And so to Chennai, and still no respite for England. Another city, another crushing defeat. Until this week, it had been Ravi Ashwin and Virat Kohli lording it over the tourists. Now it was the turn of some of the Indian supporting cast to shine.
It was all looking so good when Alastair Cook won the toss and saw century stands from Moeen Ali/Joe Root and Liam Dawson/Adil Rashid advance England to a creditable 477 all out. At last, a decent platform from which to secure a consolation victory.
However, on the Sunday, the match swung the other way, or at least in the direction of a draw. Lokesh Rahul produced a splendid innings, yet appeared devastated to be caught, top-edging high to Buttler. He may have joined an elite club of batsmen to be out on 199, yet the young opener almost scored as many runs in that innings as the entire England side managed in their second outing.
On the fourth day, things went from bad to worse for Cook and co. Karun Nair took over where Rahul had left off. In only his third Test, the 25 year-old from Jodhpur converted his first ton into a triple, scoring more and more rapidly as the day wore on. He was still there on 303 when Kohli called time. He didn’t do it all on his own. He’d been part of three century partnerships as India piled up 759-7, a record total for India and more than anything previously conceded by England.
On such a flat pitch, it certainly wasn’t beyond England to see out a day and a bit to at least avoid defeat. In Mumbai, it was a much harder task: two and a bit days, and of course they collapsed to an innings defeat. Cook and Jennings did what was expected, putting on 103 for the first wicket. Both openers fell within four overs. Then the big blow was Joe Root missing a sweep on 6. Ravi Jadeja had nabbed all three. He promptly made it four, this time completing a terrific running catch to despatch Jonny Bairstow.
Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes had to knuckle down and bat for just a couple more hours. Unfortunately, with the score on 192-4, the former decided he needed to attack Jadeja and, seeing plenty of open space beyond mid-off, went for a lofted drive. The ball didn’t carry and it seemed as if the whole team deflated. The last six wickets tumbled for a pathetic 16 runs. Still 75 short of making India bat again, England had broken another unwanted record; their 477 had become by far the highest ever Test first innings total made by a side going on to lose by an innings!
After a relatively even challenge in the first two or three matches, the final couple were horrendously one-sided. So who was to blame?
Many are calling for Cook’s head. Ludicrous! He’s done pretty well, apart from the autumn encounters in Asia. England also need his runs too much to discard him altogether, which is what usually happens to outgoing skippers on these strange shores. Hameed and Jennings have each shown promise, but a couple of Tests doesn’t make them the answer to a nation’s prayer. Joe Root is certainly a captain waiting, and he was perhaps the biggest plus on the tour. It’s true he has a poor record when it comes to converting 50s into hundreds. But at least he is consistent at racking up the 50s!
A glance at the England batting averages suggests little to worry about. No fewer an six men averaged over 40. The problem leaps out of the bowling stats. Only Adil Rashid captured more than 10 wickets. Moeen Ali, in theory the ace spinner, took ten at almost 65 apiece! Anderson and Broad, when not injured, enjoyed little success either, and fellow seamers Woakes, Stokes and Ball were even worse.
As for India, only two of their bowlers took more than ten scalps, too. However, Ashwin and Jadeja were masters of their universe, knowing when to apply the pressure and induce false strokes, and having the skills to actually do it. Nair, Rahul, Pujara, Patel and Vijay proved that the makeshift batting line-up was up to the task, with Yadav and Ashwin providing sterling support lower down the order.
Moeen Ali’s rash stroke at Chennai didn’t lose the series, neither did Cook’s captaincy nor any other individuals. There does seem to be a severe issue with fourth innings collapses. That must surely be more mental than a physical failure against spin. At home, England remain a formidable unit, and the emphasis on attacking strokeplay has improved our limited-overs performances no end. But that may well have had a negative impact on the qualities required to play negatively when needed, and it will be needed in five-day cricket. Just watch what Pakistan did in scoring 450 in a magnificent yet ultimately unsuccessful run chase in Australia at the weekend. That took guts!
The selectors had few alternatives on the spin front, but Batty’s inclusion was a daft decision. So was bringing Gary Ballance. I don’t blame them taking Ben Duckett, though. Giving his summer form, that was a gamble worth taking. I just think England’s concentration on T20 skills has tipped the scales too far. We could just accept that India are currently unbeatable in Asia, have a go in the ODIs, work in the nets and re-group for the 2017 summer.
