The challenge is familiar for England’s tourists. In Visakhapatnam the India spinners eventually suffocated their opponents, just as they have New Zealand and South Africa in the last year. The old order was restored as Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, with a little help from the newcomer, Jayant Yadav, patiently undermined batsmen, some of whom have never experienced the peculiar torment of being trapped and then exposed in the final innings of an Indian Test match. They were surrounded by vulturine fieldsmen yet seldom have they felt more lonely.
There is, however, something new and imposing about this India Test side. They may be more athletic in the field than any of their predecessors. The catching has been far from flawless, especially in Rajkot, but the ground fielding is hitting fresh heights, especially if the comparison is with the “golden” days of Bedi, Chandrasekhar, Prasanna, Vishwanath and Gavaskar, when, in common with most other international teams, they tended to meander around the outfield at a more leisurely, comfortable pace. In those days a dive was nothing other than a disreputable nightclub.
The captain, Virat Kohli, sets the pattern with astonishing energy. Even his immediate predecessor, MS Dhoni, occasionally lamented with a healthy dose of resignation that his side was not great in the field. But the impression is that this regime would not settle for that.
Kohli is on constant red alert in the field, often dashing left and right in the ring, swooping and then fizzing throws back to his keeper, who will be Parthiv Patel rather than Wriddhiman Saha in Mohali, issuing constant deterrents to any batsman who has the impudence to try to steal a run. Saha has a strain in his left thigh, but his absence may not reduce India greatly since he has scored only 49 runs in the series without keeping impeccably. Patel, now 31, made his debut against England back in 2002; his last Test was eight years ago.
Opposite Kohli in the field there is usually Jadeja, who is similarly fleet-footed and alert. Jayant Yadav, is quick too. Indeed it was his intervention at square leg that started England’s slide at Visakhapatnam. He gathered the ball far more quickly than Joe Root anticipated in the first innings and as a consequence Haseeb Hameed was run out. In this series there are no easy singles – or twos – out there for England.
Ajinkya Rahane is also a livewire but even those not renowned for their fielding prowess seem to have improved. There is barely a weak link visible and it may be that Kohli has mastered the art of hiding his more vulnerable fieldsmen adroitly. The advent and evolution of the IPL surely means that all 10 in the field must now reach a certain level of competence that was beyond one or two of those playing for India in the 20th century.
The contrast extends to pace bowling. So far in the series the two fastest bowlers have been Indian, which has seldom been the case in contests past. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav steam in for short spells often breaking the 90mph mark. Meanwhile the Englishmen, in the shape of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, seek to use their guile and changes of pace, which was traditionally the Indian way. In Mohali, starting on Saturday, that could change a bit since the canny Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been added to India’s squad while England’s current fastest, Chris Woakes, will be back in the XI.
There remain chinks in the Indian batting lineup. Rahane has yet to deliver; nor has the other opener alongside Murali Vijay; nor has the wicketkeeper. But England have not been able to exploit those weaknesses because of the excellence of Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli. Especially Kohli.
Pujara has been hit on the head as frequently as he has been dismissed in this series. He looks imperious against the spinners and more vulnerable against the pacemen, but that vulnerability has not prevented him from scoring a century in each Test. Against him England will be more inclined to stick with their fast bowlers and that might drive them to opt for four pacemen and two spinners in Mohali.
But the major problem is Kohli. He is setting the pattern with the bat as well as in the field. Already he has corrected a ropey record against England and Anderson in particular. He looks razor sharp at the crease and fiercely driven. There are no glaring weaknesses – twice he has been caught at slip driving against the spinners but on both occasions he had already gleaned many runs from that stroke. Occasionally he has top-edged a bouncer but for the most part he has scored runs more easily than anyone else in an intimidatingly measured way.
For England, taming Kohli is probably more important than finding a No4 in their own side – and just as tricky.
