all impressed at one stage or the other. The second innings eight over spell by Broad and the opening partnership by Hameed and Cook were England's highlights from the Test.

#2 The arrival of Ben Stokes

Stokes impressed with the bat and ball (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

England knew that Stokes was a brilliant talent, one to be preserved. But he outshone everyone's expectations when he smashed a double hundred against South Africa.

Even then no one expected him to trump Ashwin and co. on Indian wickets. In the first innings, with just 80 on the board and 5 down, Stokes combined with Bairstow to put up a 110 run partnership. His footwork and decision-making against the spinners was top notch as he made a fine 70.

His bowling was also brilliant, extracting good bounce and found reverse swing as well on occasions. His slip catch off Kohli was one of the moments of the Test. India may need to concentrate more on Stokes going forward in the series given his ability to perform under pressure.

#1 India's seam bowling

The fast bowlers provided key breakthroughs for the Indians (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

If Broad and Anderson bowled well on tough conditions, Umesh and Shami were not far behind either. The duo managed to keep things quiet and also consistently bowl above the 140kmph mark.

Shami and Umesh managed to generate reverse swing as well and Shami, in particular, kept the batsmen on their toes. Two of the most important wickets in this Test went to Shami. He had Cook's off-stump in tatters in the first innings and broke England's resilience in the second by pinning Root in front of the stumps in the second innings.

While there is no denying that Ashwin and his fellow spinners might have been the all-important factor in the victory, Shami's ability to run in all day cannot be ignored. Umesh Yadav also bowled tight lines and kept probing the batsmen, proving that his discipline has improved by leaps and bounds.