3rd Test Preview

Following India's crushing 317 run win in the 2nd Test at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai the action moves to Ahmedabad for the Day/Night 3rd Test.

The 110,000 capacity Sardar Patel Stadium,
Motera, Ahmedabad.

England are rumoured to have dropped Rory Burns and Dan Lawrence in favour of Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow, although it is unclear if Bairstow or Crawley will open and which will replace Lawrence at 3.

Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope will stay at 4, 5 and 6 with Ben Foakes remaining as wicket keeper. The bowling attack is likely to feature Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer and Jack Leach and they will be joined by two of Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad and Olly Stone.

India are likely to make just the one change from Chennai with Jasprit Bumrah replacing Kuldeep Yadav. Ishant Sharma is expected to make his 100th appearance for India in Test cricket.

The wicket at the impressive Motera Stadium is expected to be less spin friendly than the wicket for the 2nd Test in Chennai but it is believed it will still offer assistance for the slower bowlers. 

The SG pink ball will be used for only the 2nd time, following it's use in the Day/Night Test between India & Bangladesh at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 2019.

The wicket for the 3rd Test

Expected Line-ups

India

Rohit Sharma

Shubman Gill

Che Pujura

Virat Kohli (c)

Ajinkya Rahane

Rishabh Pant (wk)

Ravi Ashwin

Axar Patel

Ishant Sharma

Mohammad Siraj

Jasprit Bumrah

England

Jonny Bairstow

Dom Sibley

Zak Crawley

Joe Root (c)

Ben Stokes

Ollie Pope

Ben Foakes (wk)

Chris Woakes

Jofra Archer

Jack Leach

Jimmy Anderson

Officials

Anil Chaudhary

Nitin Menon

TV Umpire - Chettithody Shamshuddin

Reserve Umpire - KN Ananthapadmanabhan

Match Referee - Javagal Srinath

Betting Odds

India 1/2

England 11/4

Draw 13/2

TV Coverage

Channel 4 0830-1700 GMT

Greg Griffiths

23 Feb 2021

Ashwin turns the screw on Days 2 & 3

 

Day 1 of the 2nd Test belonged to Rohit Sharma, however the next two days have been dominated by Ravichandran Ashwin. Firstly he had England's batsman in a spin as he claimed 5-43 to collect back to back 5-fors following his 6-61 in England's 2nd innings of the 1s Test, then hit his 5th Test 100 as India batted England out of the match on Day 3.

Day 2 had begun well for England as they wrapped up India's 1st innings for the addition of just 29 runs, Moeen Ali removed debutant Axar Patel smartly stumped by Ben Foakes and Ishant Sharma in the 2nd over of the day, Rishabh Pant then passed 50 for the 2nd time in the series before Olly Stone removed Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammad Siraj to close India's innings on 329.

Like India had, England soon found themselves 0-1, Rory Burns trapped leg before by Ishant Sharma, Ashwin opened from the other end and struck his first blow in the 8th over. Dom Sibley attempted a sweep and was taken at leg slip by Kohli. Although it was given not out India were convinced there was glove involved and reviewed with replays showing the ball brushing the top of Sibley's bat. Sibley knew and was half way off before the decision was shown on the big screen. Dan Lawrence was the next man to fall to Ashwin who changed to around the wicket for the last ball before lunch, finding extra bounce the ball hit Lawrence on the glove and went straight to Gill at short leg. Ben Stokes was bowled by a beautiful delivery again from around the wicket that drifted towards the left handers pads before spinning away to hit Stokes off stump as he looked to manoeuvre the ball to midwicket leaving England in all sorts of trouble at 52-5. Ashwin's 4th was a gimme as Olly Stone turned one off his pads but could only chip the ball straight to Rohit at midwicket and Ashwin ended England's 1st innings on 134 when Stuart Broad was bowled attempting his favoured sweep shot, leaving the host 249 runs ahead.

