Opinion
If there ever was a perfect advertisement for Test cricket, the drama that unfolded at Lord’s on the 16th of August, 2021 is it.
Right from the toss – where Ravi Ashwin’s omission yet again divided opinion – the Test match was abuzz with chatter.
And to be fair, the wily off-spinner’s absence was being severely felt when England were cruising along during the middle overs of the first innings.
But yet again, the Indian pace brigade came to the fore. At the stroke of the second new ball, Mo Siraj’s bouncer-barrage tickled Bairstow’s white-ball ego before eventually getting him. From that point on, India fought tooth and nail to keep the game alive – alive enough to set up a riveting final day of play.
With 60 overs to go on day 5, England may have had the cushion of ten wickets, but what India possessed was a ruthless quartet of bowlers that was hungry for each one of those wickets.
Every single time that England showed a bit of resistance, it was met with a fiery response – through words and wickets – from India.
What really stands out is the fact that you can’t possibly single out any one of the Indian quicks as the best of the lot. For all that matters, Virat Kohli could decide the new ball pair on the flip of a coin and it would still make sense on some front or the other.
Throughout the Test, both sides demonstrated fair amounts of aggression. The difference – India was never blinded by it.
How Joe Root and/or a senior statesman like James Anderson allowed the bizarre short-ball intimidation tactic to go on for as long as it did is something I still cannot wrap my head around.
As a captain, there are times where you need to put your foot down and demand things to be done a certain way. At a time where every single Test match carries so much of significance, this childish ploy from England could well cost them in the long run.
But perhaps, more bizarre than England’s bowling on day five was the show put up by Shami and Bumrah – some of their shots were straight out of the MCC Coaching Manual!
True to the nature of Test cricket, this change did not occur overnight. Since the Australia tour in 2020, Vikram Rathour – the batting coach – has been working hard on extracting a few extra runs out of the bowlers.
This Indian team’s continual drive for improvement – lead by a spirited captain – has moulded it into a blend of ruthlessness, passion and grit.
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While a premature retirement isn’t the solution, he or England want, he may be forced into it if he can’t maintain a long run of matches.
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