England's tour to India – 2nd Test Match in Chennai, February 2021

Before the start of the second test match in Chennai, the raving discussion amongst us was about the toss. India couldn’t afford to lose another match in the series and batting first was the way to go. Of course one needed to bat well and that is something that depended on the top order. The Indian top-order has been flattering to deceive for months now so it was a case of big concern.

England was expected to make a few changes because of their rotation policy which had been put in place to allow all the players adequate rest due to a long cricket season. Some of the changes were forced ones too. In all, they made 4 changes to their winning line-up. 

James Anderson was replaced by Stuart Broad.

Dom Bess was replaced by Moeen Ali.

Jos Buttler was replaced by Ben Foakes

and

Jofra Archer was replaced by Olly Stone.

Another addition to this test was the crowd. The first test match was played without any spectators and whoever has seen cricket in India will know very well that the spectators bring in a lot of energy in the ground and most importantly it helps the home team’s morale too. All teams have a designated 12th Man but the real 12th Man is the crowd that fills up the Indian stadiums because it acts as a vocal tonic for the home team and adds to the pressure on the away team. I felt India missed the crowd in the first match and somehow the home advantage was missing. By the way, did you check out the book named, The 12th Man yet? If not go ahead and get your copy from Amazon or Flipkart today to understand why the 12th man plays such a vital role in the Indian cricket phenomenon.

Virat Kohli won the toss and quite expectedly decided to bat first. The pitch looked like a spinner’s paradise and quite expectedly India made a few changes too.

Shahbaz Nadeem was replaced by Axar Patel.

Washington Sundar was replaced by Kuldeep Yadav

Jasprit Bumrah was replaced by Md. Siraj.

Winning the toss and batting first was one thing but to bat well and bat big was another thing. Shubhman Gill in his short career was yet to see a failure because in each of the innings he played thus far he had score runs (not big but got starts in every innings). But that was about to come to an end in Chennai because an incoming delivery from Olly Pope caught him plumb in front of the wicket and India was one down without a run on the board. It was now on Rohit Sharma and Chetaswar Pujara to take India forward.

Slowly but surely both got about resurrecting the Indian innings. Rohit, in particular, played very positively and England on their part didn’t bowl with the accuracy that was required on that pitch. The ball started turning from the first hour itself and the spinners just needed to land the ball on the good length area and allow the pitch to do the rest but the English bowlers particularly Moeen Ali dished out short pitch stuff or full tosses once in a while which allowed Rohit Sharma, in particular, to never get bogged down. 

With things looking bright for India, Leech struck sending back Pujara and in the very next over, Moeen Ali got rid of Virat Kohli, and India from a comfortable position of 85/1 slid to 86/3. India needed to steady the ship and that’s exactly what Rahane and Rohit did in their 4th wicket partnership. Rohit is the kind of player who will always get runs at a fair clip and this ensured that India didn’t get bogged down at all. The afternoon session belonged completely to India as Rohit brought up a majestic test hundred. With a strike rate of close to 80, it was an entertaining knock, all right. Rahane played his part too and scored a half-century. With the English bowlers at sea, the only way they could get a wicket was by a mistake of the Indian batsmen. That’s exactly what happened when Rohit Sharma tried to hit a shot too many to get caught in the deep. He got out with the Indian score reading 248 runs and he had contributed 161 off them. Rahane followed him soon and suddenly the Indian innings was in disarray. A rearguard action was needed once again. India finished Day 1 at 300/6 and all hopes laid on Rishabh Pant to take India close to 400 runs.

But all our hopes were dashed as Axar Patel and Ishant Sharma fell in quick succession on the second morning. Kuldeep Yadav hung on for a while as Rishabh Pant brought out the big hits. One such hit got him to his 50 and he was in the mood to score a few more but the tail deserted him and he was left stranded on 58 runs. India folded for 329 runs only. The pitch was conducive for spin bowling and India needed to pick up quick wickets to put the English team under pressure.

Ishant Sharma drew first blood in the very first over and then Ashwin and Axar Patel got into the act removing Dom Sibley and Joe Root respectively. The prized scalp of Joe Root which was Axar’s first Test wicket tilted the match in India’s favour and when Dan Lawrence fell to Ashwin on the last ball before lunch, it tilted decisively.

England couldn’t put up a fight against the relentless pressure built by the Indian bowlers and one after another batsman bit the dust. Other than Ben Foakes none of the English batsmen could stay long enough in the crease and their innings folded for 134 runs giving India a massive lead of 195 runs. The pitch was turning square and the match was as good as over. Ashwin picked up 5 wickets and the Chennai crowd gave him a standing ovation. India’s comeback had started.

Time was never going to be a factor in this test with the third innings starting on Day 2 but the question was how long would the Indian team bat and what would be the lead that they would take. Chetaswar Pujara got out strangely in the first test and he found another strange way to get out here too. While getting back to his crease, his bat got stuck on the popping crease and when the wicketkeeper dislodged the bails, his bat didn’t cross the line. It was a very strange run-out dismissal and this wicket started India’s procession as one after another batsman, bit the dust and suddenly India found themselves tottering at 106/6. The lead was already big enough but one could never be sure hence it was quite a tense situation at that moment. India’s last recognised pair of Ashwin and Kohli was in the crease and I hoped that they take the lead beyond 350. My prayers were answered because Kohli and Ashwin took India far beyond that lead. Virat Kohli fell for a well-made 62 runs and by that time India’s lead was 397 runs. India was already in the safe zone but Ashwin had other ideas. Over the last few years, his performance with the bat had deteriorated but his show in Sydney earlier in the year showed that he was not ready to be pushed over so easily. He had the skills and had the technique to play long innings but he needed support from his bowling partners to score a century. Ishant Sharma provided the initial support and then Siraj did the rest. Both these bowlers hung on to allow Ashwin to score his fifth test ton. Siraj, in particular, had to face some tantalising time in the crease but he passed through that test and one could see the enjoyment that he had when Ashwin reached his ton. From 106/6 India ended at 286 runs – England well and truly out of the game.

India rubbed on the wounds further by picking up 3 wickets before the end of the third day’s play with both Ashwin and Patel picking up wickets.

It was a matter of time on Day 4 for India to finish the match and that’s exactly what happened as one after another English batsman failed to read the Indian spinners. Moeen Ali had some fun at the end hitting some lusty blows but it just delayed the inevitable. England finally got bowled out for 164 runs giving India victory by 317 runs which incidentally was India’s biggest margin of victory against England.

Quite a comeback for India after losing the first test so spectacularly. The Chennai crowd got their money’s worth. Not only were they treated to a great century by Rohit Sharma but they got to see their local boy, Ashwin to score a ton too. Axar Patel picked up 5 wickets in the second innings to make a memorable debut.

Just like in Australia a few months back, the Indian team made a strong comeback. But the job was only half-done because India still needed a win to reach the WTC finals. That’s for another day, I thought as the Chennai leg of the series came to an end.

The English ex-cricketers had a lot to say about the pitch but I think truth be told, the pitch was never a 134 run pitch which England scored in the first innings. 

The teams now move to Ahmedabad where the world’s biggest cricket stadium awaited the teams. How the pitch will play here must be wrangling on everyone’s mind and to add to the tension was the fact that it would be a day-night test match and India had recently had a horrible experience getting bowled out for 36 runs against Australia in their previous day-night encounter.

That’s for another day and till then take care and may God bless you all. 

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