Ashwin joined Virat Kohli at the crease with India 101-6 in their 2nd innings the hosts leading by 355 runs and clearly thought it was time to have some fun with the bat. He swept, drove, cut and slapped England's attack to all corners going to 50 in just 64 balls with 7 fours, although he was given a life on 28 when Stokes dropped him at slip off Broad. Ashwin continued on his merry way even after Kohli departed for 62 dismissed by Moeen Ali for the 2nd time in the match. Kuldeep Yadav and Ishant Sharma followed reasonably quickly but Ashwin found a partner in Mohammad Siraj who was willing to block away at one end to allow him to complete a 5th Test century which came when an attempted hoick over the leg side caught the outside edge and ballooned over the slips down to third man for four. Both men then went on the all out attack with Siraj smashing two sixes over midwicket before Ashwin was bowled by Olly Stone leaving England needing 482 for a highly unlikely win.

It was the third time Ashwin had completed the double of century and a five wicket haul in a Test, only Sir Ian Botham who managed this on 5 occasions is ahead of Ashwin on that front.

Ashwin was not done for the day and produced a beauty to have Rory Burns caught ag gully for 25 and England ended Day 3 at 53-3 needing another 429 and it is only a matter of how many India will win by. If Ashwin can take another 4 wickets in the 2nd innings he will become only the 4th man to score a century and take 10 wickets in a Test.

There have been few bright spots for England so far in this match on what can only be described as a spicy wicket, however Ben Foakes has been superb with the gloves, equalling an England record of 3 stumpings in a Test as well as making a determined 42 not out in England's first innings and the debate over who should be England's Test wicket keeper is in full flow.

Scorecard

Greg Griffiths
15 Feb 2021

Rohit puts India in the box seat

 

Rohit Sharma gave India the advantage on Day 1 of the 2nd Test at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, with the hosts closing on 300-6 on an action packed day.

It was England however that landed the first blow of the day, Olly Stone who was making just his 2nd Test appearance in place of the injured Jofra Archer, removing Shubman Gill with the score still on 0. Gill misjudged a length delivery from the Warwickshire pacer which nipped back and wrapped him on the front pad as he shouldered arms. Umpire Nitin Menon had no doubts and raised the finger. Gill pondered a review but following a brief conversation with opening partner Sharma, wisely decided against the idea.

Sharma was however unfazed by the early loss of his opening partner, and soon set about England's new ball pair driving boundaries through the covers and down the ground with both power and placement, once Jack Leach was introduced to the attack Sharma made full use of the sweep shot hitting the fence at deep backward square whenever the Somerset man went too full. Sharma dominated the 2nd wicket partnership he shared with Che Pujara, with the opener reaching 50 from just 47 deliveries including eight fours and a maximum. Leach would however end their stand when he removed Pujura, Ben Stokes taking a sharp low chance at slip to leave the hosts 85-2. 

What followed an over later will stay long in the minds of all that witnessed it. Moeen Ali on his return to the side having been out since 2019 produced a classic off spinner that drifted away from Kohli and then turned back sharply beating the Indian captain's ambitious cover drive and trimmed the bails from the top of the stumps. Kohli looked dumbfounded and disbelieving that Ali could produce such a delivery he refused to leave the middle. England knew they had the prize scalp of the opposition captain and began themselves to look slightly bemused as Kohli still refused to walk, it wasn't until a replay was shown on the big screen that Kohli would accept his fate and depart. Within minutes WG Grace was trending on Twitter along with his immortal quote of "they came to see me bat, not you umpire" that he is alleged to have said having been given lbw first ball during an exhibition match and proceeded to continue his innings. Had Kohli stayed in the middle much longer the groundsman may have been required to start up his tractor and drag Kohli from the field of play.

India were now wobbling at 86-3 but even this did not deter Sharma as he continued to play the bowlers with an ease no other batsman could come close to matching, and he had made 80 out of 106 when the players broke for Lunch.

