Team India bounced back like a yo-yo at the Chepauk on Tuesday as they hammered the visiting English side by 317 runs in the second Test. In a match where India were in command from Day One with bat and ball, and even the fielding standards improving, the victory was important for many reasons.
Having lost the first Test at the same venue, it was important to fight back. This is the first time two Tests are being played at the same venue, something which was necessitated by the Bio Bubble due to Covid-19.
However, the comparisons end there. If India were in all sorts of trouble in the first Test on a pitch which looked like brick-red Parisian clay, the second Test pitch was black in colour. The bounce and bite it offered from the first session on Day One was misunderstood as a bad pitch.
For those who are critical of India rolling out designer pitches which suit the spinners, the way R.Ashwin batted in the second essay was captivating. He showed pedigree, he showed skills and he showed the will to craft his fifth Test hundred.
There is no doubt he was the right player to win the man-of-the match award even though the runs piled up by Rohit Sharma on the first day, 161, was worth its weight in gold. The opener bat in all formats the same way, brilliant, uninhibited stroke-production where there is no mercy shown for balls which are bad in length. Rohit made batting look so easy, he would have done well to slam a double ton.
The beauty about India’s win in the second Test was how in almost all departments there were significant contributions. Ashwin was the man in form with bat and ball and he showed what it means to soak in support from the home crowd. The centurion thanked the crowds profusely. For the record, this was the first time spectators were allowed back into the cricket arena at home after the pandemic began last March.
With the ball, Ashwin was menacing. He showed variety, he showed craft, and he showed what it means to bowl from the heart. He spoke of trying variations in his bowling and he executed it with panache.
To be sure, this was a match where Virat Kohli lead from the front and has now recorded 21 Test wins at home. The skipper loved the crowd support and his batting in the second innings was a treatise on how to play spin on a track where the ball was playing tricks.
If Ashwin was a super hit, debutant Axar Patel revelled in these conditions as the wicket suited his style of spin bowling. For that matter, on Tuesday, Kuldeep Yadav, who had been out in wilderness, got two wickets as well. The way the spinners preyed on the minds of the Englishmen was a lesson on how to inflict pressure.
And what about Rishabh Pant, the cheeky batsman who plays with gay abandon. His runs in the first innings were scored briskly and where he stood out was with his glove-work. On this track, he took smart catches and also stood up well against the spinners. He came in for fulsome praise from skipper Kohli.
As for Joe Root and his teammates, they are struggling, Moeen Ali is flying back, players are being picked and dropped whimsically and they be hungry to come out firing in Ahmedabad in the third Test. Easier said than done.
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Mr. S. Kannan, Senior, Sports Journalist |
Superb comeback