Jamie Smith has been a great find for England. The right-hand batter has been the best England batter in the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, with over 400 runs already, including a century and two fifties.
Smith came to England’s rescue after Jasprit Bumrah rattled the England middle order early on Day 2.
Bumrah knocked over Ben Stokes, Joe Root, and Chris Woakes in a span of two overs to put India on top; however, Smith ensured that England didn’t suffer a big collapse and also kept scoring quick runs. At lunch, Smith took England to 353-7, with him batting at 51 and Brydon Carse at other end on 33.
Jamie Smith Breaks Huge Record
The knock by Jamie Smith helped him etch his name in the record books. Smith became the quickest to reach 1000 runs in Test cricket among wicketkeepers in terms of balls taken. Smith reached the milestone in 1303 balls and broke the record of Sarfaraz Khan, who scored 1000 runs in 1311 deliveries. Smith reached the landmark of 1000 runs in 21 innings, which is the joint fastest alongside Quinton de Kock.
Fastest To 1000 Runs Among WK (By Balls)
- Jamie Smith – 1303
- Sarfaraz Khan – 1311
- Adam Gilchrist – 1330
- Niroshan Dickwella -1367
- Quinton De Kock – 1375
England Make Strong Recovery
Meanwhile, the Smith-Carse partnership helped England cross the 350-run mark, which is a very good score on this pitch. India would be slightly upset that they let England come back in the match despite having them on the mat early on Day 2. The match also saw a big controversy after India captain Shubman Gill had an animated chat with the umpire after he didn’t like the replacement ball. The new ball did wonders for India, but India were not happy with the conditions and asked for a change only after 10 overs. The umpires picked another ball, but the Indians felt that the replacement ball was older than the ball they replaced. This left Gill furious. Coincidentally, the replacement ball didn’t swing much and England batters looked at complete ease.