He and vice captain Ajinkya Rahane would then forge a partnership of 162 as England went wicketless during the afternoon session. Despite a couple of false strokes in the 90's Sharma completed a 7th Test century from just 130 balls with the score on 147-3, his innings included 14 boundary fours and two maximums and the hosts comfortably took the score to 189-3 at Tea with Sharma on 132 & Rahane 36.

Rahane passed 50 and Sharma 150 for the 4th time in his Test career before the days controversies returned. Leach produced a fine delivery that drew Sharma forward before spinning past his outside edge and Ben Foakes whipped the bails off in a flash. The original side on replay was inconclusive but rather than asking for a zoomed in view, 3rd Umpire Anil Chaudhary declared his compatriot not out. Leach would get his man in his next over when Sharma who had swept so well all day top edged one and found Moeen in the deep and the Worcestershire man made no mistake.

Further controversy followed eight deliveries later as England had Rahane caught at short leg by Ollie Pope off Leach's bowling. On field Umpire Virender Sharma gave it not out and England reviewed. 3rd Umpire Chaudhary checked the initial phase of the ball passing the bat and found nothing on the snickometer and proceeded to check for lbw. Finding in Rahane's favour on both grounds he gave his decision as not out. However replays showed that following the ball striking Rahane on the pad the ball then looped up taking him on the glove and a clean catch was taken by Pope. Despite the protestations of England captain Joe Root, the on field umpires refused to get the 3rd umpire to re check for this and Rahane survived. Match Referee Javagal Srinath would later reinstate England's review.

Perhaps consumed by guilt Rahane tried a sweep shot off Moeen Ali in the next over, a shot he rarely plays and connected with nothing but fresh air as the ball crashed into middle stump to end his stay for 67 with India 249-5 and the 3rd umpire had at least not inflicted too much damage through his ineptitude. 

We were now into Leach v Pant Round 2, Pant had won Round 1 in the 1st Test convincingly and Root had to remove his man from the attack when he had figures of 0-80 from 8 overs. This time around Pant played in exactly the same manner scything a cut shot through point for four, before dancing down the track to loft Leach over long on for a maximum and Root removed his man from the firing line once more, turning to his own part time off breaks instead.

England thought they had Pant a couple of overs later when he was given caught behind off Moeen but he reviewed immediately and the replays showed clear daylight between bat and ball and the decision was reversed.

Root would get England's sixth wicket of the day when he dismissed Ravi Ashwin for 13 caught by Pope at short leg. Ashwin advanced at the England captain but his defensive prod offered Pope the simplest of chances and he made no mistake. Pant and debutant Axar Patel would then see India through to stumps with no further alarms.

England will want an early breakthrough in the morning and to wrap the Indian innings up for less than 350. India though have put themselves in the box seat on Day 1 and a score above 350 will have England fighting for their lives on a pitch that is already playing more like a Day 4 wicket than Day 1. England toiled admirably to be fair not conceding an extra all day and took the chances that came their way and will be reasonably pleased with their efforts. India in the main batted nicely but Day 1 belongs to Rohit Sharma who seemed to be playing on a different deck to everyone else and has given his side the early advantage.

Scorecard

Greg Griffiths
13 Feb 2021

 

Selection Issues ahead of the 2nd India v England Test

The 2nd Test of the India vs England series kicks off in Chennai on Saturday morning so what changes can we expect to the line-ups?

For England one thing is for certain Jos Buttler returns home as part of the rest and rotation policy in place due to their heavy Test schedule and the forthcoming T20 World Cup. Surrey gloveman Ben Foakes will deputise. Foakes scored a century on debut at Galle during England's tour to Sri Lanka in late 2018 and followed up with an unbeaten 65 in the 2nd Test in Pallekele. He made a fighting 36 not out in the second innings of the 3rd Test as England won the series 3-0. He fared less well on England's tour of West Indies in January 2019 and was dropped after the 2nd Test. Foakes however is widely regarded as the finest gloveman in England and his record with the bat in Sri Lanka should hold him in good stead for the rest of the series in India where he will face similar conditions.

