Thanks for your company and correspondence – we’ve had many excellent emails, more than we could use. The match report will be along shortly, and we’ll be back tomorrow to see what England can save from the wreckage. Hope your Valentine’s Day goes better than theirs.
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Michael Jelley is wondering what was going off out there. “I can’t understand the point of dropping Anderson for Broad if you’re not going to bowl him with a new or newish ball when you’re desperate for something to happen. Broad is clever and tight, and winds players up.” Very true. It was surely worth giving him three overs to see if he could summon the muse.
A day in a paragraph
A long long time ago, India resumed at 300-6 and lost four wickets for 29 – two to the persevering Moeen Ali, two to the sparky Olly Stone. Rishabh Pant threw the bat to finish 58 not out with three sixes. Then England went in, and the pitch mysteriously turned into a minefield. By lunch, they were 39-4, their second-worst start to a first innings in Asia ever (after Galle 2007). Joe Root was out for about 180 fewer than usual; only Dan Lawrence lasted long, and he couldn’t hit the ball off the square. You know a team is in trouble when the only man finding the boundary is Dom Sibley. After lunch, Ben Stokes joined the procession, and although Ben Foakes played with calm assurance and saw off the faint possibility of the follow-on, England were all out for 134. Ravi Ashwin, the bowler of the series, took five more wickets to make 14 in ten days. India batted again, first with contempt, then with some difficulty as Leach and Moeen warmed to the task, but the game is up. We’ve had a day of 15 wickets, 217 runs, and oodles of drama.
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Stumps: India cruising, 249 ahead
18th over: India 54-1 (Rohit 25, Pujara 7) Rohit helps himself to one more single off Leach, clipping to midwicket. If he was a footballer, and his team were winning, he wouldn’t be one for fiddling about by the corner flag. Pujara blocks the last two balls and that’s the close of a crazy day.
“Morning Tim,” says Finbar Anslow. “Bright and freezing here in North Italy, nice day through glass as they say. Just wondering about the World Test final; might be stating the bleedin’ obvious here, but were it to be an Aussie-Kiwi final wouldn’t it make more sense to stage it down under?” It might: it would be mid-winter in both countries, but at least they wouldn’t have to land in Britain in mid-pandemic. In that rather more vital world championship, Australia and New Zealand have played a blinder.
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17th over: India 53-1 (Rohit 24, Pujara 7) Pujara plays out a maiden from Moeen, who is inching towards the consistency that eluded him yesterday.
“The fightback starts here!” says Tom van der Gucht. “When England bounce back and manage to win this Test, it’ll rank as one of the greatest victories in sporting history.”
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16th over: India 53-1 (Rohit 24, Pujara 7) Yet another review as Foakes reckons he’s got Rohit stumped. The ball from Leach is well worth a wicket – turning, bouncing, arriving straight from the MCC manual – but Rohit has got his heel behind the line. He’s made 185 runs in two days and he’s not finished yet.
“Not buying any of the complaints about the pitch,” says Will Lane. “England have just been completely outplayed. Sometimes it happens and you just have to concede to the better team. Ominously for the rest of the series, if you compare the two teams man for man (e.g. Gill vs Burns, Rohit vs Sibley) how many times would you choose the England player? By my reckoning Archer and whichever of Broad and Anderson play would get the nod and that’s about it (tough call but going for Kohli over Root and Pant over Stokes). Maybe India are just a better team and we should just sit back and enjoy their brilliance.” They’ve certainly been the better team in this match. Two small points: if Broad and Anderson would both make the Composite XI, shouldn’t they both be in the England team? Also, it seems a bit much to make Stokes keep wicket.
15th over: India 53-1 (Rohit 24, Pujara 7) Just a single off Moeen. With three overs to go till the close, England need to make something happen.
Jon Salisbury would like a word about the umpiring. “Had the roles been reversed, Kohli would have taken his team off the field about three times by now.”
14th over: India 52-1 (Rohit 23, Pujara 7) Rohit survives another review. This time he’s given LBW to Leach, sweeping. He reviews immediately and he’s right – there was a bottom edge into the back leg. Leach then drops short and Pujara, dancing back, cuts for four.
13th over: India 47-1 (Rohit 22, Pujara 3) England appeal for LBW against Rohit as he hides the bat and pads up to Moeen outside off. It’s not given, presumably because the umpire does feel a shot was played, which would mean that the impact being outside off ruled out the LBW. Root disagrees, they review, but the TV umpire sides with his colleague. That feels like a miscarriage of justice, not that it will make much difference.
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12th over: India 46-1 (Rohit 21, Pujara 3) Pujara, who didn’t bother fielding today, is fit to come out at No.3 and gets off the mark straightaway with a cut. But the wicket goes down as a minor triumph for Leach, and a good decision by umpire Menon.
And here’s a postcard from Calum Fordham. “Writing from a sunny but windy Naples with a snow-capped Vesuvius,” he writes. “Foakes has tarnished his reputation as one of the world’s best keepers with that missed stumping. Pant has excelled in both batting and keeping with his stunning catches today but Foakes’ deft batting display does bode well. I’m sure he will redeem himself with his skilful glovework. At least Leach and Moeen are bowling a tad better and quicker.” True. Taking their cue from Root.
Wicket! Gill LBW b Leach 14 (India 42-1)
Yes, pad first and he’s gone. A consolation prize for England.
Wicket? Gill given LBW b Leach 14
Gill plays inside a straight ball, bat and pad together. If it’s pad first, it’s plumb.
