wattWhen it comes to England’s best Test results abroad this century, the first thing that comes to mind is Australia’s outliers. Sandwiched between two ugly whitewashes, the 3-1 away win 13 years ago remains a shock, with each victory coming by the end of the frame. Even if the opponents are not at their best, these are the names to look up to: Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey, Michael Clark and Mitchell Johnson. Outside of that tour, England’s record in Australia this century is 22 defeats, two draws and one win, which makes those weeks all the more remarkable.
But even with a heart-warming outfield, unprecedented attacking prowess and the presence of Steve Smith, Australia have not been invincible in recent years. After England’s win, South Africa registered two more series wins while India also registered a couple of series wins.
This was India, driven largely by the axis of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, and the visitors had barely come close in the past decade. The hosts have won 14 consecutive series in the last 11 years (excluding the two one-off Tests, which they also won). To recap, only three touring Test teams have achieved victory in the 21st century: South Africa in 2000, Australia four years later, and most recently the Alastair Cook-led side in late 2012 . The England captain’s run overshadowed a wonderful Ashes winter.
This year’s Asian competition kicked off with a wave of failed games, and things didn’t look so good. In the United Arab Emirates, Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rahman defeated Pakistan 3-0. In Sri Lanka, the left-hander Rangana Herath took 19 wickets in two Tests, while Kevin Pietersen needed a superb hundred to draw a draw.
Next up are summer soaps. Peterson was not happy, and he was angered by a parody Twitter account. I believe his teammates were involved, but he got a brief respite when he scored a stunning 149 against South Africa at Headingley. Then came “Textgate” and he was dropped from the Lord’s team, losing the series and losing the first place he had won the year before. “Failure is one thing,” Jonathan Trott wrote in his autobiography. “The real problem is that as the summer wears on, the team spirit we have carefully cultivated begins to unravel.”
Pietersen was not abandoned for long, although he did not provide much help in the first Test in Ahmedabad in mid-November, being dismissed twice by left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha ) defeated. Other teams were also in trouble, with England bowled out for 191 while India were bowled out for 521 for eight. “England fumbled against spin like a blind man reaching for a non-existent bench,” wrote George Dobell on Cricinfo.
The Indian team in transition remains a top team. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag put on a 117-run stand in the first innings towards the end. They were also joined by Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara who registered unbeaten double centuries. Ashwin, who had just played his ninth Test, became the fastest Indian to take 50 Test wickets.
“Judge us in three Tests,” England coach Andy Flower said after the nine-wicket defeat, encouraged by his team’s second innings effort. Cook scored 176 in his first Test as full-time captain; Nick Compton accompanied him on debut for 45 overs and Matt Prior completed 91. Peterson went straight to the Nets after being ejected in the second inning, cleaning up his footwork to ensure that the “bat” felt like an extension of my body by the second test,” he wrote in his autobiography .
Monty Panesar made his debut in Mumbai. England made the mistake of leaving him out in the opener and he responded with 11 wickets to Graeme Swann’s eight, a partnership that was seen for the first time in Wantage Wankhede Stadium on Wantage Road. The cherry was the left-armer’s gift to Tendulkar on the opening day. Turning and jumping are both fine, but Panesa’s strength is the speed he can add to the mix: a leg-side turn at 59.3 mph with enough spin to knock down the city’s most precious son tree stump.
England’s first innings combined the ruthlessness of Cook with the flamboyance of Pietersen, with their partnership scoring 206 and the latter’s 186 quickly becoming an epic with a series of tiny sweeps and lofty runs. of kick-off. Peterson likened the standing ovation from his hometown audience to “people throwing flowers at you when you’re singing an opera at La Scala in Milan.” For someone from Pietermaritzburg, that’s not often the case. “
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After winning by 10 wickets, Cook went on to win by 7 wickets at Eden Gardens, where Cook once again won with 190 wickets. This time it was the seamer in front, taking 6 wickets, but Jimmy Anderson’s approach left Mike Selvey in awe: “When the ball reversed, apart from Zaheer Khan (who could be England’s thorn in the side) ), there is no one in the world who can match him.” More than a decade later, Anderson will be asked to make the old ball dance again.
The fourth and final Test was a tribute to the future, with the 21-year-old debutant swallowing 73 off 229 balls to pave the way for a series draw. “I always say never judge anyone after playing a few hours for England but he showed signs that he’s going to have a very good Test career,” Pietersen said at the end of day one Said Joe Root. India will bring in their own kid, a 24-year-old player who already has three first-class hundreds to his name. In the coming years, Jadeja’s left-arm spin would prove to be more valuable than his batting.
For Root and Jadeja, that was the beginning; for this England side, their last win away from home was a bitter breakup a year later when the Ashes collapse led to a bitter breakup. Time will only improve their achievements in India.
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