Dan Lawrence looks set to continue at three with Zak Crawley injured and Jonny Bairstow not scheduled to return until the 3rd Test in Ahmedabad. 

There has been some talk about Moeen Ali replacing Dom Bess as 2nd spinner but reading between the lines of comments by coach Chris Silverwood I would expect Bess to retain his place in the side for the 2nd Test.

Stuart Broad will almost certainly come in for James Anderson, not that Anderson has done anything wrong, far from it in fact, England are managing the work load of their premier fast bowlers and will have one eye on the 3rd Test in Ahmedabad being a day/night match with the pink ball, conditions that should suit Anderson down to the ground. 

Jofra Archer has had an injection in his right elbow following discomfort during the 1st Test, England's medical team are hopeful he will be fit for the 3rd Test. I would expect Olly Stone to come in as a genuine like for like replacement or England to pick a third spinner with the Chepauk surface expected to take turn from the first day.

For India there is concern over the form of Rohit Sharma at the top of the order and he could lose his place to KL Rahul who has returned to fitness following injury during the tour of Australia. Vice captain Akinkya Rahane's form is also a concern he has passed fifty only once in his last 14 Test innings, the exception being his match winning 112 in the second Australia India Test at The MCG, although being the VC I would be surprised to see him lose his place.

Washington Sundar went wicketless in the 1st Test but made an excellent 85* in their 1st innings and India are likely to stick with him as 3rd spinner for now given the added depth he brings to the batting line up although he could be replaced by Hardik Pandya if India feel two spinners is sufficient. Shahbaz Nadeem has been dropped with Axar Patel now fit. Kuldeep Yadav is India's other spin option and he could replace Sundar although this leaves India with a very long tail.

Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah bowled well in the 1st Test and should retain their places but India can call on either or both of Mohammad Siraj and Shardul Thakur if they decide to rest or rotate their seamers.

India squad for first two Tests: Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.

England squad for first two Tests: Joe Root (Capt), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler wk (1st Test Only), Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes wk, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. Reserves: James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.

Greg Griffiths
11 Feb 2021

Dominant England take series opener in Chennai

 

An inspired spell from Jimmy Anderson lead England to a dominant victory on Day 5 of the opening Test in Chennai. India were chasing a nominal total of 420 to win the game or more realistically needing to bat out the day to salvage a draw, however Anderson produced one of the great overs of his career to all but extinguish India's chances. India's captain Virat Kohli played beautifully for 72 but wickets fell all around him at the other end and England closed out their win by 227 runs midway through the afternoon session.

It was a near faultless performance from England and one of their finest of the modern era. Captain Joe Root continued his stellar start to 2021 with his 2nd double century & third score of 180+ as he made 218 in England's first innings score of 578 with Dom Sibley and the returning Ben Stokes both passing 80 as they made full use of a pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers on the opening two days.

Jofra Archer returning after the side having been rested for the tour of Sri Lanka struck twice early in India's reply and at 44-2 England were beginning to turn the screw. Enter Dom Bess, England's young off spinner had Kohli caught at short leg to end an unusually subdued innings from the Indian superstar and two overs later Root pulled off a stunning catch at short cover to send Ajinkya Rahane on his way for a duck and the home side were starring down the barrel. India did offer some resistance as Che Pujara and Rishabh Pant put on 119 for the 5th wicket but Bess as he has down throughout his fledgling career to date removed Pujara with a long hop which was pulled fiercely into the shoulder of Ollie Pope at short leg and lobbed straight to Rory Burns at midwicket. Pant however continued on his merry way but with India needing a really big innings from him to have any chance of repeating their famous victory of England's last tour, threw his wicket away on 91 and with it his side chances. Pant is a hugely talented young batsman but the next lesson he needs to learn is to curb his enthusiasm. This was the third occasion the young keeper batsman has been caught in the deep in the 90's and India can't afford for him to keep ending up on the wrong side of the fine line between positivity and recklessness. 