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11th over: India 42-0 (Rohit 20, Gill 14) Gill plays an unusual shot, a lofted sweep off Moeen – not so much a slog-sweep, more a chip-sweep, and it goes over the man at short fine leg for two more. Then he tries a switch hit, misses, befuddles Foakes and runs three leg byes. Not sure what role the leg played there. Eight extras already!
10th over: India 37-0 (Rohit 20, Gill 12) A maiden from Leach to Rohit, who is hogging the strike and finally being made to work for his runs.
9th over: India 37-0 (Rohit 20, Gill 12) Moeen’s turn to deceive Rohit, and Foakes misses a stumping! It wasn’t easy, as the ball turned and looped to his left, but he would normally pull it off before anyone had time to say whether it was easy or not. Then, to add insult to injury, he concedes another bye. But at least the unfortunate Moeen picks up a maiden.
Meanwhile Raj, our Edinburgh-based pitch expert, is back for more. “Really pleased that Rohit and Shubman brought their own pitch to bat on when they came out in the 2nd innings,” he says. “The one England batted on earlier was an abomination.” Ha.
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8th over: India 36-0 (Rohit 20, Gill 12) That’s a better over from Leach, who finds the edge of Rohit’s prodigious blade, only for the ball to drop short of Ben Stokes at slip.
Not out!
Rohit saved his skin with a dive as Gill took a silly single to backward point. A better throw might have done the trick.
Review! For a run-out
Well, it’s England’s best chance of a wicket...
7th over: India 35-0 (Rohit 19, Gill 12) A stream of singles off Moeen, who is a lovely man but not an easy bowler to set a field for. Get Broad on!
“Hi Tim,” says Richard Hirst. “When’s the rain coming?”
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6th over: India 31-0 (Rohit 17, Gill 10) Leach bowls a good ball, finding sharp turn from off stump and beating Rohit – but also beating Foakes, so that’s four byes and, at last, England have conceded an extra.
5th over: India 23-0 (Rohit 13, Gill 10) Root takes Stone off, Broad’s eyes light up – but the nod goes to Moeen Ali. His first ball is short and limp and eased through the covers by Rohit. His last is swung to cow corner by Gill, and that’s another six. This is a party, and England are just there to serve the guests.
Henry Rawlings on Twitter picks up on my remark from the 59th over. “Can’t help but feel,” he says, “the circumstances of Lord’s 2010 have always added unfairly to expectations of Broad’s batting...” True. But he did open for Oakham School, and he’s so comfortable when in full flow that it’s frustrating to see him come in at No.11 and throw it away.
4th over: India 12-0 (Rohit 8, Gill 4) Leach manages five dots to Gill, who would be most insulted if he had to play out a maiden. He slogs the last ball over mid-off, doesn’t get hold of it, but picks up two more. Gill may have embarked on an experiment here, to see if he can construct a hundred out of mishits.
3rd over: India 10-0 (Rohit 8, Gill 2) Stone tries a short ball to Rohit, who says thank you very much and swivel-pulls for six. That’s a gorgeous shot, and also a neat summary of the current balance of power.
“Hot day in Chennai here,” says Rishi. “All this talk of pitch seems rather overblown. This pitch has extra bounce and turn, especially with the new ball. To deal with it, the best strategy is to get down to the pitch and play it straight. It’s a lot more manageable when the ball gets older. Pujara got hit with the bounce, etc. But second session yesterday was well dealt with when the batsmen walked down to play the spin against the older ball. Foakes, and earlier, Pope, did the same to good effect against the slightly older ball. Despite the quality of the bowling, the pitch didn’t seem too hard when they were on.
“The England top order today, on the other hand, were caught in the crease and too often tried sweeping. The sweep works on pitches that doesn’t bounce. This one does. The batting coach needs to answer questions here, and not the curator.” That’s a great point.
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2nd over: India 4-0 (Rohit 2, Gill 2) Jack Leach takes the new ball, as he did in the second innings of the first Test. I’m not sure about that: Broad would surely have had a point to prove, after collecting neither a wicket nor a run. Leach manages to deceive Shubman Gill as he dances down the track, but his lofted waft lands safely in the wilderness beyond backward point.
“Sorry to also talk about the pitch,” says Will Vignoles, “but I think a lot of people are missing just what a gamble this was for India – by preparing a turner they gave more chance to England’s spinners, and without Rohit they could easily have been rolled, throwing away the chance to keel the series in the process. At the time Rohit’s innings was good, but in hindsight I think it’s one of the best I’ve watched live, certainly on a turning track. Up there with Kevin Pietersen vs India or Sri Lanka in 2012.” Yes, it was a classic.
1st over: India 2-0 (Rohit 2, Gill 0) It seems only five minutes ago that Rohit Sharma was giving a masterclass in how to bat on a dustbowl, and now here he is again, getting the second innings under way by clipping Olly Stone for a couple. In a close Test match, the third innings tends to be riveting; in a game like this, not so much, but we live in hope.
“Foakes,” says Robin Hazlehurst, admiringly. “It’s not quite the Bannerman but to score a third of the team’s runs when coming in at seven is not bad. Meanwhile, Kohli should now open himself, score one and declare. Just because he can.” That might even make a game of it.
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“I could have put my mortgage on Stuart Broad sweeping that,” says Andrew Strauss on Channel 4.
Rishi Persad may have been waiting for this moment. “As if Andrew Strauss has a mortgage.”
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“Greetings from Lyon,” says Alistair Connor. “Great series, very suspenseful for a NZ fan, with all three results in play: India, England or Australia to qualify for the Test final. Well actually, with 4-0 now looking like a long shot, I’m hoping for 2-1 to your lot, to keep the Aussies out.”
