108th over: India 391-4 (Nair 71, Vijay 17) Vijay will fancy opening tomorrow morning given a softish ball, runs on the board and runs to be had. Accordingly, he’s circumspect against Moeen but then follows one that drifts towards the pads, flicking it around the corner for four before delaying just enough so that there is no case for a further over. And because Cook moved a man from cover to leg-slip, next ball he takes four more through that very zone; India are 86 runs behind. STUMPS.
107th over: India 383-4 (Nair 71, Vijay 9) Cheer up Lokesh, give me a smile. Probably this over and one more, as Rashid bustles in, Nair taking a single to cover before Vijay stretches into a drive for two. The he adds one more, and we’ll have a final over before stumps.
Here's Lokesh Rahul's 199 runs, in all their wagon wheel glory...#INDvENG #bbccricket https://t.co/3mxAnosJdm pic.twitter.com/UMAknMImzM
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) December 18, 2016
106th over: India 379-4 (Nair 70, Vijay 6) Vijay comes down the track and with the field up, loft-whips one over midwicket. He doesn’t get all of it but gets enough, clearing the infield for four, the only runs of the over.
That feeling when you clonk a wide one straight to a fielder on 199! Still, a magnificent innings from @klrahul11 👏 #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/jKsk6cVXWO
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 18, 2016
105th over: India 375-4 (Nair 70, Vijay 2) Mate, it’s just a number, seriously, don’t be feart of numbers, I mean who hasn’t got a Test double-century? Who even wants one, it’s an act of rebellion getting out on 199, believe Kurt Cobain would approve.
104th over: India 374-4 (Nair 70, Vijay 1) Well, that escalated quickly. Anyway, Vijay, in cap, nurdles his way off the mark, and we’ve got 12 minutes of play left today. Poor KL Rahul!
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103rd over: India 372-4 (Nair 69, Vijay 0) So, a partnership of 161; pretty good going, and yet poor KL will be up all night detesting himself. Welcome to the world, buddy.
NOT OUT!
No edge, but the impact was fully outside the line.
REVIEW!
Rashid’s first ball at Murali Vijay hits the pad, there’s a confident appeal, rejected, so England have a look.
NOOOOOOOOOOO! WICKET! KL Rahul c Buttler b Rashid 199 (India 372-4)
Rashid tosses one wider, Rahul fetches it to take himself there, it bounces more than he expects, turns away from him, and he top-edges a dolly. He crouches in disbelief; the dressing room are devastated; but he’s got to go, another busted chasing a wide on. Oh man. Brutal, to bat that well for that long and leave in a vex.
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103rd over: India 372-3 (Rahul 199, Nair 69) So confident was Rahul that Nair would still be there when he got back that during that review, he stepped off the pitch for a drink. Seven overs left after this yin, bowled by Rashid, and Rahul nurses himself through the nervous one-nineties by getting a huge stride down the pitch and sweeping it to fine leg. One away, and the crowd go for it!
“Did Athers have any comment about flat tracks and the need for more for the bowlers in, say, the innings where England were compiling 477?” asks Jen Oram. “Or is he just contemplating a drop-in pitch to be dropped in when the opposition are batting? A Changing of the Pitch ceremony at the end of each innings would greatly add to cricketing tradition, with the ringing of the bell and 12th men saluting.”
I’m not sure it’s like that. I’m sure he wants England to win, but I don’t find him a partial commentator - he wants to watch testing cricket, which this isn’t really.
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REVIEW! No edge, not lbw, but if you've got it, flaunt it.
Or something like that.
102nd over: India 368-3 (Rahul 195, Nair 69) Nair gets well forward and helps a reverse-sweep around the corner for four - he’s played that beautifully. And then, a review! For something! Inside-edge onto the pad, I think.
Updated
101st over: India 363-3 (Rahul 194, Nair 65) Everything crashed, I’m afraid, but you get my drift,
100th over: India 361-3 (Rahul 193, Nair 64) Rahul misses a sweep but flicks it with his glove and tells the umpire as much as the ball scuttles away for four. Ah ha ha ha ha! He then sashays down the track and strokes a gigantic six down the ground!
Updated
99th over: India 351-3 (Rahul 183, Nair 64) England have to find a way; if only they had a wicket-taking bowler fresh and angry. But no, let’s have some more Liam Dawson, because, well. The truth is he’s actually bowling pretty well - and so’s Moeen at the other end - but there’s no edge in the middle, no sense of danger.
98th over: India 350-3 (Rahul 182, Nair 64) Moeen speeds it up a touch and Nair flips two behind square-leg. This is a proper chance for him to secure his spot in the side, but after he adds one more and Rahul does likewise, he’s relieved when he tries another flip to one which moves away from him, imparting a leading edge which drops just short of the bowler.
97th over: India 346-3 (Rahul 181, Nair 61) Athers reckons this track is too flat, and that fair pitches are the single biggest aspect to sustaining Test cricket. He wants conditions slightly tilted to the bowlers, and will be gratified to know that I agree. Nothing is happening in the middl - well, India are proceeding serenely, but nothing out of the ordinary.
“1970s Blue Peter hyphen alert’ emails Andrew Benton. “Sticky-back plastic or sticky back-plastic. What’s the environmentally-friendly option for the millennial child?”
I’d happily have seen Peter Duncan attached to some sticky back-plastic.
