This blog is all about the 2nd test between India and England. With their big 317-run win in the second Test at the Chepauk India have levelled the four-Test series at 1-1. India won the toss on what was a very crucial toss and decided to bat first. The victory was crucial for India in the context of the World Test Championship as they need to win the series at least with a 2-1 margin or better to make the cut for the title clash against New Zealand. Discussed below are some crucial pointers and takeaways from the match.
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Rohit Sharma’s brilliance
Rohit Sharma hit a masterful hundred while Ajinkya Rahane scored a sublime half-century to put India in a commanding position on the opening day. Rohit smashed 17 boundaries and two sixes in his breathtaking innings of 161. Opting to bat on a turning Chepauk track, India lost three wickets in the opening session in the form of opener Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara and skipper Virat Kohli. While early wickets brought hope, late strikes brought relief for England. With runs on the board, India taking the much-needed opening advantage on a tricky pitch.
India’s 1st innings
Shubman Gill and Kohli registered unfortunate ducks and couldn’t quite get going as per expectation. Ajinkya Rahane looked equally attractive during his knock of 67 off 149 balls and the two Mumbaikars added 162 runs for the fourth wicket which was delightful to see. A score of 350 plus in the first innings will be equivalent to 550 plus on any other track and Rishabh Pant’s (33 batting) dangerous presence could also take India well beyond the magic figure on this track. At stumps, he had debutant Axar Patel (5) for company. Rahane’s 67 and Pant’s 58 in India’s first innings were scored at a time when the hosts needed partnerships. Eventually, Pant’s handy 58 and the loss of other wickets resulted in India making 329. Moeen Ali with his 4 wickets and Olly Stone with his 3 were just exceptional with the ball.
England’s 1st innings
Having started off with a very unconvincing start, Burns and Sibley were dismissed early on for 0 and 16. Root and the rest of the middle order were listless putting up scores of single digits, there was absolutely no resistance. When England was bundled out for 134 in the first innings — their lowest score on these shores — it had little to do with the Chennai pitch, and more to do with their mindset and the inability to play a supremely gifted off-spinner R Ashwin, who is at the peak of his powers, and Patel, on a turning track. Thanks to senior off-spinner Ashwin’s effort where he picked a crucial fifer, India bowled out England for 134 in their first innings for a massive first-innings lead of 195 runs. Debutant left-arm spinner Axar Patel picked up two wickets, including the big one of England’s in-form captain Joe Root. In fact, Root turned out to be Axar’s maiden Test wicket. Lead pacer Ishant Sharma also took two wickets while there was one for Mohammed Siraj. Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes top-scored for England with 42 not out off 107 balls even as his teammates struggled to get starts at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
India’s 2nd innings:
At the close of play, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara were batting on 25 and 7 respectively, as India reached 54 for one in their second innings on a day when the English batsmen were at sea against the home team’s spinners, especially Ravichandran Ashwin, who returned excellent figures of 5/43. But their dismissals meant Kohli had to up his ante with the falling wickets.
Captain Virat Kohli struck 62 off 149 balls and added 96 runs for the seventh wicket with Ashwin, helping India extend their overall lead after they were reduced to 106 for six at one stage. While Kohli showed his class before falling to Moeen Ali for the second time in the game. Making sure that premier batsmen Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Rohit Sharma take the back seat, Ashwin scripted history with his fifth Test match century. Showing the world-class batsmen the way to tackle the challenging surface of the Chepauk, the middle-order batsman raised his stocks with a magnificent ton. On a pitch that many were criticising for an overt turn, Ashwin stood tall, scoring a brilliant century, after coming out to bat at number 8. His 106 off 148 balls, at an incredible strike rate of 71.62 helped India steady the ship.
Ashwin played a solitary delivery less than the skipper in his career-defining 148-ball 106. For the record, Ashwin is the first player since 1966 to score a century and claim a five-wicket haul against England in Test cricket. India’s second innings ended at 286, shortly after Ashwin reached his three-figure mark. Jack Leach and Moeen Ali were the masterminds with the wickets and were simply exceptional on the pitch dismissing and making mincemeat of the rest of the tail.
England’s 2nd innings
Set an imposing target of 482, England were tottering at 53 for three at stumps on the third day, requiring 429 more runs. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (3/53) first sent back Dan Lawrence (26) and then removed Stokes (8) to add to the misery of the visitors. Skipper Joe Root (33) kept one end tight in the morning session but struggled to handle the ball from Patel that bounced a bit too much and was caught in the slip region. Once Root was back in the pavilion, it was not difficult for India to wrap up the proceedings. Ben Stokes joined England captain Joe Root to put up some resistance for the visitors, but it was Ashwin again who broke the partnership as he had Stokes caught at slip. Ollie Pope was soon to follow, as he miscued a sweep off Axar Patel to Ishant Sharma at mid-wicket. Kuldeep Yadav picked up his first wicket of the match as Ben Foakes also got out trying to sweep. Axar Patel struck soon after to claim Root’s wicket for the second time in the match and claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests when he trapped Olly Stone leg-before Moeen Ali had a late flourish, smashing 43 off 18 deliveries before Kuldeep Yadav had him stumped to wrap up the game for India. England lost by a massive margin of 317 runs and he hosts emerged victorious.