So India have a lead of 195, which is like 395 on a typical Test pitch. England could go out there and bowl magnificently and still face a mountainous task, chasing 300.
England all out! For 134 (Broad b Ashwin 0)
Broad slog-sweeps, edges, drags it on and that’s that. Ashwin collects another five-for and poor old Foakes is left high and dry, 42 not out, but he has added even more lustre to his reputation and his Test average, which rises to 46.
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59th over: England 131-9 (Foakes 39, Broad 0) In comes Broad, who just needs to rediscover his form from Lord’s 2010. He begins with a play-and-miss, poking at Ishant’s away-swinger.
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Wicket! Leach c Pant b Ishant 5 (England 131-9)
Another nick and this time it’s caught, superbly, by Pant, diving towards slip. Leach had one job, to see England past 130; job done, he’s off for a breather before he has to open the bowling.
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England avoid the follow-on
Mid-59th over: England 131-8 (Foakes 39, Leach 5) A rest for Axar Patel and a return for Ishant Sharma, who is always so good to watch. He comes bearing reverse swing, mostly away from the right-hander, and Foakes is edgy – edging for four, between the two slips, and then for three, keeping it down both times. And avoiding the follow-on!
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58th over: England 124-8 (Foakes 32, Leach 5) Foakes gets away with a false shot, edging or gloving Ashwin close to the man at leg gully. Leach survives five more balls: he’s now faced 33, Foakes 99. But something tells me England would rather have Root 66 out there.
“Fair enough that pitches should be different and provide a test,” says Robin Hazlehurst. “The unfortunate thing here is the crowds. When there were no spectators they produced a pitch for a five-day match. When they can sell tickets and get people in, they produce one where it’s all over in two and a half days. The marketing people won’t be happy, whatever the cricket gods may think.”
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57th over: England 123-8 (Foakes 31, Leach 5) Foakes takes a single off the first ball of Patel’s over, trusting Leach to cope with his fellow slow left-armer. And he does, though the last ball is a ripper which beats both bat and keeper and goes for four byes. They all count.
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56th over: England 118-8 (Foakes 30, Leach 5) Foakes tries to be more aggressive against Ashwin, but succeeds only in top-edging a sweep for a single. The partnership is a mighty 13, so these two have got more than halfway to avoiding the follow-on – 12 more and they’ll be there.
55th over: England 117-8 (Foakes 29, Leach 5) Yet another single for Foakes, and there’s even one for Leach as he goes back to Patel and gets a thick edge past slip. This enables Foakes to pinch a second single with a leg glance and keep the strike. Progress!
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54th over: England 114-8 (Foakes 27, Leach 4) Foakes gets his customary single, with a sweep this time, leaving Leach to face four balls from Ashwin with four men in a tiny arc from slip to silly point. I’m not sure they’re social-distancing. After a few prods, Leach fancies a slog-sweep, and misses it by a country mile.
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53rd over: England 113-8 (Foakes 26, Leach 4) Another over of spin, another single for Foakes. And now Leach comes to the party, giving Patel the charge and slapping over mid-off for four. I take it all back about the biffing.
52nd over: England 108-8 (Foakes 25, Leach 0) Ashwin switches to round the wicket. Foakes, unruffled, gets well forward and clips for a single.
“Cheer up,” says Nick. “It could be worse. It can always be worse.” I’m actually enjoying this. To be an English cricket lover means having a soft spot for a collapse.
51st over: England 107-8 (Foakes 24, Leach 0) Axar Patel finds the edge of Foakes’s bat, but his hands are soft enough to make sure the ball bounces well short of slip. It trickles away for a single, which Foakes takes, showing some faith in Leach.
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50th over: England 106-8 (Foakes 23, Leach 0) It’s Jack Leach, not Broad, so there may not be much biffing. He manages to see out the remaining four balls of Ashwin’s over.
Time for a rant. “Son of a pitch,” says Raj in Edinburgh. “Getting tired of the pitch debates. A Day 1 green seaming wicket, indistinguishable from the square, making the batters jump around in Headingley, Dunedin or Kingsmead somehow doesn’t attract the same pejoratives that a so-called dust bowl does.
“It is ‘Test’ cricket, isn’t it? About being tested – in terms of skill, courage and endurance – in different conditions around the world? This IMO is a fairer pitch than the first Test, as the ball has been turning from the outset, negating the impact of the toss (unlike the first Test, where the toss made a big difference), and allowing the team with the better batting and spinning skills to come out on top. The Sharma-Rahane partnership and Pant’s efforts were outstanding examples of batting skill and courage, but there was no way India should have been allowed to get 300 plus here; England’s lack of resources (and perhaps selection/rotation errors) were exposed.
“The Indians (seamers included) have shown how to bowl on this wicket but the Pope-Foakes partnership also made the pitch look manageable, didn’t it? I’d much rather have a wicket like this (or a green seamer for that matter) which brings the bowlers into it, allows class to rise to the top, has something for everyone and makes for great entertainment, the Guardian OBO of pitches, as it were, than the roads that get called good cricketing pitches – the equivalent of bland scores only ball-by-ball commentary you get on other sites.” Ha. Is that a case of assault and flattery?
“It was going so well,” says Charles Sheldrick, in cold and soggy Devon. “Wales won yesterday, tick. Remembered to get my partner something for Valentine’s Day, tick. England compete well with bat and ball against India... Oh wait, that is 105 not 501 – bugger.”