96th over: India 343-3 (Rahul 179, Nair 59) Moeen continues, as the commentators discuss how flat this track is and how fair they’ve been generally through the series. And actually, the same was so in Bangladesh, where the tracks really helped the quality of the contests we saw. Three off the over and another round of drinks.
Updated
95th over: India 340-3 (Rahul 178, Nair 58) Single off the first ball of Dawson’s latest over, and then he slows one down, which Rahul doesn’t spot, carving just over cover. And Dawson follows it up well too, inducing a false drive and an inside edge, then an outside edge.
“I imagine ‘shorter of breath and one day closer to death’ is exactly how the England fielders will be feeling at stumps,” tweets Justin Horton.
94th over: India 337-3 (Rahul 177, Nair 56) On comes Moeen while Stokes plaits his arm-hair, and the batsmen milk him with ease for a two and three ones. Mortifyingly, hilariously little is happening for England here.
“Surely the old Blue Peter Totalizer, which must be lurking in a broom cupboard somewhere at Broadcasting House, could be usefully repurposed for measuring the Daddy quotient of any given hundred,” emails Kim Thonger. “If it’s not to be found you could probably manufacture something similar from egg boxes and empty fairy liquid bottles and sticky back plastic from your staff canteen and stationery cupboard? I’m willing to help apply glitter and tinsel.”
Someone from my primary school was on that because he’d written in about his hobby, keepy-uppy with a balloon, wearing flippers. Wonder if anyone grassed his parents to the social.
93rd over: India 332-3 (Rahul 174, Nair 54) Still Stokes picks his nose, Dawson replacing Broad. And he’s soon cursing when one skids on and clips Rahul’s outside edge, rushing away for four. “I’m amazed by how often England have bowled their sixth bowler in this series,” says Nasser, reminding us once again that Stokes has only sent down nine overs.
#INDvENG Ave. spin in degrees
— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) December 18, 2016
Moeen 3.73 - 1 WKT
Rashid 4.07
Dawson 4.17
--
Jadeja 4.21 - 3 WKTS
Mishra 4.60 - 1 WKT
Ashwin 4.64 - 1 WKT
92nd over: India 326-3 (Rahul 169, Nair 53) The players sup some juice at the end of a gently chastening mini-session for England, who dropped a difficult catch and generally struggled to make an impression. They’ll know that they’re going to be toiling for quite sometime yet; quiet desperation is the English way, and all that. Anyway, Nair flicks a brace into the leg side and then flows into a drive that brings up his maiden Test fifty - he seriously enjoys it too, sharing the moment with his clubmate. Milestone secured, he’s back to blocking, before some swing - looks like reverse - from Ball dangles the mirage of imminent success in English coupons.
91st over: India 320-3 (Rahul 169, Nair 47) So, what’s England’s attack at the start of the Test summer? There’s a seamer’s spot up for grabs, I guess, which might go to Mark Wood - or Steven Finn, obviously. Is that even a joke, I don’t know. But most likely, it’ll stay with Chris Woakes, whose tricky tour will be put down to experience. One off the over.
90th over: India 319-3 (Rahul 169, Nair 46) Nasser agrees that Stokes should have the ball; he’s only bowled nine overs this innings, fewer than anyone but Root despite his shamanic, bothamic qualities. Anyway, Ball’s hitting the pitch hard and he catches Rahul on the crease with one that straightens - but on 165, he’s got hours to adjust, safely guiding it where second slip isn’t for four.
89th over: India 314-3 (Rahul 165, Nair 45) Neither side took a review in the first 80 overs, which has got to be unusual, at least. Broad is working his buttocks off here, pounding it in outside off as Nair nears a maiden Test fifty. Accordingly, he’s super-watchful, in the way that people who say super-anything are super-annoying. One off the over.
It’s they way they tell ’em.
#INDvENG
— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) December 18, 2016
Spin to win!
- All THREE Indian spinners spun the ball more than England's three
- All THREE took wickets; none of England's have
88th over: India 313-3 (Rahul 165, Nair 44) Rahul crafts a single from a short one and then Nair bumps to cover, bringing up the hunnert partnership. And he follows it with a lovely whip to midwicket, which only gets him two but was a very fine shot.
‘It’s dawned on me that REM are cricket fans,” emails Andrew Benton. “’Consider this, the hint of the century, consider this, the slip that brought me to my knees failed’”. Losing my Religion is their batsman’s anthem. I feel rather enlightened. Makes up for the lack of wickets, for a bit at least.”
Also, Nightswimming was a prophesy about Andrew Flintoff.
What is it about dropping catches in India? pic.twitter.com/OaGmJKa39b
— Benedict Bermange (@Benedict_B) December 18, 2016
87th over: India 309-3 (Rahul 162, Nair 43) Nair tucks a single into the leg side to bring up India’s 300, at they’ll be contemplating a first-innings lead, I shouldn’t wonder. And they’re four closer to it when Rahul chucks hands at one that isn’t that wide at all, four rushing between slip and gully via outside edge; if you’re going to go, go hard. Broad is absolutely shaking with laughter at the hilarity of it all, all the more so as Rahul now has his highest score in Tests, and he promptly adds two more just backward of square on the off side, then a single. A pair to Nair on top of that makes for an expensive over.
“Re. Broad churches,’ says Robert Wilson, who is back. “Guy Hornsby (81st over). I can take ‘em or leave ‘em. Certainly if they’re slipping Imran Khan in before Wasim Akram. That would, in no way, be an ecumenical matter.”
