England Pile On The Runs
One of the main buzzwords before this series in India began was "whitewash". Now I'm going to smugly pretend that all along I expected England to come to India and play well, and that the pundits who pessimistically claimed that there was a real shot England would get whitewashed were out of line. Because whilst it may have been a tad pessimistic off the back of England's series draw with Bangladesh to suggest that England would come to India and lose 5-0, it was also far from unrealistic. England's batting order was highly susceptible to collapse, with Gary Ballance unconvincing, Duckett far from emphatic opening and heavily reliant on Cook and Root. Moreover, questions were asked whether our spinners were at the right calibre to challenge India's batsmen.
Even so, as much as England's batting looked worrying going into this series, any claim that we'd be whitewashed on turning pitches was always presumptive. And it became clear on Day One, and reinforced in Day Two, that England were never going to just come to India and roll over. Moreover, before the play had even begun on Day One, it became clear that things weren't going to be as expected, because the pitch that England batted on for the majority of the first two days of this test match was a beauty. Any notion of England's batsmen being spun out for less than 250 was decimated in an afternoon session during which India's spinners toiled at the hands of Joe Root and Moeen Ali.
If the morning session was reasonably even, possibly even shading in India's favour, then everything that followed was pure England, as Root and Ali put India to the sword on Day One, Ben Stokes picking up the mantle on Day Two. Whilst India's spinners took wickets in the first session, Cook given out to an LBW shout he really should have reviewed, before debutante Hameed also given out LBW, reviewed poorly. It was unfortunate that the youngster hasn't had any experience at international level, because he should have told Cook to review, but should absolutely not have reviewed himself. And when Duckett fell, it looked like India had the edge, with lunch taken at 102-3.
However, India couldn't have imagined that it would be almost 65 overs, over half the day, and another 179 runs before they took another wicket, as England dug in. Root played an imperious innings, batting superbly, and making the first day entirely his own, as he plundered 124 from just 180 deliveries. What impressed me about Root and Moeen's partnership, for Moeen Ali deserves just as much credit as his centurion partner, is that they counter-attacked without being overly aggressive. They took the game to the spinners, refusing to let Jadeja and Ashwin settle, batting sublimely without needing to score too many boundaries, Root just eleven fours and one six, Moeen thirteen fours. And most of those boundaries came later in the day, with the hard graft already done. Indeed Root celebrated his century by slapping Jadeja back over his head, but it was the shot of a man who had done what he had needed to do and was starting to enjoy himself. Moeen's boundaries were sublime and intelligent as he manipulated the field almost at will into doing his bidding, hitting big shots into a vacant mid-wicket region, safe in the knowledge that if he missed or edged, the spin of the ball left the risk low.
And as the spinners toiled, the seamers, Yadav and Shami, were forced to bowl more and more, despite Shami's cramp issues. Yadav was the man who got the breakthrough just before close on Day One, removing Root through a slightly controversial, although ultimately correct caught and bowled decision. Root slapped the ball back to the bowler, who took the ball cleanly but then threw it up in the same motion, before dropping the ball. Whilst on slow motion replay it appeared clear that Yadav had control of the ball, it was still a very risky manoeuvre and the umpire could easily have said that in real time, he wasn't holding onto the ball long enough to have it under control. To have struck down the wicket might not have been fair to Root, who would have been lucky to survive, but it would have taught Yadav a lesson which hopefully he learned anyway.
And again on Day Two it was the seamers with the crucial breakthroughs, as the pitch offered little for the spinners, and Ashwin, Jadeja and Mishra all bowled poorly, with England's batsmen refusing to let them settle. Unfortunately for India, the seamers didn't make breakthroughs quickly enough. Ali, who was 99 overnight, made a total of 117 before being bowled for 117, leaving one from Shami that clattered his stumps. And Ben Stokes went on to make 128, despite being dropped twice just after making his 50, before Yadav strangled him down the leg side.
Because if Root was the man of Day One, Stokes was the man of Day Two, putting on 99 with the enterprising Jonny Bairstow after Moeen fell before drinks in the morning to turn a potential banana skin at 343-5 to 442-5. And after Bairstow fell bottom-edging off Shami, Stokes continued to strike, putting on 52 with Ansari. Stokes' innings was of vital importance, as much importance as those of Root and Moeen on Day One, because England could easily have slipped to less than 400, and let India back into the game, had he been dismissed cheaply after Moeen fell. He played predominantly through the on-side but there were still some lovely straight drives. Both Moeen and Stokes secured their 4th Test centuries today, with both now averaging over 35 in Test cricket. Two all-rounders who in the past I have criticised for their batting stats are building those numbers up in tough circumstances this year.
Instead of collapsing, England have virtually ruled defeat out at this stage, making 537 before being bowled out. Whilst they still have a lot of work to do to bowl India out twice over the next three days, particularly as the hosts walked to 63-0 at close of play, England will be very satisfied with their start, and if the pitch begins to deteriorate with reverse swing in play, India may face some tough spells over the next three days.
But for England, the first job of the test series has been successfully completed. Bat well, don't lose the first Test match, and lay down a marker for the rest of the series. Hopefully they can continue to build on this positive start over the next seven weeks.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Rooney back as captain. Dark days for England.
- Barton's contract terminated. Good riddance...
- Joseph dropped for Daly. Changes.
- Perez changes his sponsor after insulting tweet. Patriotic.
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