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“Perhaps quite unpopularly here,” says Abhi Saxena, “I am OK with the pitch. Knowing that Ahmedabad would be a lot more seam friendly with it being the pink ball game. and the first Test was the reverse swing strip, one game in a series of four in India on a rank turner is an OK ratio to find out who are the prodigious players of spin. Otherwise where else will we find out, no? Good to see who can match up with Ashwin in his backyard. The same way Indians have to go to England to see who can actually play swing.
“Secondly, Foakes looks like such a good player, I will wager to say he is at least as good a player as the Aussie captain Paine. Looks like a great keeper and a decent batsman. Surely England can fit him in their squad...” Yes! And if they can’t, he should be allowed to go and captain Australia.
Tea: bit of a shambles
So just when Ben Foakes was putting England back together again, they go and lose two quick wickets, to make four in the session (and 12 in the day). The demon Ashwin has four for 36 and England are staring the follow-on in the face, although it seems far-fetched – Kohli will surely prefer to go in again and make some pressure-free runs. He might even get one himself.
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Wicket! Stone c R Sharma b Ashwin 1 (England 106-8)
Stone dead! Another clip, uppish this time, and it’s a simple catch at midwicket for Rohit Sharma, as if he wasn’t already working out where to put the Player of the Match award when he gets home.
49th over: England 106-7 (Foakes 23, Stone 1) Joe Root sends out Olly Stone, which is a surprise – well as he bowled, he can’t have much experience of batting on raging dustbowls, and I would have thought some biffing from Stuart Broad was in order. But Stone manages to clip his second ball for a single.
Wicket! Moeen c Rahane b Patel 6 (England 105-7)
Another one! And it’s a mixture of luck and skill. A nick from Moeen, a miss from Pant – but the ball pops up off his thigh and Ajinkya Rahane dives to his left to take an excellent catch, six inches off the turf.
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48th over: England 105-6 (Foakes 23, Moeen 6) The commentators are running through Ashwin’s variations, including his lethal carrom ball, but this over passes without alarms and there’s a single to each batsman. Foakes is now England’s top scorer, for what that’s worth.
“It’s always nice when someone makes you feel younger,” says Guy Hornsby. “In this case, waking up to five down before tea on the second day in India, and I’m nine years old, all over again. Who’s in next, Gus Fraser?” I wish he was: he’d be good for a hard-fought 12.
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47th over: England 103-6 (Foakes 22, Moeen 5) Siraj concedes a run! Four of them, as Foakes clocks his reverse swing and clips past mid-on. After keeping wicket magisterially, taking one stumping and being denied another by an umpiring blunder, he has now faced more deliveries (73) than anyone else in this innings. He surely gets into this team for his batting alone, ahead of Dan Lawrence.
India are out of reviews!
46th over: England 98-6 (Foakes 17, Moeen 5) Kohli wants another wicket, badly. He banishes Kuldeep and brings back his main man, Ashwin. And there’s a review for LBW as Foakes plays inside a big-turning off-break – it was sailing over the leg bail. Kohli, yet again, seems like a great player who is not a great captain. Later in the over, Foakes is bamboozled by Ashwin’s arm ball, but he blanks it out and nudges the last delivery for a single.
“Just woken up in grey South London,” says Martin Hughes, “to catch up on the day’s carnage in Chennai. While I appreciate the broadcaster’s optimism in reminding us of Moeen’s daddy ton at the same venue five years ago, I’m pretty sure a certain J.E. Root scored a double century here last week and it didn’t help him much on this raging Bunsen.”
45th over: England 97-6 (Foakes 16, Moeen 5) Siraj continues his bid to go through a whole Test without conceding a run. Moeen does play one nice shot, a back-foot drive, easy like Sunday morning, but it’s well stopped by Kuldeep at cover point.
“I’ve just woken up,” says Karen Brigden. “WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED?” The odd ball has turned.
44th over: England 97-6 (Foakes 16, Moeen 5) Kuldeep to Moeen: rust versus rust. Kuldeep drops short and Mo is onto it, cutting for four, to get off the mark after facing 15 balls. One scoring shot brings two as Moeen tucks to leg for a single.
43rd over: England 92-6 (Foakes 16, Moeen 0) Siraj has been right on it, so much so that he has yet to concede a run. But he does go for four leg byes as he strays onto the pad and Foakes plays an attempted glance. That makes five extras in this innings, whereas there were none at all in india’s 329.
“Thanks for the live feed! Great companion to the Test,” says Ollie Glick. It’s our pleasure. “Amongst the buzz of frustration around the country at the state of this pitch, was wondering about people’s thoughts on touring teams getting to choose whether to bat or bowl first in each game, instead of having a toss? Could remove the absurd home advantage slabs of turf we are seeing (including at home), as groundskeepers may be hoisted on their own petard if they made it too advantageous to bat first, and would have to produce a balanced pitch. I’m probably missing something though...”
42nd over: England 88-6 (Foakes 16, Moeen 0) This partnership gets off the mark, after 20 dots, as Foakes whips Kuldeep for a single. He’s been such a calm presence, whether behind the stumps or in front of them.
41st over: England 87-6 (Foakes 15, Moeen 0) As if England didn’t have enough problems, the ball is now reversing. Siraj swings it nicely away from the left-handed Moeen, who finds himself poking elegantly at thin air. Mo has become an all-or-nothing kind of player; after his demolition of Kohli yesterday, England just have to pray that this is another of his good days.
“Good morning Monsieur Delisle,” says Tony White. Good morning Mr White. “Wishing you a calm day’s work! I’m feeling supremely confident about the English position but would be even more so if I knew that Mr. Woakes was padded up ready. And really, Kohli made a duck, A DUCK! What a loser!”