86th over: India 299-3 (Rahul 155, Nair 40) Ball charges in and begins with a held-back yorker - nicely done - and then hustles through a quicker one that has Nair slashing and edging! But, diving to his right, Cook can only push it over the bar and it runs away for four. It came very quickly at him, but was a chance nonetheless, and he looks pensive thereafter. He then removes himself from the cordon with hurt pride fingers as Ball powers through an aggressive over with no reward.
85th over: India 292-3 (Rahul 154, Nair 34) Broad returns so England take the new ball and there’s a bit of movement into the batsman, but Rahul is pretty set, so negotiates five deliveries after Nair nurdles a single. The stench of imminent wickets is conspicuous by its absence.
84th over: India 291-3 (Rahul 154, Nair 33) Rahul must fancy himself for a double now, while Nair will just want something subsubsubsubsubstatial, a can of beans or blackeyed peas, some Nescafe and ice. An candy bar, a falling star or a reading of Dr Seuss. Maiden from Dawson.
Updated
83rd over: India 291-3 (Rahul 154, Nair 33) And there’s the Shirley Crabtree, Rahul timing a clip beautifully through the leg side for four; that’s his one-fifty, his second in Tests. And he then adds a single; India have scored more freely so far this session.
Updated
82nd over: India 286-3 (Rahul 149, Nair 33) In commentary, they’re still discussing hurled-ballgate - Root was clear he didn’t do it on purpose, Rahul wasn’t allowing an apology to sub in for a telling. Another quiet over, four from it, and Nair is in now.
“Re: Robert Wilson,” emails Guy Hornsby, “this doesn’t have to be classics v modern. It’s not a binary choice. I love Dave Eggers, Irvine Welsh & Murakami, just as much as I do Dickens, Hemingway and Conan Doyle. We can all like Stokes, Kohli, Anderson & Williamson just as much as we revere Gower, Richards, Bradman & Imran? There’s room for mavericks, classicists and, yes, even KP. The OBO, like life, is a broad church.”
Without wanting to speak for Mr Wilson, I think he’s differentiating between quality and not quality - subjectively, of course.
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81st over: India 282-3 (Rahul 146, Nair 32) On comes Root to quickly nab a crucial wicket, so Nair takes two into the covers then four via reverse-sweep. Then, after a single, Root wildly humps the ball in the direction of the batsman, marginally out of his ground, apologises twice, then responds to some verbals.
“A Daddy is 150-190s,” reckons John Starbuck, “a Stepfather is 100-149, a 200+ is either a Grandad or Bloody Marvellous. 50+ ought to be a Mummy but in these supposedly-equal times probably isn’t. And you use hyphens mainly for adjectives, thus ‘a well-played game’ is different from ‘Well played!’”
Yes, but they’re appearing all-over the place to show a figure of speech, as per all-over, rather than tow words which mean different things when connected and when not.
Updated
80th over: India 275-3 (Rahul 146, Nair 25) Dawson is probing outside off and forces Rahul back, but, well, he’s coping. Two from the over, the second new ball is due, and Broad nips off - maybe one more over with the old, then,
79th over: India 273-3 (Rahul 145, Nair 24) So, some new ball is imminent, if England take it, and I wonder if Stokes will be allowed the benefit - I suppose not, which’ll teach him for being nifty with the old one. Two from the over.
78th over: India 271-3 (Rahul 144, Nair 23) Dawson has a short-leg - should that be hyphenated? I don’t-know - and a slip. Nair is beginning to look settled either way and Rahul is in for a daddy. How many is a daddy, anyway? More than 150?
77th over: India 268-3 (Rahul 143, Nair 21) Stokes hurls himself through another over, the second ball of which disappears for four when Rahul opens the face horizontally and flicks four over the infield. Lovely shot, followed up by a turn into the leg side for two more, a single, and an edged single by Nair. Naturally, Stokes giggles before shaking him warmly by the hand.
76th over: India 260-3 (Rahul 135, Nair 19) Dawson, who’s bowled pretty well, has the ball, and Nair and Rahul take a single each - their partnership is now 49 off 88.
75th over: India 258-3 (Rahul 135, Nair 19) Stokes gets us going - can he find any reverse? He begins with a bouncer, of course he does, and the over cedes two when Rahul drives into the off side. Decent start, but not a menacing one.
Updated
So, off we go again.
P.S. I hated the Matrix.
“Daniel, Daniel,” begins Robert Wilson. “Get back to the cricket, old thing. Trainspotting is literature for people who think The Matrix is philosophy. Choose McIlvanney, choose Alisdair Gray, even choose Kelman. But don’t choose this dunder-headed, faintly right-wing, tin-eared geek’s fantasy of a drug-habit (junkies are actually amongst the most civic-minded and aspirational types you could meet).
That was also the most hyphens I could find in the drawer.”
Alasdair. Sorry! But, in my defence, you did ask for it. I’m actually in the middle of How Late It Was, How Late - and have been for a long time. I don’t get the fuss, I’m afraid. Trainspotting has a phenomenal energy that I didn’t find in Lanark either, and it’s a lot funnier. Oh, and you can tell Irvine Welsh that he’s right-wing.
Updated
So, there we go. England remain in the ascendancy, but can they find the edge to rustle India? Er, probably not, and while we’re here, hasn’t KL Rahul batted well? That’a a rhetorical question, but yes he has.
