An eight-wicket victory inside four days would seem to be a sign of total dominance. Yet I’m not totally convinced there’s a chasm between India and England.
So much these days can rest upon the toss of a coin, especially if the pitch is set up to be a raging turner or a seamer’s paradise green top. Mohali was neither, and Alastair Cook’s side failed miserably to turn what advantage there was in batting first into a win. All of India’s bowlers took wickets as, Jonny Bairstow apart, their opponents struggled to establish themselves at the crease.
At the end of Day 2, India were only three runs ahead of England’s first innings total, with six wickets down. Keeping them to 350 would keep the match nicely balanced. However, Ashwin, Jadeja and Jayant Yadav proceeded to do what no other Indian seven, eight and nine have done in their history: score half-centuries. Indeed, Jadeja came close to three figures as his side built a healthy 134-run lead.
Nevertheless, if England could set a target of 200+, all was not completely lost. This was another situation perfect for Cook and young Hameed. Knuckle down, get to stumps then construct a platform on which Root, Bairstow et al could push the score past 300. Except that Hameed was absent with a mysterious injury. And except that Ashwin, Jadeja and Yadav were simply too good for the English top order, just as they had been too good for their bowlers the day before.
Root had opened and lasted 66 overs before Jadeja beat him with spin and Rahane took a fine slip catch. Meanwhile Hameed made a belated appearance to pass 50 and hold the tail together for a bit longer. However, fine bowling by Shami and a dodgy call for a second run left the Lancastrian high and dry on 59, and India requiring a mere 103 to take a 2-0 lead.
The Barmy Army clung to a shred of optimism when a Woakes bouncer induced a run-less Vijay to edge to second slip with the score at 7. However, that simply brought Pujara to the middle. He and Parthiv Patel, recalled after an eight-year absence, seemed very keen to finish things off by stumps. Patel thumped 11 fours and a six and it was all over.
I’m not sure if they celebrated silently but they’d have been well within their rights to remind Ben Stokes about the result! Even worse: Australia ended their dreadful run against South Africa.
So what can England do to pull it back? Well, that’s a tough one to answer. Jos Buttler couldn’t produce the runs and Gareth Batty certainly wasn’t going to do any more than join any sledging war that might have been taking place. Ballance and Ansari are no better alternatives and Duckett has been removed from the firing line ‘for his own good’. That just leaves a choice of bringing someone in from the Lions (are they even allowed to do that?) or making more of an effort at Mumbai.
The task has been made even harder because Hameed’s hand injury requires surgery and his tour is prematurely ended. Kohli and co must be laughing. More so since Pakistan, rivals for the ICC number one spot, suffered a 2-0 defeat in New Zealand. In Mumbai, England have nothing to lose.
