After winning two Test matches to overturn a 0-1 deficit a little over a month ago, the Indian cricket team has put itself in prime position to sew up a 17th successive home series. It will not be easy, of course, because Ben Stokes’ travelling side has proven that it is no pushover, notwithstanding a record loss in Rajkot last week [PLEASE LINK TO https://in.dafanews.com/cricket/indias-record-rajkot-win-a-symbol-of-unity-as-bazball-goes-bust-78386.html], and further, in a potentially series-defining decision, the BCCI selectors have decided to rest India’s bowling spearhead and vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah for this match, which robs the hosts of their best bowler of the series and a man whom England have been in awe of across these past three Test matches.
No one can replace a bowler of Bumrah’s pedigree, and fans of the Indian cricket team should hope for a miracle if things do not go to plan in Ranchi where spin is expected to have a bigger say than Rajkot. That said, after levelling the contest in Visakhapatnam despite some batting worries, and then recovering from 33/3 on day one in Rajkot to inflict a resounding defeat on England, this Indian team looks a familiar one.
The one that routinely piled up big totals and skittled teams for under 200. To turn around matters on day three in Rajkot, when England were 207/2 in 35 overs and there was no Ravichandran Ashwin, was a remarkable achievement. Rohit Sharma’s reinvigorated captaincy was a welcome sight after the struggles of Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, and the way the bowlers rallied on day three was exceptional.
This has been a competitive series in which England have put India under the pump in all three Tests so far, but the tide might just have turned after Bazball’s stunning debacle on days three and four of the Rajkot game. Truly, there will be English cricket fans and scribes still trying to figure out how their team collapsed from 207/2 to 319 all out and then 122 in the second innings, on a surface on which India posted 445 and 430/4 declared.
The question now, regarding England, is whether Stokes and his team-mates have managed to shake off the horrors of those two days in Rajkot.
We all knew that the biggest test to Bazball were these five Test matches in India. Now, after successive defeats, the most chastening being the 434-run defeat on Sunday, is the biggest test for Bazball. It is, make no mistake, the biggest match for Stokes’ team since he took over as captain and joined forces with coach Brendon McCullum. So far, the Stokes-McCullum pair has overseen 21 Test matches of which 14 have been victories, six have been lost and one a draw. In this time, England have not lost a single series.
Lose in Ranchi, and that proud record will be broken. A series defeat will prompt questions about Bazball’s legacy, and victories over New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan as well as a drawn 2-2 Ashes last summer could be brushed aside as flukes. It would be a disservice to what Stokes, McCullum and the rest have achieved across 21 Tests, considering how the captain and coach came together after England has won one of 17 prior matches.
India pricked Bazball in the second Test and ground it into the dust during the third. All eyes are now on Ranchi, where England’s approach will be scrutinized to minute detail. It promises to be captivating, no matter where your allegiance lies.
