All eyes will be on the weather and conditions in Dharamsala. It is cold here and England will perhaps feel like home away from home. It potentially gives England a chance to finish the tour on a high. If they can manage a win in Dharamsala then they can perhaps look back at areas in the last couple of Test matches where they could have done better.
Dharamsala Test also seems like a match of milestones in some ways, speaking for both sides. Jonny Bairstow and R Ashwin are set to play their 100th Test matches. James Anderson is on cusp of 700 Test wickets.
Starting with Bairstow, it is going to be an emotional Test match for him. His family is here to be with him on such a special occasion in his career. He’s done an incredible job over the years for England. In some ways, I might call him the pioneer of the Bazball era. In 2022 when the Brendon McCullum-Ben Stokes era started, he was the one scoring match-winning runs with the
bat and had a major role to play in those wins. Bairstow hit six Test hundreds during that time. These were match-winning, game-changing tons.
I also feel that Bairstow is the happiest when he also has the keeping gloves. He likes being the keeper and batter, which has not been the case on this trip. I think he has kept wickets for almost half of the matches in his Test career and I feel this is where he is at his happiest. But such are the team dynamics that it is not possible to hand over the keeping gloves to him. He has faced several injuries in his career, but Bairstow has always come back strongly from it.
This series has seen some moments of his brilliance but not Bairstow at his best. The last Test gives the opportunity to finish the series on a high and the occasion might give him the extra dose of motivation to do just that. Bairstow achieving this landmark means this is the first time England have four players with 100 or more Tests in the side.
Not to forget, Harry Brook is set to make a comeback after this series and while Bairstow needs no proving why he is a special player, he knows there will be places up for grabs at the conclusion of this series. There will be a number of things of great importance which will be on top of his mind going into this Test.
While there is a Bairstow about to play his 100th Test, we also have a veteran of 186 Test who has stood the test of time on the 22 yards in form of the great James Anderson, who is very close to a mammoth achievement of 700 Test wickets. His control of swing has been unrivalled for so long. He is 186 Test matches old but keeps going like he has just started in international cricket.
For me his ability to play 186 Test matches is as impressive as the inevitability of picking 700 Test wickets. It is an extraordinary show of resilience, fitness levels, desire and love for the game. All these characteristics have been so important in his career over a long period of time.
What he has done is an inspiration to so many cricket lovers all over the world. You watch him run every time he comes into bowl, or when he is running hard to save a boundary, you realise that even after 186 Tests, there is no waning in his energy levels and desire to be counted.
Coming to Ashwin, who too plays his 100th Test in Dharamsala, he has been a professor of his art and an architect of so many wins for India in Tests over the years. He gives so much thought when he goes into bowl that is it a sheer joy to watch him operate in the middle.
When you look at some geniuses and greats of the game across sports, you see how they have constructed a glorious career. Some can understand and reason why they were so great. There was a process involved which made them the great players that they became. Others are instinctive and always find a way to tackle the challenges and come out with flying colours. I see Ashwin as a deep thinker of the game who understands why and how he has achieved so much.
He also has 5 Test centuries to boot. But above everything what sets him apart is his ability to bowl with the new ball. I feel that has so much to do with India winning Test matches at home. He is such a potent force that there is no chance for the opening batters to ease into the innings and then come up against the likes of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Ashwin usually starts first, and he bowls so accurately that it is difficult to survive against him. Remember that it is not very easy for an off-spinner or a finger spinner to open with the new ball. But he has mastered those skills, like many other skills. He is a combination of so many of these skills and abilities that make him the special bowler that he is today.
If he gets another five-fer, he will become the leading five-wicket haul taker in Tests ahead of Anil Kumble, which is a huge achievement itself. Coming to the 5th Test and India’s selection, I would want to stick with Rajat Patidar. I know there is a bit of a question mark over his form, but I am from the school of thought that says give a cricketer ample number of opportunities across different conditions. We do not know how the pitch would play. Yes, it will be a challenge for him, but he would love to have one more go in the series.
The other option is Devdutt Padikkal who I really love watching play. He has one of the best straight drives. But I still reckon Patidar should get one more chance to see if he can thrive under pressure and finally puts up a good show. As far as England are concerned, I would have been surprised if they did not stick with Anderson and Mark Wood. Ben Stokes, obviously, comes in as the third seamer bowler to balance the side.
England have seen the pitch, and they are going with three seamers and two spin bowling options. Stokes is currently on 197 Test wickets and three more will get him to a big milestone of
200 wickets.
Ollie Robinson, who put on a disappointing show in Ranchi, does not get the nod and maybe he is also not fully fit. The other option they had was Gus Atkinson who can bowl with genuine pace, but England have decided to stick with the experienced pair of Anderson and Wood.