Indian spinners and their prowess
India’s troika of spinners, led admirably by their Ashwin, and well-supported by Patel and chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, were miles ahead of Moeen Ali and Jack Leach when it came to utilising the favourable home conditions. Ashwin, with his diverse skill-set, was always a threat. But Patel was a bit of a revelation. With a slightly round-arm action, flatter trajectory and much quicker pace, he managed to extract ample turn and bite off this surface.
Patel’s inclusion also meant that the home team didn’t miss the services of their incumbent spinner Ravindra Jadeja — out with a finger injury — who would have been equally handful on this surface. England spinners, who unlike their Indian counterparts, failed to vary their pace astutely. Sure, they bowled unplayable deliveries. But they were interspersed with full tosses and long hops, which were dealt with aplomb by Indians. When England were bundled out for 134 in the first innings — their lowest score on these shores — it had little to do with the Chennai pitch, and more to do with their mindset and the inability to play a supremely gifted off-spinner R Ashwin, who is at the peak of his powers, and Patel, on a turning track.
Impressive Foakes and other misses
Foakes dropped a catch while standing up to Stuart Broad and missed a couple of stumpings, but it can still be said that his wicket-keeping was extraordinary. The English gloveman put in an assured performance with the bat in the first innings, making an unbeaten 42 and ensuring that Jos Buttler’s absence wasn’t felt dearly. In the second essay, however, he played an ill-advised sweep to give Kuldeep Yadav his first Test wicket in over two years. Though this Chepauk track was a spinners’ paradise, England missed the services of Jimmy Anderson. The English batsman, especially the top order had no answers to the questions posed by the Indian spinners. Considering the soil used for the pitch in the second Test was different to that in the first Test and as a result, the track began turning very quickly, England missed a trick by not playing off-spinner Dom Bess.
Underutilization of Broad and Ben Stokes
A couple of chances went down off Broad’s bowling, but it was still disappointing to see England’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket finish the game with zero scalps to his name. The speedster was sparingly used by captain Joe Root and might be replaced by either Jofra Archer or Jimmy Anderson for the next game. If he is kept in the team for his pink-ball prowess, he will need to put in a much-improved display. Stokes bowled only two overs before a suspected injury brought his involvement in that department to a close. With the bat, he was dismissed by Ashwin in both innings, one with a sharp turner and one with an arm ball. The left-hander should’ve attempted to be more proactive against the Indian spinners, as his defensive approach was bound to fail at some point. He even dropped a sharp catch at first slip.
A preview of the 3rd test
The Indian squad for the remaining two Tests was announced on Wednesday and there were not any major changes to the composition of the side. But yes, what was surprising was the absence of pacer Mohammed Shami from the squad. Shami was seen practising and was expected to be drafted back in the squad – but that has not happened. The only difference is the addition of Umesh Yadav who will replace Shardul Thakur subject to clearing a fitness test. Additionally, Shahbaz Nadeem who played the series opener has also been released for the domestic one-day tourney.
The third Test starts from February 24 and will be played at the renovated Sardar Patel Stadium and it will be a day-night affair – the first between the two teams. India has so far played two pink-ball contests – winning one (vs Bangladesh at Eden Gardens) while losing the other (vs Australia at Adelaide Oval).
England’s Rotation policy
Late last year, England’s selectors and management sat down to plan how they would handle the three months of action encompassing the tours to Sri Lanka and India. By the end of March, England will have played six Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is, all while being cocooned in bio-secure bubbles of one sort or another. It is a hectic, challenging period of cricket. Asking players to play all of it is clearly not a realistic prospect. It is an unusual approach. Typically, England have rested their all-format players from limited-overs cricket. This winter, they are resting them for Test cricket too. But it is an eminently sensible, and innovative, approach. But surely, in a time of COVID-19, some flexibility of thinking is needed.
On balance, the current course of action is the right one. It enables players to have time away from the confines of bio-secure bubbles. It ensures they remain fresh and fit mentally and physically. It offers opportunities to other players as well. And if England did not rotate their squad, who says the results would be better? At the end of six Tests in eight weeks, an exhausted Ben Stokes probably isn’t going to be much use to anyone anyway. However, in a press conference after the conclusion of the Test, Root ended up saying that the all-rounder chose to go back home with two Tests still remaining against India. Joe Root, the England Test captain, apologised to Moeen Ali for saying that Moeen had chosen to go home after the second Test when indeed the all-rounder had been rotated as part of England’s rotation policy.
This rotation policy has already seen Buttler going back home after the first Test. Jonny Bairstow also missed the first two Tests against India as per the rotation policy. Root’s comments caused quite a stir on social media, in which fans started to criticise Moeen for heading back home with the Test series hanging in the balance. Seeing how his comments were received, Root went up to Moeen in the team hotel and he offered his apology. Moeen has also accepted this apology rendered by Root and he will be heading back home on a good note.
Never on the Backfoot 