Updated
74th over: India 256-3 (Rahul 133, Nair 19) Last over before tea, and it’s been a decent session for your Englands, Pujara and Kohli hutched and only 76 scored; make that 80 when Cook brings close fielders in, to short-leg and gully, then Rashid drops short and Nair carts him from outside off to the midwicket fence. And then Nair picks the googly from the hand, nipping to leg and glancing two more to fine leg.
73rd over: India 249-3 (Rahul 132, Nair 13) Moeen replaces Ball as we see a collection of nasty-arse throws that Bairsterr has been forced to field, some on the bounce and some clattering into palm and fingers. Three from the over and bit of turn, but not much else.
72nd over: India 246-3 (Rahul 130, Nair 12) Rashid finds some dip but Rahul gets down so quickly that he turns it into a half-volley and punishes it through extra cover for four. That was a decent ball, made to look rubbish, and a two and a one follow.
71st over: India 239-3 (Rahul 123, Nair 12) Ball tries a slower one but Nair plays it well, waiting to open the face and guide it behind. Then another, which prompts a hurried single - had Dawson hit with his shy, Rahul was gone - so three from the over. England have bowled really well this session, but need to convert parsimony to wickets pretty quickly.
Updated
70th over: India 236-3 (Rahul 121, Nair 11) Rahul takes some treatment between overs, then nabs a single, and Rashid pushes a quicker one out of the front of the hand that rushes Nair into a hasty block. And then he finagles a pull for one, but doesn’t look at all comfy, let alone elegant.
69th over: India 233-3 (Rahul 120, Nair 9) Ball barrels in and catches Rahul just below the ribs when one skips off the pitch and catches a bit of bat on the way through - “a right sair yin,” as Mark Renton would say, though he was talking about Begbie’s friendly dig hello.
And what a little bit this is - feel free to send in your favourites.
“But Begbie is playing absolutely a gash. He’s got a hangover so bad he can hardly hold the fucking cue, never mind pot the ball. I’m doing my best to lose, trying to humour him, like, but it’s not doing any good: every time I touch the ball I pot something, every time Begbie goes near the table he fucks it up. So he’s got the hump, right, but finally I manage to set it up so all he’s go to do is pot the black to win one game and salvage a little pride and maybe not kick my head in, right. So he’s on the black, pressure shot, and it all goes wrong, big time. What does he do? Picks on this specky wee gadge at the bar and accuses him of putting him off by looking at him. Can you believe it? I mean, the poor cunt hasn’t even glanced in our direction. He’s sitting there quiet as a mouse when Beggars gubs him with the cue. He was going to chib him, I tell you, then I thought he was going to do me. The Beggar is fucking psycho, but he’s a mate, you know, so what can you do?”
68th over: India 232-3 (Rahul 119, Nair 9) Seems to me that Rashid is bowling more googlies than earlier in the series, and Rahul misjudges one but gets a single nonetheless. For a bloke on 119 not out, he’s not entirely at ease.
Here's @blowersh displaying sartorial elegance in Chennai today #INDvENG #bbccricket pic.twitter.com/GmgvqE7v9B
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) December 18, 2016
Meanwhile, elsewhere:
Hang on just a minute?! #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/I4I6ukAqhF
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 18, 2016
67th over: India 229-3 (Rahul 116, Nair 9) An excellent spell of 5-2-7-1 comes to and end as Ball takes the ... the ... ooh hoo hoo ... ball from Broad. Will he “run his fingers down the side of ” himself? I can hardly take this coincidence; why, it’s almost ironic. And a maiden.
66th over: India 229-3 (Rahul 116, Nair 9) England are back grousing about the ball, but Umpire Erasmus sends them packing - and anyway, it seemed to work well for Rashid, who has it in his fingers. And he bowls a quicker one that Nair, who can’t pick the wrongun so isn’t having fun the the leg-spinner either, edges by slip for three. It’s a whole lot of time away, but Rashid has done well enough this winter to be England’s number 1 spinner for South Africa in the summer. But as I type that, a short one is carted to midwicket by Rahul, where Buttler, on the fence, does a great job of saving the boundary.
65th over: India 223-3 (Rahul 113, Nair 6) I wonder how much more of a contest this would’ve been had Broad stayed fit. A bit, is probably the answer. But he overpitches here, and Nair smacks four down the ground, breaking his wrists to keep control. He could use a score here, and England stick in silly mid-on to remind him.
64th over: India 219-3 (Rahul 113, Nair 2) On comes Rashid for Dawson, and Rahul gets one to grip off a scrambled seam, Rahul hitting inside-out but without any control and doing well to get two. Well bowled, or well-bowled as the current trend for inexplicable hyphens would have it. This is a really good over, Rashid chucking his next delivery over the eyeline to disconcert his man, then finding bounce and turn, then deceiving by finding less.
63rd over: India 215-3 (Rahul 110, Nair 1) Broad around the wicket is giving the batsmen a different problem from around the wicket, almost creating a left-armer’s angle. He entices Rahul to drive away from his body and India add a single - but that’s exactly what England want him to do.
“England have been really, really stubborn and worthy opponents and credit where it’s due,” patronises Bharat Tiwari with a snigger. “But one really gets the feeling India that have been gratuitous hosts this Test match. Right from morning 1 when they had England on the mat, they let both Root and Mo get away with missed run outs and drops with the trend continuing to date. Patel and Virat were both at comfort. But they have allowed the game to get precarious.”
