timeThe way Ben Stokes plays as a team is no longer up for debate. They do things their own way, with a lot of gumption, and if you don’t like gumption, you don’t have to watch it. If you watch, you must be prepared to eat a tablespoon of cold waxy cod liver oil with cake and ale.
England played two Test matches on this tour of India, both following a now-familiar blueprint. They won the first game in Hyderabad, incredibly, breaking all precedents, coaxed by Tom Hartley, a man who made his Test debut in the first half An innings of bowling debut, folding, folding, folding again before pressing into the dirt for a surprising second innings figure of 62 for 7. Ollie Pope’s 196 was the highlight of the innings™, taking the lead in the second innings fightback under the pressure of a turning pitch. India, who had never lost at home before, were stunned and their body language dropped as they took a three-digit lead in the first innings.
England then lost the second Test at the ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium on the afternoon of the fourth day. They did it, and the coach obviously told the players not to worry, they could chase 600. They didn’t succeed this time, but the memory of the first Test result clearly influenced India’s thought process, as Rohit Sharma said on Sunday night when Zak Crawley and Ben That’s what Ben Duckett showed in his defense before setting off.
Stokes was cold and stubborn: “We are as confident as ever. We know we have to run another 330 runs and the most important thing for us is asserting our authority early on and trying not to let them settle. Thanks Rohit and the bowlers, every time we dragged the momentum back, they were able to take a wicket and drag it back.”
Failure always leaves room for nitpicking. Zach Crowley bowled well in the first inning, but when asked about it, he said that’s just the way he plays and that he’s better now than when he was hovering around average in the 20s Much better. Joe Root’s second innings of 16 was not an innings for purists either. He arrived at the crease ready to attack immediately, and instead of his familiar noor and bite, he reverse-swept twice in his first three balls for four, followed by an off-balance dance and the resulting top shot. Edge slam — as those at TNT Sports Studios diplomatically put it: “It’s not a hit for him.”
But he has a finger to protect, and – however it feels – his average under Ben Stokes is actually better than before: 52.63 versus 49.64. In fact, this Test will be remembered for Jasprit Bumrah’s jaw-dropping bowling spell in the first innings and Ollie Pope’s stump-annihilation despite 22 Year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal won the Man of the Match award for his double century.
A big difference between India and England used to be that England favored experienced, jaded old pros while India favored innocent young players like Jaiswal – but now both sides are competing in equal measure Engage young people. India has 24-year-old Shubman Gill and Jaiswal, while England has 19-year-old Rehan Ahmed, 20-year-old Shoaib Bashir and 24-year-old Tom Hartley. The idea of going into a Test in India with three spinners whose combined experience amounts to a bag of buttons and goo is extraordinary. But, somehow, Stokes made it work.
“No, it wasn’t a challenge at all,” Stokes said after the game. “I absolutely love it. Tom, Bash, Rayhan, I think there’s five or six Test matches between them to show what they did yesterday… it’s unbelievable what they’ve achieved in terms of effort and output. Believe me. They showed maturity and skill beyond their years… As captain, I’m very proud of them.”
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Gujarat’s record is 1-1. The third Test will begin on February 15, with some down time in Abu Dhabi for the players to relax with their families. This time England did not travel to Modi’s tribute palace in Ahmedabad but to Rajkot, where Joe Root scored 124 in 2016 and Ben Stokes Fond memories of Ben Stokes’ 128 (and Moeen Ali’s 117). England then fielded three spinners in the form of Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali and Zafar Ansari.
From Ravichandran Ashwin awaiting his 500th Test wicket to Virat Kohli’s possible return, there is a lot to talk about. From Ben Foakes’ glove work to Bumrah’s box-office explosion. From Rohit’s excitement with his hands on his hips at the DRS decision, to Stoke City’s laid-back utter belief. Unfortunately we have to wait another 10 days before everything can start again.
