ENG vs IND | India bowlers toiled hard but did not get help from Headingley wicket, says Dawid Malan

Dawid Malan, who received a Test call up for the first time in three years did not disappoint his skipper and the management. Walking in at No. 3, Malan scored crucial 70 runs while building up a solid partnership of 139 runs along side centurion of the match, Joe Root. The duo looked set and were going strong with England at 298/3 when Malan edged one to Rishabh Pant but was initially declared not out by the umpire. However, Siraj convinced the his captain Virat Kohli to go forward with the Decision Review System (DRS), in which the Ultraedge confirmed that the batsman had edged the ball. 

After having a great day with the bat, Malan on Thursday stated that the pitch underwent a massive change from the first hour of the first day when India were batting.

"The wicket changed massively from the first day the first hour when they were batting," Malan said in a virtual press conference after the end of the second day's play.

The southpaw reckoned that the Indian bowlers tried their best for early wickets in the game, but the pitch did not offer much help to the bowlers.

"I would not say they were flat with their bowling. They absolutely ran in and tried their socks off. They asked a lot of questions and probably didn't get that much help from the wicket," the 33-year-old said.

Earlier on Day 1, after a poor performance with the bat, the Indian side did not have a great time with the ball against the England batsmen. Openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed scored brilliant half-centuries to steer the hosts to a dominant position at stumps. On the second day, Shami and Jadeja scalped the wickets of the well-set England openers who partnered for handsome 135 runs. Later, captain Joe Root brought up his 23rd Test ton and pushed vistors further on the backfoot. 

England ended Day 2 on 423/8, taking a massive lead of 345 runs against Virat Kohli's men.