I’m not sure about that - it’s impossible to take every chance, and England have some good players. They’ve competed well for large parts of the series, but been battered at the crucial moments.
62nd over: India 213-3 (Rahul 109, Nair 1) Morning everyone. With both ends now open, expect Dawson to quickly run through things. In the meantime, we quickly see how England got The Man, bowling a line outside off that they knew would encourage Kohli to play. Broad “rolled his fingers down the side of the ball” too.
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61st over: India 211-3 (Rahul 107, Nair 0). Broad decides to vary his angles at Kohli, going around then over the wicket, then back again. And it works! Four balls in, Broad’s heavy offside field is rewarded when Kohli drives uppishly at one speared in from around the wicket and is taken by Jennings. New man Nair sees out the rest of the over. And with that I’ll hand you over to Daniel Harris, who’ll see you through to the close. Thanks for your emails and company.
Wicket! Kohli c Jennings b Broad 15, India 211-3
This is excellent from Broad - mixing up his angles, and inducing a stifled Kohli to drive to Jennings at shortish extra-cover. England are in the game now.
60th over: India 211-2 (Rahul 107, Kohli 15). Rahul picks up two with an easy square cut off Dawson, who’s round the wicket at the centurion now. It’s back to the leg theory for Kohli though, but it can’t stop the flow of runs this time, the captain flicking a single on the onside. Then he foxes Rahul with a neat off-break that spits past his outside edge.
“Is that the second time the ball has been changed?” asks John Starbuck, catching up from a few overs back. “I think it happened to Rashid earlier. But it must be another complication: getting a ball that goes through the air as it should do, but losing one which the entire side has been ‘looking after’, creating a shiny side for reverse swing. One presumes the replacement balls have not been treated in that way. It also asks the question - are there any stats on replacing the ball, per stadium, or even per bowling side?”
59th over: India 207-2 (Rahul 104, Kohli 14). Broad continues, probing that offside line, until he tests Kohli with a shorter ball outside legstump, which the star of India is equal to with a controlled hook down to fine leg.
58th over: India 205-2 (Rahul 104, Kohli 12). Kohli breaks the brief stranglehold with a front-foot push on the legside for one. Rahul cuts a shorter ball for another single before the captain steals two square on the offside that could really have been one. Five from the over.
Some background on the crowd problems earlier:
Everything seems to be in order here pic.twitter.com/zXTwJ3Hl0j
— Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber) December 18, 2016
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57th over: India 200-2 (Rahul 103, Kohli 8). Stokes’s short sharp burst is brought to a close and he’s replaced by Broad. He’s looking to tempt Rahul on the drive, by the look of his offside field, and choke off the run supply. Which he duly does, in a THIRD (count ’em) consecutive maiden.
56th over: India 200-2 (Rahul 103, Kohli 8). Dawson, doing the Ashley Giles in 2001-02 thing over the wicket at Kohli, prompts some respectful defensive stuff from the India captain, though one is bunted to Jennings at short leg’s shin but it’s not really a chance. A second consecutive maiden.
55th over: India 200-2 (Rahul 103, Kohli 8). A maiden - the first of the entire day. Stokes continues to expend the maximum of effort, digging a fair few in short at Rahul but he is at least asking him questions of the sort the others mostly have not.
“The moral logic of cricket,” thunders the title of an email from Robert Wilson. “Far be it from me to deny the august delights of chubby middle-aged men whining about the shortcomings of international standard athletes, there’s nothing better in life. But it does strike me that some of the current woe and wailing omits a crucial contextual component. Yes, this has been a difficult tour for the England team. Yes, their performance may disappoint or upset. But cricket is really, really hard. That shouldn’t be forgotten. With its straight-armed bowling, its hard, heavy (and VARIABLE!) ball and its sensitivity to climate, cricket is the biomechanical contrarian, the profoundly unergonomic sport. Nowhere is this seen better than in the concept of the century. No sport asks of its practitioners an exploit so demanding, so complex and time-consuming, so mentally-draining and difficult. Centuries are miracles, marvels, feats of legend. But we react like they are no big deal. I wonder how many amateur cricketers have actually scored one. When I was a young’un, I slayed dragons, rescued princesses and cured cancer most weeks. But I never got close to a scoring a ton. Not close. Like I say, cricket is really, really hard.
And, oh yeah, India are obviously pretty good at it too.”
54th over: India 200-2 (Rahul 103, Kohli 8). The runs they are a-flowing now, and we could be treated to a bit of a batting exhibition here. A spot of strike rotation off Dawson takes India to 200.
Never mind the here and now, here’s Andy Hockley with a retro-comedy idea: “Seasonal hi - jinks: ‘Love Actually’ in which 70s/80s Yorkshire batsmen Richard Lumb and Jim Love are constantly getting mixed up with hilarious consequences.” Or, away from comedy, “Love in a cold climate” perhaps - musings on cold April days at Derby.
Hundred for Rahul!
53rd over: India 197-2 (Rahul 101, Kohli 7). Kohli gets off the mark with the sort of assured controlled pull off Stokes of a man who’s been in for hours. And then Rahul reaches his hundred when a scurried single becomes overthrows for three when the shy at the stumps misses. A slightly messy way to reach it but it’s been a fabulous innings, and his fourth hundred in Tests. Richly deserved. Kohli rounds off a celebratory kind of over with a deft push behind square on the offside for four.
