Bumrah returns to nets, bowls full tilt during India's optional training session

Jasprit Bumrah returned to the nets on Saturday during India's optional training session and bowled for at least half an hour. A decision on whether Edgbaston will be the second of the three Tests he will play is yet to be taken. On Friday, Bumrah didn't bowl in the nets, but on Saturday he went full tilt. The final call on Bumrah's involvement at Edgbaston will involve how he feels about his body going into the Test.

Except for the centurions - captain Shubman Gill, vice-captain Rishabh Pant, openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal - from the first Test, everybody turned up for the optional training session.

The main focus in the nets on Saturday was to give a lot of batting practice to the bowlers after India endured collapses of 7 for 41 and 6 for 31 in Leeds. The last four partnerships aggregated 18 and 29. On their last two tours to England, India's last four partnerships averaged 19.11 in 2021 and 16.35 in 2018. India will be striving to get similar contributions from the lower order.

A usual trend in Test cricket is that home lower orders tend to contribute more than their counterparts, largely because of familiar conditions and the superior depth in their own bowling, which means visiting attacks are likelier to tire out or lose sting sooner. Be it through their own bowling or some contributions of their lower order, India's recent years of being competitive outside Asia and the West Indies featured their lower order matching the home lower orders.

India will now take a day off on Sunday before returning for an exhaustive training session on Monday. On the day before the match, they will take it easy. Most likely, only the batters who want throwdowns will turn up. Fast bowlers likely to play the Test on Wednesday will likely take Tuesday off.