Day four began with Washington Sundar and Ravi Ashwin at the crease and they added fifty much needed runs to India's overnight tally before Ashwin was removed by Jack Leach who had been tormented by Pant the previous day and the Somerset left arm spinner quickly added the wicket of Shahbaz Nadeem before James Anderson returned to mop up the tail leaving the hosts 241 adrift on first innings. Sundar would remain unbeaten on 85 and you can see why the tall left hander opens for Tamil Nadu in The Ranji Trophy, he has passed 50 in both of his Test appearances to date.

England declined to enforce the follow on and would now be looking to get India back into bat by the close of play. The debates around declarations were of course now in full flow, and of course these are much easier for those of us watching from our sofa's or the tv studio. 400+ always felt like it would be enough on a pitch now offering prodigious turn and signs of uneven bounce, Root decided to not offer India any chance of victory and after dominating almost all of the match to that point and why should he? When England were all out for 178 their lead had grown to 420 and India would need to bat 13 overs on the final evening and all of the final day for a draw.

India will be happy with the way they bowled in England's second innings with premier spinner Ravi Ashwin claiming 6-61 and Ishant Sharma becoming only the 3rd seamer for India to reach the milestone of 300 Test wickets when he trapped Dan Lawrence leg before. 

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill set about India's pursuit of 420 in a positive manner with a few early boundaries including Sharma pulling Archer into the stands for a maximum, but Jack Leach would provide England with the breakthrough they so desperately wanted on the fourth evening. The Somerset man produced a beauty that drifted in from around the wicket, pitched in line with middle and then spun away sharply beating Sharma's outside edge and knocking back his off stump. 

Leach struck again early on in the final day removing Pujara caught by Stokes at slip for 15 to leave India 58-2. Gill and Kohli then got stuck into some generous bowling from Dom Bess to steady the ship however the introduction of James Anderson to the attack would in the space of five deliveries all but end India's hopes.

Having just reached a third Test fifty Gill, nudged Anderson's first delivery to mid wicket. the second delivery was slightly wider and tailed in again finding the gap between Gill's bat and his front pad with laser like precision to send the openers off stop cartwheeling. Three balls later Anderson produced a carbon copy of that delivery to send vice captain Ajinkya Rahane on his way for a duck with the off stump doing cartwheels once more. The previous delivery from Anderson had rapped Rahane on the front pad but Umpire Nitin Menon adjudged he has got his pad outside the line of off stump and declined England's appeal. Joe Root reviewed the decision and with ball tracking showing less than 50% of the ball being in line with off stump at the moment of impact his decision was upheld despite the ball going on to be hitting middle stump a quarter of the way up. Due to the vagaries of the DRS protocols Menon's decision was correct however had he raised the finger and Rahane reviewed the decision he would still of been given out. Such a scenario gives the ICC something think about.  

There were to be no fireworks from Rishabh Pant this time and when he was caught at short cover by Joe Root off Anderson via a leading edge for 11 the writing was well and truly on the wall for the hosts at 110-5. Just eight deliveries later Washington Sundar departed without troubling the scorers as he edged Dom Bess through to Jos Buttler. Ravi Ashwin did manage to hang around with Kohli for a while with the India captain playing a series of glorious strokes off both spinners and the seamers, as he moved past 50 with ease. Ashwin then became Leach's third victim of the innings attempted to cut a slightly short ball he could only get a slight top edge through to Buttler who made no mistake with the gauntlets. A couple of overs later it was effectively all over when a Stokes delivery to Kohli kept low on the India captain scuttled under his bat and sent his off stump flying. It was a harsh end for Kohli who had in truth played beautifully and not offered England a sniff prior to his dismissal. Nadeem went to Leach to complete a pair and then Jofra Archer ended proceedings when Jasprit Bumrah edged to Buttler leaving India all out for 192 and England victorious by 227 runs.