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51st over: India 187-2 (Rahul 98, Kohli 0). Rahul edges closer to his century with three consecutive twos: a confident reverse sweep, a thumping drive off Dawson’s full toss that’s well cut off at the boundary, and a legside flick. Dawson keeps Rahul honest with one that spins away from him as it’s floated across his stance, but the opener’s nearly there.
51st over: India 181-2 (Rahul 92, Kohli 0). Now we have some cricket. Stokes contines, and once more fires an inswinging bouncer over Rahul’s head. The opener adds a single with a nudge down to fine leg. More short stuff follows but it’s not tempting the batsmen to play, but it serves to set Pujara up, and the No3 pushes loosely at a fuller delivery and is taken at slip. Kohli is greeted by cheers from the crowd and another bouncer from Stokes.
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Wicket! Pujara c Cook b Stokes 16, India 181-2
Stokes finds some inspiration, and Pujara’s outside edge, and Cook takes a regulation catch low at slip.
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50th over: India 180-1 (Rahul 91, Pujara 16). Dawson resumes, giving his first a bit more air and being driven to mid-on by Rahul for a single. He continues to go round the wicket at Pujara but not at his partner, but the former bides his time before contemptuously slashing a shorter ball square on the offside for four.
William Hargreave quips on the Twitters: “Re comedy in current climate, a piece on opening the batting under the pressure of captaincy, called ‘Alcook’s Half Hour’?”
49th over: India 175-1 (Rahul 90, Pujara 12). Ben Stokes is tossed the ball for the first time today - England might have made use of him earlier. And he starts off with an inswinging bouncer - just because he can - which Pujara ducks beneath. The second is short too but short-arm jabbed away for a single. Stokes’s three balls of huff and puff are enough to prompt the umpires to take a look at the ball, which looks scuffed and out of shapes, and is replaced. One more single follows.
TMS has been treating listeners to an old cricket-themed Hancock’s Half Hour, which featured John Arlott and others, which was all rather fun. We need more specifically cricket-themed comedy in these troubled times. Any suggestions? Anyway, the players are on their way back out.
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Lunchtime email: “Good Morning!” chirps Aniket Chowdhury. “I think the main problem with English cricket is that their think-tank is very poor in judging match situations and pitches. They always seem to be one step behind the opposition and they rarely get the playing 11 right. There have been so many instances of the English team getting a below par score, thinking it was at par or above. Any thoughts?” Well they’ve simply been well beaten by a better team here, to be fair, in conditions they seem not much closer to mastering than they were a year or two ago, and we’ve seen a return to almost 1990s-levels of arguing about team selection, England having made a habit, this tour, of selecting a team aimed at the Test just gone, rather than the one coming, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. We’re perhaps at a lower dip in the cycle - the zip and vim of England’s mid-2015 reinvention having been replaced by a certain tiredness.
Australia v Pakistan news: they’re about to resume at the Gabba after an almighty storm, with Pakistan having moved on to 131-2 today. Follow all of it here.
Lunch: India 173-1
48th over: India 173-1 (Rahul 89, Pujara 11). The final over before lunch is bowled by Dawson, who yields a single to Rahul first up. He switches to round the wicket at Pujara, who dabs to square leg for one more. And that’s your lot for this session - 113 fairly easy runs, one slightly gifted wicket, and a lot of toil for England. I’m off to stick the kettle on - see you in a bit.
47th over: India 171-1 (Rahul 88, Pujara 10). The runs flow again: Rashid has an agreeably aggressive field in for Pujara, which ties him up for a couple of balls before the regulation stray one, a low full toss, which is bunted through midwicket for four. Pujara then punishes another one that’s too short and easy to pick and hammers it to the long-on boundary for four more.
46th over: India 163-1 (Rahul 88, Pujara 2). A bowling change, the first for a while: Dawson returns to the attack, hoping for less punishment from Rahul than he received earlier. The opener takes an easy single first ball. The left-armer over the wicket is easy enough for right-handers to pad away though, which is what Pujara does for a couple of balls before whipping a single through midwicket. Dawson’s giving it plenty of revs but not massively sharp turn.
45th over: India 161-1 (Rahul 87, Pujara 1). Rahul takes another one off Rashid, who’s making the odd one spit and turn, and slightly catches Pujara off guard with one that bounces quickly up at the top of his bat, but the new man is off the mark next ball with a neat glance through midwicket. A Rahul single to long-on follows.
44th over: India 158-1 (Rahul 85, Pujara 0). Four more for Rahul, who reverse-sweeps square to the boundary off Moeen. The England all-rounder changes angle, going round the wicket, but Rahul adds another with a flick on the legside easily enough.
Superstition latest:
@tomdaviesE17 I don't know about you, Tom, but I feel much better now that we've got 3 spinners not taking any wickets rather than just 2.
— paul (@pfon73) December 18, 2016
@tomdaviesE17 YOU ARE WELCOME!
— paul (@pfon73) December 18, 2016
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43rd over: India 153-1 (Rahul 79, Pujara 0). It did look as if Rahul would reach a hundred by lunch, but that looks less likely now. He’s respectful against Rashid before pushing an easy single down the ground, the only scoring stroke of the over.