40th over: England 87-6 (Foakes 15, Moeen 0) Kuldeep continues, a whirl of arms and tweaks, and bowls a maiden as Foakes is more circumspect after losing his pal.
“This,” says Luke Wildgoose in Woodstock, “is a Valentine’s day massacre without the pizza.” Great line.
39th over: England 87-6 (Foakes 15, Moeen 0) That was Mohammed Siraj’s first ball of the match – in fact his first in Test cricket in India. He smiles a huge smile and points to the skies in memory of his father, who died while his son was busy making history in Australia. It was a fine leap by that man Pant behind the stumps, away to his left, though he only caught the ball in his webbing. In comes Moeen, who made 146 on this ground four years ago. Even 46 would be gold-dust here.
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Wicket!! Pope c Pant b Siraj 22 (England 87-6)
Nooooo... Facing his first ball from a seamer today, Pope gets strangled down the leg side. Off he goes, with the weight of the world on his young shoulders, and with him go England’s hopes of scraping their way to something respectable.
38th over: England 87-5 (Foakes 15, Pope 21) The key to this mini-recovery has been bustle, and now the batsmen take five singles off Kuldeep’s allsorts.
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Thanks Tanya and morning everyone. What a morning it was – eight wickets before lunch, or breakfast if you’re in Europe. England went in to bat on this pitch the way Brexit Britain goes into a business meeting. But now, in Pope and Foakes, they have the makings of a partnership.
37th over: England 82-5 (Foakes 13, Pope 19) The tall skinny Axar rips through another which Foakes largely defends. Time for drinks and for me to hand over to Tim de Lisle, who will expertly guide you to the close and unbeaten centuries from Foakes and Pope. Thanks for your company during a cracking session and a half of cricket. Have a good day!
“I am a great fan of Stuart Broad.” writes David Gaskell. “He does have the ability to sway and startle matches, doesn’t he? So, denied any movement with the ball, what say, our (my) hero saves the follow on with an imperious, undaunted thirty with the bat?
Not wishing to miss this I have cancelled the usual four hour Sunday lunch at the restaurant here on the Costa Blanca. Wait a minute, I have just been informed we’re still on lockdown so the paella is in the fridge and the Cava remains uncorked. Is this a sign? With you all the way, Stuart!”
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35th over: England 81-5 ( Foakes 13, Pope 18) Foakes sniff a fuller one from Kuldeep and levers him straight down the ground for four. Lovely stuff. The camera pans to the England dressing room where a poker-faced Chris Silverwood is joined by Graham Thorpe and a glum Joe Root.
34th over: England 77-5 ( Foakes 9, Pope 18) Axar rips one past Pope’s outside edge as he pushes forward to defend. Axar and Kuldeep a huge improvement on India’s spin support attack in the first Test. More friendly pitch, I grant you.
Colum Fordham stretches and reaches for his phone: “To misquote Hot Chocolate, every ball that Ashwin bowls is a potential winner.Only the Pope can save England now. He’s wristy and is using his feet well. Ideal for Indian conditons and a dust bowl of a pitch. Foakes has a good test average (41.5 according to Wisden) and looks relatively at ease. That’s all Foakes.”
33rd over: England 76-5 ( Foakes 9, Pope 17) Kuldeep’s seventh Test, and his first for two years. Chubby, just like a wrist-spinner should be, left arm, hair like an early 1990s Tim Booth. Huge appeal for a catch behind by Pant, but Kohli ignores him and replays show it comes off the pad. A lively first over.
33rd over: England 76-5 ( Foakes 9, Pope 17) Azar again: one drifts in and spins past Foakes’ probing edge. Axar really firing them in here, that’s a maiden and here comes Kuldeep,
32nd over: England 76-5 ( Foakes 9, Pope 17) Foakes eases Ashwin for four straight of mid-on. Is this going to be the match that proves the old adage of wicket-keepers being good players of spin. Foakes certainly had his eye in behind the stumps. They pause for an impromptu drinks break.
Yaz K is not impressed by the pitch: “I mean there are dustbowls and there’s this pitch. It looks more like an experiment to replicate life on Mars. How would India like to rock to Lords in April to be greeted with a vegetable patch ?. Far more dangerous, granted.”
31st over: England 70-5 ( Foakes 3, Pope 13) Ollie Pope really looking the caramel on the cone here, survives a beauty from Axar with turn and bounce that rips away from his outside edge and over the top of the stump, but, unfazed, cuts his next beautifully for three.Huge lbw appeal against Foakes, but Kohli decides not to be so trigger happy this time. And he’s right.
30th over: England 66-5 ( Foakes 3, Pope 13) A speedy maiden from Ashwin.
“Virat Kohli is repeatedly encouraging the crowd to make more noise. What a huckster. Next thing, he’ll be telling them to storm the pitch.” Very droll John Starbuck, but who would dare impeach him?
29th over: England 67-5 ( Foakes 3, Pope 13) Foakes misses one from Axar, and it hits middling on the pad, just above the knee, ooof, it looks close but the review shows it passing over the top. Kohli, who barks the question at his fielders, doesn’t always get the best review advice.
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28th over: England 63-5 ( Foakes 2, Pope 11) The camera pans to the sky which is dream-boat blue as Kohli gees up the crowd like a conductor of his very own orchestra.The noise lifts again.
27th over: England 59-5 ( Foakes 2, Pope 10) Another nice over from Axar and just a single for Pope.
“For non-Hindi speakers out there, Rishab is calling Axar ‘Baapu’ (literal translation father/dad) - which is what Mahatma Gandhi is also called sometimes. Probably because Gandhi and Axar come from the same state.” Thank you Mittu Choudhary!