It was truth be told a near perfect performance from England, Joe Root importantly won the toss and choose to bat on a wicket that offered little for the bowlers for the first two days and England and Root himself in particular cashed in. By the time India got a bat on day three the wicket had begun to spin nicely for Leach and Bess, and it was Bess in particular who made most of the conditions and the scoreboard pressure resulting from England's mammoth score as the tourists took wickets at regular intervals to leave India well behind on first innings. Root's decision not in force the follow on was the correct one and although England could of batted better second time around they ended up setting the hosts a world record chase in 103 overs. Shane Warne in particular was critical of Root's decision not to declare England's second innings even going so far as to claim that the ends don't justify the means after England's win. Root's men won with over three hours of the match remaining with plenty of runs in the bank. It would seem therefore that ends do very much justify the means Shane.

England 578 (Root 218, Sibley 87, Stokes 82) & 178 (Root 40, Ashwin 6-61) beat India 377 (Pant 91, Sundar 85*, Pujara 73, Bess 4-76) & 192 (Kohli 72, Leach 4-76, Anderson 3-17) by 227 runs and lead the series 1-0

Full Scorecard

Greg Griffiths
11 Feb 2021 

  

India's Embarrassment of Riches

 

When India left home for their tour of Australia  even Nostradamus wouldn't of been able to predict the chain of events that were to eventually lead to India claiming a 2-1 win in The Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

What we did know was that the two teams were pretty evenly matched but Australia would be favourites due to being at home, and that India Captain Virat Kohli would return home for the birth of his first child following the opening day-night Test in Adelaide. Ishant Sharma who had suffered an abdominal tear during The Dream IPL would not make the tour.

In my previous article I wrote about two of India's up and coming's stars Rishabh Pant & Shubman Gill and their performances in the last Test of the series. However in Adelaide things went less well for another of their protégées, Prithvi Shaw. Before the opening Test Shaw had played 4 Tests, registering two 50's and a maiden Test 100. Things didn't go according to plan for Shaw or India in Adelaide as he bagged a pair, bowled in both in innings, by Starc & Cummins. India were humiliated as Australia bowled them out for just 36 in their 2nd Innings with not a single batsman making double figures. The last ball of the match saw Mohammed Shami take a thunderous blow to the arm from a Pat Cummins delivery and retire hurt. Like Kohli and Shami, Shaw would not play again in the series, but he is just 19 years old and his time will undoubtedly come again.

India pulled off one of the great bounce back wins in the 2nd Test at the MCG. Lead brilliantly by stand in Captain Ajinkya Rahane, who scored a magnificent 112 in their 1st Innings. The win came at a cost for India though as Umesh Yadav limped off with a calf problem, three balls into his fourth over of Australia's 2nd innings. Shubman Gill however was starting to make a name for himself to those who don't follow the IPL with scores of 45 & 35* on Test debut as India took the match by 8 wickets and levelled the series.

Worse was to follow before the 3rd Test had even begun as India lost opening batsman KL Rahul when he suffered a broken hand whilst batting in the nets. Rahul had not featured in the opening two Tests and would now not feature in the last two either. 

India went on to produce one of the great rear-guard actions at the SCG, batting out 131 overs to secure a draw. An unlikely win had been on the cards until Hanuma Vihari pulled a hamstring whilst on 12, but unable to run he blocked like his life depended on it finishing 23* from 161 balls as he and Ravi Ashwin put on 62 to defy the Aussies. Ravi Jadeja suffered a broken and dislocated thumb in India's 1st Innings after being hit bit a short ball from Mitchell Starc and would only of batted 2nd time around if the match depended on it. Rishabh Pant had also taken a nasty blow to the forearm batting in the 1st Innings and although he carried on and made a fine 97 he was unable to keep wicket 2nd time around with Wriddhiman Saha taking the gloves.

Before the deciding Test at Australia's fortress The Gabba, Jasprit Bumrah the spearhead of India's pace attack was ruled out with an abdominal strain, and Ravi Ashwin also went down with a back problem. You now started to wonder in India had taken enough players on tour to field a side for the last test given their injury problems.