42nd over: India 152-1 (Rahul 79, Pujara 0). Patel deflects a quicker, more deceptive ball from Moeen away on the legside for a couple. And then, reasoning that we’ve not had any pyrotechnics for a bit, steps forward and whips Moeen over deep midwicket for SIX. But that’s his lot - he tries another slog but is deceived by what turn Moeen can find and slices, against the spin, straight in the air on the offside for Buttler to take. Pujara, rather than Vijay, is the new man in, but he is the most rock-solid No3 in the world so it’s understandable he’s out there.
Wicket! Patel c b Moeen 71, India 152-1
From nowhere! A breakthrough. Patel follows a thumping six by edging another slog, and it loops up for Buttler to take at extra-cover.
41st over: India 146-0 (Rahul 79, Patel 65). Rashid is mixing things up a bit, although his variety too often includes eminently run-conducive balls. Patel on-drives for one but Rahul is well beaten by a teasing leg-break, mind, and there is the sense that if anyone at all is going to take a wicket, it’ll be Adil.
40th over: India 145-0 (Rahul 79, Patel 64). I’m going to go out on a limb here: India are going to avoid the follow-on. Moeen now only has a slip as his solitary close fielder, until a second is brought in four balls in. There’s a little bit of spin outside the left-hander’s off stump but Parthiv leaves well alone, and next ball manages to smother the turn, sweeping smartly for one.
39th over: India 143-0 (Rahul 79, Patel 63). Rashid is finding turn – England fans must cling desperately to this - but runs are still coming. Parthiv clips a single on the legside, which could have been more but for a fine diving stop by Buttler. Two more ones complete the over.
38th over: India 141-0 (Rahul 78, Patel 61). Astonishing fact: this is now India’s highest opening partnership against England in India. Rahul pushes Moeen on the offside for one, so does Parthiv before Rahul executes a characteristically confident reverse-sweep for four. He’s brought all his tools to this innings.
37th over: India 135-0 (Rahul 73, Patel 60). Here comes Rashid for his first ball of the day. No pressure Adil, but England are all counting on you. And it’s a decent over. Patel turns his first ball round the corner for one. There’s encouragement off his second ball though, which turns sharply into the left-hander, prompting an lbw shout, but it was missing leg. A flicked single ensues next ball. A good over is somewhat let down, as so often, with a loose final delivery that is driven neatly through extra-cover by Patel for four.
36th over: India 125-0 (Rahul 72, Patel 53). A few singles off Moeen. More of the same really. “With talk of player superstitions briefly surfacing in the commentary box,” adds Ian Copestake, “I imagine OBOers have a few, but probably restricted to what pants they wear. Or hoping that by saying ‘cutter’ enough times one will actually work for England.” I’m doing my bit to reverse-jinx by saying that England have no chance whatsoever of taking a wicket all day.
Love is a four legged word. live love woof 🐶🐾 @ElixirNahar pic.twitter.com/NhpuxGlQ6p
— K L Rahul (@klrahul11) December 14, 2016
35th over: India 124-0 (Rahul 69, Patel 51). There’s no stopping the flow of runs - not a single maiden today yet – and Rahul clips Ball effortlessly away for two more.
A measure of the man:
34th over: India 122-0 (Rahul 69, Patel 51). A misfield catches the England mood – Root at mid-off to gift Patel a single off Moeen, who’s dropping quite wide outside off-stump and being turned towards leg at will by Rahul, who gets another one in that fashion. Moeen then strikes Parthiv on the pad with one that the bowler initially fancies an lbw appeal at, but knows it’s not worth it as the batsman was a long way forward. But ball beating bat is a rare thing to treasure for England.
33rd over: India 120-0 (Rahul 68, Patel 50). More punishment for England: Ball, round the wicket at Patel, strays a little down legside but the angle is such that it flies past Bairstow behind the stumps for what looks like four byes but replays show there was some bat on it. Which means he can bring up his 50 with his next scoring stroke, pulling a half-tracker down to deep square leg for one. All too easy. And that’s drinks.
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32nd over: India 115-0 (Rahul 68, Patel 45). Moeen continues. Patel pushes on the offside for a single before more effortless exellence from Rahul, sweeping way across the line to a very wide one outside off-stump and picking up four more through midwicket. Another single follows before Patel adds one more off a shorter ball with a square cut.
31st over: India 108-0 (Rahul 63, Patel 43). Rahul unfurls an exquisite square cover drive off Ball, who gave him just too much width. The last time India did enjoy a century opening stand, they went large - 283 against Bangladesh in June 2015 (Dhawan and Vijay). Can we rule out something similar here? Frankly, we can’t.
30th over: India 104-0 (Rahul 59, Patel 43). No great surprise to see Moeen replace Broad. No great surprise either to see India’s openers continuing to look composed and in control: Rahul adds two off his first ball with a square cut off the back foot to bring up India’s first century opening partnership for 31 innings, apparently. Then a half-chance: Moeen makes one spit up out of the rough outside the left-hander’s off-stump, and it jags off his edge past the outstretched Stokes’s left hand. It’s two runs, not a wicket. Given how today’s gone so far, that could be a ball of the day contender.
29th over: India 99-0 (Rahul 56, Patel 41). Parthiv pushes a single on the offside from Ball, who then gets some bounce and movement at Rahul, forcing the batsman to jerk back at a probing short inswinger. Another single follows with a dab on the offside. Ball’s looking livelier than Broad here, but India’s openers aren’t in any bother, and we can expect them to be with us for some time.
