"You can't come out arrogant" - Dinesh Karthik slams England's batting approach after early collapse on Day 2 of ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former India wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik lambasted England's attitude and batting approach while trying to negotiate the pacers in the final session of Day 2 of the second Test. The top-order had to deal with a tricky period until stumps after bowling out India for 587 in the first innings, an effort that took over five sessions at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

The hosts came across as a lethargic and tired outfit after fielding in the heat for close to two days. On the other hand, the Indian seamers were well-rested, and had a serious go with the new ball after the Tea Break. Despite good batting conditions and sublime form, the England batters lost their wickets to some tame strokes.

Akash Deep struck off consecutive balls in the third over to dismiss Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope for ducks, and Mohammed Siraj also dismissed Zak Crawley to leave England reeling at 25-3 in the eighth over.

Dinesh Karthik cited tiredness as a factor behind the dismissals, but also highlighted the batters' stubbornness.

"For sure, you have to put it on tired legs, more importanty, some very tired minds as well. How mentally strong you are, that is what Test cricket is, it is not going to be easy every time. You chose to bowl first, you ended up bowling 150 overs, and now as a batting team you need to come out and say, 'Alright, here we go, today, we might need to play till the day's play and then figure out how we want to play tomorrow'," Karthik said on Sky Sports.

"You can't come out arrogant, saying, 'Okay, I am going to play like it is the start of the day'. It does not work like that. Sometimes you need to buckle down, and I feel that, that is where Bazball has gotten better, but today we saw a glimpse of what we have seen in the past," he added.

England got to Stumps on Day 2 without any more casualties as Joe Root and Harry Brook stood firm in the remainder of the session.

"Fielding was very important" - Shubman Gill on Team India's display in the final session of Day 2 against England

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian new-ball pacers had to be on point against the in-form England openers. More importantly, the fielders had to be at the top of their game to avoid a scenario like the first Test where dropped catches proved to be costly.

The slip cordon backed the bowlers' work, as they held onto all three chances that came their way.

"Looking at how things have gone so far, it is working for me. I did not take any slip catches for the last couple of days because I was batting, but nice to get those catches. Fielding was very important and we discussed about it that if we were half as good in the previous game, things would have been different," Gill said after Stumps on Day 2 (via Cricbuzz).

England will resume from their overnight score of 77-3 on Day 3. The hosts still trail by 510 runs in the first innings.