They had, just. Mohammed Siraj would lead the fast bowling attack in the just his 3rd Test, and his new ball partner would be Thangarusu Natajaran who had been taken on tour as a net bowler. They would be backed up by Navdeep Saini who had debuted in the 3rd Test at Sydney & Shardul Thakur who had one previous test to his name back in 2018. Washington Sundar would lead the spin attack on debut whilst Mayank Agarwal normally an opening batsman would bat at 5, although Pant would move up to 5 in their 2nd Innings.

Siraj would end the match with a maiden 5 wicket haul, Thakur picked up 4 in the 2nd innings to go with 3 in the first. Sundar took 3 in the first innings including Steve Smith for his maiden Test match wicket. With India 186-6 in their 1st innings in reply to Australia's 369, the tourists were in trouble. However Sundar and Thakur picked of course for their bowling went on the attack scoring 62 & 67 respectively and leading India to a score of 336 just 33 behind. Australia made 294 second time around to set India an improbable 328 to win on a pitch offering plenty of variable bounce.

Shubman Gill who had made a maiden test 50 at the SCG went on the attack despite the early loss of Rohit Sharma, making a Test best 91. Che Pujara did his thing making 56 from 211 deliveries before the other young star Rishabh Pant finished the game and the series with 89* to add to the 97 he made at the SCG. Sundar chipped in with a handy 22 as well.

The whole point of this is of course that India boast an embarrassment of riches when it comes to cricketing talent. Whilst India have always had great Batsman I grew up watching the likes of Mohammed Azhararuddin, Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and of course Sachin Tendulkar and latterly Virat Kohli. 

In the spin department it was Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh and now Ravi Ashwin & Ravi Jadeja. Washington Sundar has now firmly thrown his hat into the ring too. India now also have a successor to the great MS Dhoni in Rishabh Pant.

Where this Indian Team differs with teams of the past is with the fast bowlers, as a young man I watched Indian touring teams turn up in England with Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad and would call for another seamer if one of those went down injured and Ganguly would back them up with some medium pace you would be more accustomed to facing in club cricket. Nowadays they seem to have a conveyer belt of fast bowlers, and these guys are genuinely quick compared to the likes of Srinath and Prasad.

Credit must go to the BCCI for the creation of the IPL. When India's young stars are pushed into the Test or ODI arena there is no fear of facing or bowling to the best in the world. These young men have already smacked the best in the world to all corners or knocked over the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner.

Whilst the Australian selector's face some tricky selection dilemma's ahead of their tour to South Africa, India's selectors have the the more enviable task of picking from the plethora of riches at their disposal, and for every Shubman Gill or Rishabh Pant there is a Sanju Samson or a Ishan Kishan waiting in the wings. Prithvi Shaw may count himself unlucky to have been left out of India's 18 man squad for the first 2 Tests against England, but his time will come and he won't be the only one. The future of Indian cricket has in my opinion never looked brighter.

India like most cricketing nations have tried the foreign coach idea, John Wright, Greg Chappell, Gary Kirsten & Duncan Fletcher all had spells in charge with varying degrees of success. Come 2015 they decided to look closer to home and Ravi Shastri took charge although he only stayed in charge for around a year. They then turned to legendary former leg spinner Anil Kumble but like Shastri before him he came and went in around 12 months. In July 2017 they re-appointed Shastri as Coach, not only is he getting performances from the established senior players in the squad, the young guns are now firing too. And as this series down under has shown you right off this Indian team at your peril. This lot do not just give in and fold when the chips are down, Shastri has instilled a real fighting spirit into his charges. His contract is due to finish after the 2021 T20 World Cup but I wouldn't bet against it being extended again.

India is of course a cricket mad country with a population of around 1.5BN that they should have so much talent should be of little surprise. However they also now seem to have a system that produces and will keep producing real talent, I believe they are destined to dominate the rankings for some time to come and it will need some team to knock them from their perch!

The Victorious Indian Squad

Greg Griffiths
Jan 24 2021