26th over: England 59-5 ( Foakes 2, Pope 9) Four dots from Ashwin, then Foakes picks up a not altogether convincing single just past point . My unhappy looking cactus can look forward to some cold coffee refreshment because India are ripping through these bowlers too quickly for me to drink it.
25th over: England 59-5 ( Foakes 1, Pope 8) Pope leans back and cuts Axar through backward point for four for all the world as if the scoreboard read 590 for five. What an opportunity for Foakes, if he can somehow find a path through this dastardly pitch.
Good morning Tanya. Good morning Amelia!
Well it’s heating up in Chennai!!! England clearly need to bat positively here as a ball clearly has your name on sooner or later. What do we think do India enforce the follow on if/ when we don’t get to 130??
I think they’ll buck current trends and send em back in!
24th over: England 53-5 ( Foakes 0, Pope 3) Ok, its looking a little bit tricky for England from here.
Tim de Lisle kindly taps me on the electronic shoulder, to point out this killer stat.
England 39-4 - their second worst score at the fall of the 4th wicket in the first innings of their 116 Tests played in Asia. Worst was 22-4 in Galle in 2007.
— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) February 14, 2021
List: https://t.co/CugdbnjnhC
WICKET! Stokes b Ashwin 18
Beautiful bowling! Ashwin drifts one in, Stokes tries to shovel it away, misses and is bowled!
23rd over: England 52-4 ( Stokes 18, Pope 3) Kohli is furious with himself that he can’t get his right hand to the ball as it flicks off Stokes’s inside edge onto the pad and billows just in front of him at leg gully.
22nd over: England 51-4 ( Stokes 17, Pope 3) These two picking up runs more easily than poor Dan Lawrence did - think the lunch-time brainstrust game-plan might be: don’t get tied down.
Kim Thonger, has drunk an optimism shake for breakfast, “Waking up to see 4 down isn’t entirely enjoyable but I remain cautiously optimistic. A steady defensive century from Jack Leach and a flamboyant daddy hundred from Stuart Broad will save the day. Probably. Then Olly ‘Natural Born Killer’ Stone will cut a swathe through the Indian second innings with figures of 10 for 23, and we can knock off the feeble target set for us to cruise to a 2-0 series lead.”
21st over: England 49-4 ( Stokes 16, Pope 2) Pope sees through another over from Axar pushing into the covers off the last ball to tick off another single.
20th over: England 48-4 ( Stokes 16, Pope 1) Stokes deposits an Ashwin long-hop for four, Pope gets off the mark with an oooh-dont-do-that top-edged sweep.
19th over: England 42-4 ( Stokes 11, Pope 0) Axar on the money straight away after lunch. Stokes picks up three, leaving three for Pope who shapes to cut and is a cheese slice from playing onto his stumps. He survives two more flighted beads of beauty and that’s the over.
“Greetings from Malaysia.” Hello Joel Eley! “What are the chances of this game ending today? Pitch is really nasty. Other than the game in the West Indies being stopped have you seen a pitch this tasty?a pitch that is turning far too much for day 2.”
They’re just discussing this on Channel four.
“It’s a bunsen burner, and it has broken up too much for my liking, but England would have been able to read it, everybody knew but unfortunately they’ve not found a way to bat on it, says ERB
“It’s a poor pitch, a poor Test wicket, doesn’t mean its an excuse to not make runs on it,” is SAS’s verdict. Cripes, the players are out....
On Channel four Andrew Strauss and Ebony Rainford-Brent are discussing the importance of the crowd - and they’re right. I think that is why that session felt just so , electric, we’ve just forgotten what real emotions sound like. God knows what it was like out there, even with only 9,000 in the ground. As Sir Andrew Strauss says, “When India are on top it feels very oppressive.”
England's record total without conceding an extra appears to be slipping down the match report
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) February 14, 2021
Fingerless gloves, hot-water bottle, large pot of coffee and wondering, like Sandy Wilson, on a cruise from Singapore to Fiji, “Not wishing to put the evil eye on ourselves, but has a test ever wrapped up on day 2…?”
The answer is yes, 21 of them: 9 in the 19th century, six in the 20th and six in the 21st - starting with England’s two-day crushing of West Indies at Headingley in 2000. That was the last time England were involved in double-dayers. India beat Afghanistan in two days in Bengaluru just three years ago. I’m not holding out much hope of working my shifts on the fourth and fifth days but never-say-die and we know how much Ben Stokes loves a challenge.
LUNCH England 39-4 (Stokes 8)
18th over: England 39-4 ( Stokes 8) We see a close up of Ashwin who turns the ball away from Stokes’s probing bat by the width of a violin. An airy drive follows, and a single, which brings Lawrence to the striker’s end. Ashwin gets ready to deliver the final ball of the over, but pulls out at the last second. He comes again, and, heartbreakingly, a lunchtime not-out in kissing distance, Lawrence gets an absolute beauty that kicks out of the pitch. As the ball falls into Gill’s hands, his long body slumps in disappointment. He’ll struggle to get a more testing session than that in his entire Test career. What a session! Time for a coffee, see you in half an hour.
WICKET! Lawrence c Gill b Ashwin 9
Ashwin goes round the wicket, the ball spits out of the pitch as Lawrence pushes forward and the ball is snaffled at short leg. That’s the eighth wicket to fall in the session for 68 runs!
17th over: England 38-3 (Lawrence 9, Stokes 7) Pant steps up the chirping behind the stumps, one over to go till lunch. Lawrence grins broadly and plays out a rapid maiden from Axar.
