Shahbaz Nadeem celebrates a wicket with his teammates during the first Test against England. (Twitter/BCCI) Washington Sundar ran out of partners and missed out on a maiden Test hundred. Ravichandran Ashwin collected his 28th career five-for in the England second innings. The two Chennai boys shone bright at Chepauk on Monday, in front of empty stands.
But the tourists have been so much ahead in the game from the first day that even after dismissing them for 178, India have a mountain to climb on the final day, or need to produce another memorable rearguard to avoid defeat. That they lost Rohit Sharma while reaching 39 late in the day only made the task tougher.
STUMPS 🏏
India finish day four on 39/1
They need 381 more to win. England need nine wickets.#INDvENG ➡️ https://t.co/gnj5x4GOos pic.twitter.com/2lon38JptO
— ICC (@ICC) February 8, 2021
Washington’s body language showcased his mentality. The youngster thinks like a top-order batsman and has the skill-set to match it, a reason why he has taken to Test cricket like a duck to water. Why the Tamil Nadu cricket set-up didn’t consider him good enough for red-ball cricket for the last three years was anybody’s guess. Washington remained unbeaten on 85 not out on Monday, on the heels of his 62 and 22 in Brisbane.
India resumed the fourth day on 257/6, aiming to take the innings deep. The first few overs of the day before the second new ball were crucial. From India’s point of view, it was important to score as many runs as possible in those six overs. Washington smashed a four past cover off Dom Bess to start with. The shot that took him to his second half-century in his second Test, a classy cover-drive off Jack Leach, was even better. By the time the second new ball was taken, India had reached 284. A six from Ashwin against Bess helped as well. The two put on 80 runs for the seventh wicket which ensured that England could return for their second innings only at the stroke of lunch. The visitors didn’t enforce the follow-on despite securing a 241-run first-innings lead.
Decisive footwork is one of the key features of Washington’s batting. He is either fully forward or fully back. He leans into his drives and his head is always very still. He plays spin with ease, expected of a player who has learned his cricket in Chennai. Against fast bowlers, he stays behind the line of the ball and not beside it. Washington also has a lovely bat swing, which was evident when drove James Anderson for a six right in front of the sightscreen.
No. 7 is a difficult position to bat in Test cricket. The batsman needs to have the technique to counter the second new ball. Also, he should be accomplished enough to bat with the lower order. Through his exploits in Brisbane and Chennai, Washington has shown he ticks those boxes.
Ashwin in his element
Ishant Sharma described the Chepauk pitch as “like a road” for the first two days. It has been hard work for the bowlers. Understandably, in the first innings, Ashwin concentrated on line and length and varying his pace and trajectory in the air. The fourth-day pitch had deteriorated when England came out for their second innings. It was still pretty slow, but the turn was a lot more pronounced. Ashwin was in his element.
He opened the bowling and accounted for Rory Burns off the very first ball, drawing the batsman forward and letting the ball turn and jump before taking the shoulder of the bat to Ajinkya Rahane at first slip. Ashwin was getting dip as well and Dan Lawrence, in particular, was struggling to counter that. Even Joe Root wasn’t comfortable. He was beaten in the air on a few occasions and countered that by playing the sweep shot as a mode of improvisation.
ICYMI – Ashwin’s first ball strike in the 2nd innings@ashwinravi99 was given the new ball in the 2nd innings and he struck in his very first ball. Beautiful delivery to get Burns caught at slip.
📽️📽️https://t.co/CV8ad328nb #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/JKvBoNVaOo
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 8, 2021
Ashwin got Dom Sibley with one that straightened. Ben Stokes was done in by a delivery that was tossed up but dipped sharply and turned away. Dom Bess was dismissed with a skidder. Ashwin was enjoying his variations. His figures, 6/61, become even more creditable given that he barely had any support from the other end. Shahbaz Nadeem didn’t inspire confidence at this level. Ashwin didn’t have a partner with whom he could bowl in tandem.
A match haul of nine wickets has taken Ashwin’s tally to 386 wickets; fourth in the all-time list in Indian cricket after Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, and Harbhajan Singh.
England’s pragmatism
Around 3.30pm India time, former Australia cricketers started to troll England on social media. The tourists’ lead was swelling up at the expense of overs consumed, but Root wasn’t mulling declaration. Mark Waugh aimed a dig on Twitter. Shane Warne called England’s approach “cautious and timid”. In 2008, India had chased down 387 in the fourth innings against England in Chennai. But England’s pragmatism here was apparently a result of India’s heroics in Australia; the way India batted in Sydney in the fourth innings and their victory march in Brisbane.
Following Virat Kohli’s return, India’s batting is even stronger. Rishabh Pant’s belligerence and Washington’s emergence are powerful factors to make any opposition iffy. Eventually, India’s victory target was set at 420, and Leach started bowling with a deep cover. That, and also Bess bowling to Cheteshwar Pujara with a deep mid-wicket in the final over of the day, prompted raised eyebrows. India still need 381 runs to achieve the improbable.
Ishant’s 300
When he trapped Lawrence leg-before, Ishant became the third Indian fast bowler after Kapil and Zaheer Khan to reach the milestone of 300 Test wickets. It took him 98 Tests to get there – a career that has revelled in perseverance.