India v England: Tourists still to be feared despite emphatic defeat - Jonathan Agnew
- Published
Opener Zak Crawley made half-centuries in both innings but he was the only England batter to reach the landmark in the game
England's 106-run defeat by India in the second Test was emphatic, but Ben Stokes' side have put fear into the opposition.
Faced with a target of 399 that would have broken various records to go 2-0 up in the series, people were seriously thinking they might do it.
That is a result of what they have done in the past couple of years, chasing down so many big fourth-innings targets.
History and the odds were massively against them doing it again in Visakhapatnam but what they have achieved means the opposition does fear England.
And victories like the first Test in Hyderabad prove the old saying that the game is never over until it's done is especially true as far as this England side is concerned.
It is easy to see where the tourists went wrong in the second Test. They will rue their first innings total of 253 on a decent surface.
If they had scored another 100 runs, as they should have done, it could have changed the game.
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes all made at least 20 and it needed one of them to go on and make the big score, like double centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal did for India.
England have got to make sure when they get in on these surfaces they make it pay.
I'm not going to criticise the way they went down on day four because they didn't have any option but to play positively.
If you just prod about, with variable bounce and the ball spinning, you're going to get out.
You can look at one or two of the dismissals, such as Joe Root's swipe to be caught at point - he will not want to see that shot again. It was premeditated and Root is a better player than that.
Stokes' run-out was strange - there was a little hesitation but then he seemed to be coasting. I don't know if he was just a bit jagged from all the hard work of captaincy but he was a bit switched off.
Saying that, Stokes led England brilliantly, with his field placements putting pressure on the batsmen.
He kept men up but not to the extent that he did in the first Test. He got the balance much better in this game, while having to manage that young attack, with Root off the field because of a blow to his finger.
Stokes is a superb captain and he must be an absolute pleasure to play under. He plays the game with a smile on this face, all the players clearly enjoy it too.
The young spinners - Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed and debutant Shoaib Bashir - are so raw.
The hardest thing you learn, in particular as a spinner because your margin of error is much smaller than a quicker bowler, is that landing six balls in the same spot, time after time, to this level of batsman is seriously demanding. Yet, they are doing really well.
England never allowed India to get away, apart from Jaiswal, who was head and shoulders above any other batsman in this Test, despite a nice and important century personally for Shubman Gill.
England must continue to prey on the problems in India's batting line-up.
The tourists' attitude has been very good. You can't get downbeat playing on tricky surfaces.
Body language is very important in all sport but particularly cricket. England's has been very good and shoulders have not slumped.
Stokes threw his hands out in frustration when he was bowled by one that kept low from Bumrah in the first innings, but otherwise there hasn't been gesticulating when they have got a decent or unplayable ball.
They accept the fact it is going to be difficult and are getting on with it.
Half the battle of playing well in India is actually enjoying being there and taking on the challenges posed in a positive way.
Their trip to Abu Dhabi now, before the third Test in Rajkot that starts on 15 February, is not a bad idea.
People spoke about them travelling there in the build-up instead of playing a warm-up game or training in India but they won the first Test.
Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum take gambles but they often work. Who can argue with it after they won the first Test like that?
They have given absolutely everything in these two Tests and the break will allow them to recharge before coming back to hit India hard.
Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC Sport's Callum Matthews.
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