28th over: India 97-0 (Rahul 55, Patel 40). Parthiv picks up an effortlessly four with a well-placed clip through midwicket. Broad sighs deeply, like a man about to start a 10-hour shift at work who can’t find a seat on the train and has to stand all the way, which he kind of is. Another single on the legside follows before Rahul brings up his 50 with a cut for two - this has been his best knock of the series, and it may well get better. As it does next ball, with a delicious on-drive for four.
27th over: India 86-0 (Rahul 49, Patel 35). Probably wise to give Dawson a break, but it’s seam rather than spin, in the form of Jake Ball. And working out the Broad-Anderson succession seam attack is going to be a job of work for England in the coming year - it’s not obvious how it might shape up at the moment. Anyway, Patel scampers a quick single with a dab towards mid-on. It’s one of two singles from the over.
26th over: India 84-0 (Rahul 48, Patel 34). Nothing in this pitch for the likes of Broad again, by the looks, and Rahul pushes a low-bouncing regulation ball outside off-stump through extra-cover for three. “The complete lack of turn being produced by our spinners is a great ploy,” smirks Ian Copestake. “Convince the batters the the ball that goes straight on is the only ball we bowl, then throw in a freak turner. Can’t wait to see it.” Easy as.
25th over: India 81-0 (Rahul 45, Patel 34). Rahul assaults Dawson again (not literally), climbing into a so-so delivery and launching it over long-on for another SIX. It’s gone into one of the stands that’s closed so the steward has a job on here to find it, but he does eventually. Another nudged single follows off the fifth ball, and Rahul’s making it look easy here. He’s hit two sixes and three singles this morning
“Not sure if it is relevant to the problems the crowd have getting in,” writes Peter Rowntree, “but I read somewhere that this ground has some three stand areas which cannot be used due to not having safety licenses granted by the local authorities. We saw something of the same issues at Mohali - it seems to also reflect that if staff on the gates want to perform more thorough safety checks on people entering the grounds they need to start the admission process earlier.”
24th over: India 74-0 (Rahul 38, Patel 34). Patel clips a single to midwicket. Rahul gets another through a similar shot. Broad then changes angle at Patel. going over the wicket, and discomforts the batsman at bit more, as he glances and misses down the legside. But nothing else doing.
Let’s talk statistical quirks. Here’s Ian Forth with the first email of the day: “It’s a source of quiet amazement that cricket can continually throw up new records as in the case of Shania Lee-Swart’s recent 95% contribution to her team’s total. My guess is England’s spinners contribution of 75% to their total of 477 must be a test record as well (assuming Joe Root bowls in this match), though my manipulation of stats guru is inadequate to definitively prove this, I must confess.” So is mine, at this early hour, to be honest.
23rd over: India 72-0 (Rahul 37, Patel 33). Ouch. Rahul skips down the track and belts Dawson down the ground for SIX. He does get some turn away from the right-hander though, but Rahul’s keen to get forward and smother it, and he duly plays out the over.
22nd over: India 66-0 (Rahul 31, Patel 33). Broad starts at the pavilion end, round the wicket to the left-handed Patel, and is wayward with his first delivery, which drifts meaninglessly down the legside. Broad gets a ticking off immediately for running down the pitch. He gets some bounce off his third ball, but it sails over the batsman’s head, and the fourth ball, a fuller one, is straight-driven to the boundary for the first four of the day.
A lot of complaints on TMS about the crowd situation now, with people still struggling to get in, and being harshly treated by security. Anyone there able to shed light?
21st over: India 62-0 (Rahul 31, Patel 29). We’ve got spin from the off, with Dawson taking the ball for the first over. He signals some intent with a silly point and slip in, and Rahul gets the first run of the day off the second ball with a push to mid-off. Parthiv then does likewise to mid-on. Two from the over.
They’re on their way out.
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The weather in Chennai looks a little more hazy than yesterday, where there are big queues outside, according to TMS, and rather fewer inside the ground at the moment. Only one ticket office is open apparently, and tempers are flaring and there are reported flashpoints with police.
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Meanwhile in Brisbane, Pakistan are 86 for 2 in their second innings as they seek to avoid an almighty drubbing, just the 404 short of victory. And you can follow it with Adam Collins here.
Preamble
Morning everyone. Or perhaps, if you’re in the UK, you’ve not been to bed yet. And nothing signifies a rollocking festive night out on the last Saturday before Christmas than staggering in, alone, and firing up the OBO before passing out in front of the cricket. You’re our kind of people, frankly. Or perhaps you’ve brought a load of party people back to yours with the specific intention of having a raucous cricket all-nighter. You’re our kind of people too. Crack open another and join us.
Anyway, what we appear to have before us at the moment is an old-school subcontintental Test match – high scores, unresponsive pitches, 450+ totals being the norm, spinners the key men – as England’s have been so far here, albeit with the bat. With the ball, this could be a long day of toil for the tourists’ attack. India’s openers looked utterly unruffled yesterday evening – and that’s in a series where opening partnerships have been the one aspect of their batting that hasn’t really fired. It could easily be 375-2 by the end of the day.
But there are players out there with plenty to prove about themselves, not least the new, and in some quarters contentious, pick Dawson. Here’s what he had to say about his accomplished performance with the bat yesterday:
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