India won the second Test against England at Visakhapatnam to level the series 1-1 after a disappointing defeat in Hyderabad. Here are five key takeaways from India’s series levelling victory.

Jaiswal and Gill are here to stay; Iyer, may not be

Yashasvi Jaiswal proved his mettle in the first innings of the Vizag Test when he scored his maiden Test double hundred. At just 21, he shouldered the responsibility of the Indian batting as no one else got past 34, showing maturity beyond his years. Jaiswal’s knock proved, if there were any doubts before it, that he is a legend in the making.

Another young Indian batting sensation showed what he was made of. Battling a string of low scores, the axe was hanging over Shubman Gill’s head before this Test. Riding some luck, he scored a crucial hundred in the second innings to take India to a safe total and give himself and the team management some much needed confidence in his own batting.

India will, however, be concerned with Shreyas Iyer’s lack of big scores. He has got off to four starts in four innings in this series, but hasn’t gone beyond 35 even once. Known to be a quality batter against spin, Iyer was expected to shepherd India’s middle order in this series, especially in the absence of Virat Kohli and subsequently KL Rahul, but that has been far from the reality as he repeatedly threw away his wicket after getting set.

Bumrah is beyond conditions, Anderson is beyond age

Jasprit Bumrah finished with match figures of 9-91, the second best of his Test career. It was just the tenth time that an Indian seamer took nine or more wickets in a home Test match. In conditions not ideal for fast bowling, Bumrah broke the game open in the first innings, taking 6-45 and proving that he is one of the greatest all-format fast bowlers in the world and almost certainly the greatest all-format fast bowler from India.

Bumrah’s brilliance also means that India can seriously consider playing just one specialist fast bowler (especially if that fast bowler is Bumrah) and go in with either a spin-bowling all-rounder or a seam-bowling one as the fifth bowling option. Mukesh Kumar, the second seamer in the Vizag Test, bowled just 12 overs for 70 runs and one wicket in the game.

Another legendary seamer proved his greatness in the Vizag Test. James Anderson, playing his 184th Test match at 41 years of age – yes, those numbers are correct – took 5-76 across the two innings, being miserly as ever and bowling at a decent clip to go with it. Every year Anderson turns up to play Test cricket, you think age would have caught up with him. Every year he proves you wrong.

Root’s breakbeat fails to match Crawley’s tempo

Joe Root’s dismissal in the second innings, coming down the track and skewing up but not far to backward point, was ill-befitting a batter of his class, but in line with a madcap innings. He walked off with 16 off 10 to his name and England in a hole. Since his brilliant double hundred at Chennai in the first Test in 2021, Root has a highest score of 40 in India. England need more from him as he tries to balance his technique and tempo.

He could do worse than look at Zak Crawley (imagine saying that a year ago). On that 2021 tour, Crawley made 67 runs across four innings, a tally he outscored twice at Visakhapatnam. He was the only batter to attack Bumrah with any degree of success in the first innings, and played him out sensibly in the second. While the first-innings dismissal was ugly, the second was marginal, and that he scored at a strike rate over 55 showed the shades that are still possible in England’s aggressive gameplan. England need more of the same from Crawley, and more from Root.

India need to decide on the specialist wicketkeeper role

India have preferred going in with a specialist wicketkeeper in KS Bharat for the first two Tests. While Bharat made decent contributions with the bat in the first Test, he got 17 and six in the second, not providing confidence at No.7. From seven games, Bharat averages 20.09. India will soon have to decide whether they want to continue with him for his glovework or to replace him with a bater who can keep wicket.

Rahul Dravid had mentioned before the start of the series that Rahul, who played as a wicketkeeper in South Africa, won’t be considered for the role in this series. His subsequent injury after the first Test makes that even more unlikely. That leaves India with the uncapped Dhruv Jurel as the only other option in the squad currently. Jurel averages 46 in first-class cricket and recently scored a half-century against South Africa A.

Another direction India can go towards is to call back Ishan Kishan into the squad for the remainder of the series.

Bazball can work in India, but that doesn’t make England favourites

So far, England have been more competitive, and this series has been more entertaining, than anyone could have hoped for. England have been creative, attacking, clever, all the things they sell themselves as, and are deservedly level heading into the mid-series break. India have, at times, looked cowed by their opposition: Shubman Gill giving England a 30 percent chance of pulling off a record chase speaks volumes.

But England are only level, and it is India who will more significantly strengthen as the series goes on, with all of Virat Kohli, Rahul, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja currently out but in with a chance of returning. The surface selected for the second Test was brave but correct.

On flat pitches, England can match India at times, but over a series, with the brilliance of Bumrah to the fore, the hosts might just have too much. On spinning wickets, the lottery can easily fall in favour of England’s gamblers. It’s perfectly poised, and the only quibble is there’s 10 days left until the next one.

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