16th over: England 38-3 (Lawrence 9, Stokes 7) A beauty from Ashwin who hits Stokes on the pads. Kohli, most reluctantly, is persuaded to review by Ashwin and, sure enough, the ball is going over. Kohli’s beard stares disapproval. Ashwin may not be sitting next to his captain at lunch.
15th over: England 35-3 (Lawrence 6, Stokes 7) Axar, sleeves up by his elbow, fizzes one through that turns Dan Lawrence around as he makes an inelegant swat to leg. But he survives and tucks a single into his belt to finish the over.
14th over: England 34-3 (Lawrence 5, Stokes 7) We get an overview of the ground, so great to see the stands dotted with colour and life . Just two from a quiet Ashwin over.
13th over: England 32-3 (Lawrence 4, Stokes 6) England quietly pick up three more. 15 minutes till lunch till lunch, 98 needed to avoid the follow on.
“It’s Saturday night here in San Francisco, Chinese New Year fireworks are very quiet this year. No idea which innings we’ll be in when I get up.” Happy slumbers Ian Jefferson. I don’t have a clue either - isn’t it the best!
12th over: England 29-3 (Lawrence 4, Stokes 3) Five from Ashwin’s over as Lawrence shows signs of frustration, stepping out and looping the last ball in the air past mid on. Confident of foolhardy - shall we decide at lunch?
11th over: England 24-3 (Lawrence 1, Stokes 1) Axar, a slim-line of Ravi Shastri, is making his Test debut on a dream track. Not a bad first Test wicket either. He beats Stokes past the outside edge, first ball, and has a huge lbw appeal from the last. Kohli energetically asks for advice - do they review? Rohit, ice to his fire, says no
WICKET! Root c Ashwin b Axar
A first Test wicket for Axar! The ball turns and bounces, Root sweeps and top edges high to Ashwin waiting with open hands at short fine leg. England’s gate is now open...
10th over: England 21-2 (Lawrence 0, Root 3) Lawrence is off the mark! A quick single off Ashwin to mid-on. Tries to spade him off the back foot but the ball skids low and he is made to look foolish. It is spicy out there. If England don’t lose another wicket before lunch, I’ll forgo my muesli my muesli for cornflakes.
“In reply to Richard Hands (our man in Copenhagen), I have been thinking of nothing else since 2018 when I meant to send this verse in a submission to Adam Collins that should have been entitled ‘Instant Karma’:
‘Ishant Sharma’s gonna get youGonna knock you right on the head
You better get yourself together
Pretty soon you’re gonna be dead’
Unfortunately I mixed up the subject and opening lines and referred to ‘Instant Sharma’ instead, to my ongoing shame and humiliation.
Thanks for reminding me, Richard.” Brian Withingon, it is ok, honestly.
9th over: England 19-2 (Lawrence 0, Root 3) Kohli turns to left-arm sqinner Axar Patel on his Test debut. Slender, moustached, sunglasses, fairly round armed. Root knocks him for a couple, then Axar rips one past the outside edge and Root watchfully sees out the rest of the over. A promising start.
8th over: England 17-2 (Lawrence 0, Root 1) Root sweeps his second ball for a single, but India are bubbling. Breathe England, breathe.
WICKET! Sibley c Kohli b Ashwin 16
Sibley walks! He sweeps, misses, the ball hits his pad then the back of his bat and into the hands of Kohli, diving forwards at backwards short leg. The umpire says not out, India review but Sibley has given himself out. Very useful of Kohli to give him out as well though.
7th over: England 16-1 (Lawrence, Sibley 16) It is hot out there, Sibley wipes the bars of his helmet with his sweaty batting glove. The shadows are short, tucked inside the players footprints as they run through for a quick single off Ishant, whose shirt is sticking to his back. Lawrence is still yet to score. The crowd have quietened, have England seen off the initial flurry?
“Greetings from Auckland, Tanya,” Hello Steve Perrin!
I had dinner with your brother’s mother in law last night and she sends her love.
According to OBO Lawrence is Burns.”
Ainslie! Please give her my love back. She’s a very good cook. I’m insanely jealous of the fact you can eat with other people, especially my relatives. One day....
6th over: England 15-1 (Lawrence, Sibley 15) Ashwin, 99 on his back, wheels through another maiden but Lawrence plays this better, moves his feet more daintily, less hurried. On the radio, Darren Gough is saying how his son used to play with Lawrence at Essex and the main thing his son remembers about him is his utter confidence.
5th over: England 15-1 (Lawrence, Sibley 15) Ishant, menacing, hirsute, huge, five galloon boots, charges in. Sibley guides him through the slips for four. Next to me the puppy snores as Sibley nudges Ishant for another boundary through mid-on. Just call him Rohit Sibley. The last is a beauty that passes the outside edge.
4th over: England 7-1 (Lawrence 0, Sibley 7) Quite the test for Lawrence, who plays inside Ashwin’s fourth delivery in an ugly way, before trying to sweep and missing the next. Undeterred he sweeps again in a way that makes you think Sibley should have a quiet word. A maiden
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3rd over: England 7-1 (LAwrence 0, Sibley 7) Ishant strays onto Sibley’s pads and he clips him away to the boundary in the Sibley way. Solid. Unflustered. Inelegant. And then two more. Thank you very much. To the exuberance of the Chennai crowd, Sibley turns on a tepid shower. Now Dan Lawrence must face Ashwin.
“Good morning Tanya, good morning viewers.” Hello Richard Hands in cold, dark Copenhagen. “Am I the only person who hears that John Lennon tune “Ishant Sharma’s gonna get you” in his head every single time he (Ishant, not Lennon) comes on to bowl?”
