Visakhapatnam: Two hundred and fifty runs for the loss of eight wickets don’t exactly reflect the pulsating battle between bat and ball one witnessed on the third day of the second India-England Test here Saturday. But it once more demonstrated why cricketers of the extraordinaire league always prefer success in Test cricket to any other format.
England were bowled out for 255 approximately half-an-hour before tea and India did not enforce the follow on. At stumps the hosts were 98 for three, an overall lead of 298 – on a pitch where batting is slowly but surely becoming extremely difficult.
In the end, it took a great effort from India’s champion bowler Ravichandran Ashwin (5/67) and batsman Virat Kohli (56 batting 70b, 6×4) to keep England in check at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium here. The two played immensely important roles as the visitors threatened twice in the course of the day to wrest the initiative back from the hosts.
The first came in the morning session when Ben Stokes (70, 157b, 11×4) and Jonny Bairstow (53, 152b, 5×4) dominated the morning session. While Bairstow rotated the strike astutely, the eagle-eyed Stokes showed his new-found defensive resolve but at the same time showed his cruel side with anything loose offered to him. On a pitch that had variable bounce, the two showed amazing panache as they went about collecting the runs with disdainful ease.
It took a brilliant piece of yorker from Umesh Yadav (1/28) to break the obdurate stance with the delivery hitting the base of Bairstow’s pads before crashing onto the stumps. It broke England’s heart just 10 minutes before lunch, but then the feisty fightback by the two would surely have given a huge boost to the team’s sagging spirit.
However, after Bairstow’s departure, England fell apart against the wiles of Ashwin, who had seemed a bit stymied in the morning session. The variation in flight and pace had England in a bit of a soup. Ashwin won a DRS LBW decision against Stokes and that ended England’s hopes of a prolonged batting stint.
England lost their last four wickets for 30 runs as Aswhin and Ravindra Jadeja (1/57) quickly polished off the tail. Adil Rashid (32 n o, 73b, 6×4) did resist, but at the other end there was no such act of defiance as batsman after batsman were caught plumb in front by the two spinners.
When the Indian second innings started, it seemed that it would turn into a Broadway affair as Stuart Broad (2/6) seemed to be in the same rhythm that got him eight wickets against Australia at Trent Bridge in 2015. He bowled 24 deliveries without conceding a run – in the process getting both the Indian openers back in the hut. At 16 for two, in spite of having a first inning lead of 200 runs, India were anything but comfortable.
But as they say form is temporary and class is permanent once against came true the moment Kohli walked in. Broad who still had not conceded a run till then went for six runs in the first five deliveries he bowled to the Indian captain. Kohli first walked across the stumps to hit Broad through mid-wicket for a couple and then played a cover drive that pierced the England field the same way a knife cuts through fish fillet. Who said batting was difficult here?
In between, he lost Cheteshwar Pujara – the victim of a nipbreaker from James Anderson that sent the Saurashtra player’s bails flying. But Kohli was in a different planet altogether and along with Ajinkya Rahane (22 batting) ensured India had regained the initiative.
A batting masterclass indeed.
Jayant credits Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin has played a big role in grooming Jayant Yadav and the debutant profusely thanked India’s star spinner for his impressive debut in the second Cricket Test against England here.
Recalling his association with Ashwin since 2014, he said, “We met through (India bowling coach) Eric Simmons. He was preparing for his England tour and very sweet of him to help me as I was just playing Ranji Trophy that time.”
“It’s a very proud moment for any cricketer. As you graduate from U-17, U-19 and Ranji Trophy, Test cricket is the topmost level. The first day in the dressing room helped.
“Just to see how he prepares and to get some inputs from him was quite special. We stayed in touch, we have a good rapport and a good friendship going on. He talks a lot of sense about bowling.
“He did not give me a lot of technical inputs but he told me to bowl different lines to different batsmen and to be consistent. He also told me a few things so that my length goes up,” he said about Ashwin’s support.
Asked about Ashwin’s deceptive drift, he said, “A lot of things fall into place for that drift to happen. Ash is bowling beautifully like a dream. You have to work on it. It does not come overnight. You have to put a lot of effort into it. A lot of technical things also go into it.”
Much before he impressed with his tidy bowling of 1/38 from 12 overs, Jayant’s knock of 35 was also commendable.
Bairstow backs his teammates
Ravichandran Ashwin might have broken England’s backbone with his five-wicket haul, but wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow feels that his team would be able to handle the Indian off-spinner in the fourth innings of the ongoing second Test.
“We have played him well to be honest. Every world-class spinner has accuracy and that is probably his main asset, his pace variation is something that is going to be a challenge,” Bairstow, who scored an impressive 53, said. “He did bowl nicely, we know going into the fourth innings we can play Ashwin well,” he added.
At the close of play, India had already stretched their lead to 298 with two more days to go. “I think it’s important for us to try and make it as difficult as possible for India to score runs at a rate they want to score. The longer we can delay the amount of runs they score, puts up in a better position.
“When we bat whenever it may be there’s uneven bounce on the pitch. We will try to chase down whatever is set. We got to be still positive,” he said about England’s survival plan.
Broad to bowl despite injury
Visakhapatnam: England fast bowler Stuart Broad suffered a tendon strain on day three of the second Test but he will continue to bowl in India’s second innings. “Stuart Broad has strained a tendon and one of the small joints in his right forefoot. The injury will be reviewed further at the end of this Test. He will continue to bowl in India’s second innings,” an England team spokesperson said. Broad was effective in his six overs Saturday, conceding just six runs besides picking up the wicket of Indian openers Murali Vijay and KL Rahul.