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2nd over: England 1-1 (Lawrence 0, Sibley 1) A scrambled single off Ashwin’s last ball is the best part of the over for England. Sibley does well to survive after propping forwards with hard hands and the ball falls a fingernail short of Kohli at leg slip.
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1st over: England 0-1 (Lawrence 0, Sibley 0) A huge crowd roar as Ishant moves those long legs from the top of his mark, and an even louder one as he dismisses Burns. Yet another uncomfortable position for Dan Lawrence to walk into . He keeps out the first two deliveries then prods the last, which took off from the pitch as Ishant tumbles over in his follow-through. Don’t adjust your sets!
“Truly inspired decision by Pant to grab a single off the first ball of Stone’s decisive over,” snorts Brian Withington. “Maybe England could go for a left field hire and employ him to help with setting a field against his own batting?”
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WICKET! Burns lbw Ishant 0
It was clipping the top of leg stump and that’s umpires call.. Burns is on his way. That’s Ishant’s 301st Test wicket, he seems pleased, incidentally, and England, like India, are 0-1.
REVIEW! Burns....
A full ball hits Burns on the knee roll but very in front of the stumps...
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The players are on their way and I actually just rubbed my hands in anticipation. It is not going to be spin from the off, as Kohli has thrown the ball to Ishant Sharma.
“Should not Pant be banned for the next two games for sending the vector of disease onto the stands and thus breaking the bio-bubble? Just saying... Nothing to do with me wanting England to win, just concerned for the players’ health...”
That’s very thoughtful of you David Govantes-Edwards, how about you suggest it to Virat Kohli?
95.5 overs: India 329 all out (Pant 58 not out)
A very handy first forty minutes work for England! Super bowling from Olly Stone at the end and some spirit-raising wickets for Moeen. Now for the tough stuff. Just time to put on the kettle.
WICKET! Siraj c Foakes b Stone 4
Time for Siraj to elegantly guide Stone over point for a boundary. Pleased with himself, he tries again and feathers through to Foakes.
WICKET! Kuldeep c Foakes b Stone 0
Stone strikes with his third ball of the over! Gets Kuldeep wondering with a bouncer, then pitches up and Kuldeep prods through to Foakes.
95th over: India 324-8 (Pant 57, Kuldeep 0) Joe Root is a large mug of tea, of perfect builder’s consistency and Kuldeep prods out a maiden.
“Woke up late today after watching the late night disappointing Spurs against City to be greeted by India two wickets down already!” taps, Mittu Choudhary. “The field set for Pant seems very defensive -- wonder whether Root is missing a trick doing that, he should go for at least few catchers inside.” There is a general rule that us armchair spectators always want to be more attacking than the actual captain on the field. If I was actually in charge of the pieces, not sure I’d be so brave! But yes!
94th over: India 324-8 (Pant 57, Kuldeep 0) Pant fancies doing to Moeen, what he did to Leach in the first Test. Moeen contains him for three deliveries, until Pant’s eyes light up at a slightly wide one. He polkas down the pitch and hurrahs Moeen for six straight into the stands. Good comeback by Moeen with his last ball, which pins Pant to his crease as he is beaten.
93rd over: India 318-8 (Pant 51, Kuldeep 0) Root regains some control, just the single from the over.
“Over the past couple of years, Kuldeep Yadav - the batsman - has transformed himself from desperately hopeless to hopelessly desperate,” writes Abhijato Sensarma. “This doesn’t account for much considering the quality of the pitch as well as England’s best spinner (Joe Root, of course). But imagine him sticking around for some time with the Irreplaceable Pant. Call me a dreamer, but I’m not the only one!”
92nd over: India 317-8 (Pant 50, Kuldeep 0) The full toss not as successful a venture for Moeen this over. First, Pant slams him straight back through his hands for four. Moeen winces but his fingers survive. Oh. Dear. Another full toss, Pant charges and wham bam into the stands for another . A pushed single and that’s a marvellous fifty for Pant off 60 balls.
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91st over: India 307-8 (Pant 34, Patel 5) Root quietly turns down Jack Leach’s offers, rolls up his sleeves and decides he is the man to tempt Pant with his array of delicious chocolates. Pant watches for a couple of balls then slams him over mid-on for six to the shrieking delirium of the crowd.
90th over: India 301-8 (Pant 34, Patel 5) A cracking first over from Moeen, with that element of luck that any spinner needs. This England, eh.
WICKET!
Moeen grins, bashfully, as Ishant tries to sweep a full toss and top edges to Rory Burns, hair hanging out of his cap very much like it is stuck to the rim, at short leg. He swallows the catch gratefully, and Moeen has four wickets.
WICKET! Patel stumped Foakes 5
Lightning gloves from Foakes as Patel leans forward, is beaten in the flight and misses and with only his big toe teetering above the line, Foakes flicks away the bails. Super ball from Moeen!
89th over: India 300-6 (Pant 33, Patel 5) A fairly non-eventful maiden to start as Leach mixes up his length.
The players are out and it is actually quite hair-raising to hear a proper crowd making proper crowd noises - erratic and squeaky rather than generic and low. Bravely, given his previous encounters with Pant, Root has thrown Leach the ball - no use waiting and wondering.
Mark Butcher is on the Chennai pitch, blazered up and walking towards the camera. He speculates that Ben Stokes might be injured - but speculation is all it is right now. I’m excited/nervous to see how Pant plays this morning, and it seems I’m not the only one.
David Melhuish has had dressing problems. “This seems a fair benchmark just how engrossed I am in this series. Preparing for breakfast I distractedly tried to put my clean underpants on my head. Now where was my beanie ...”
“If you are an England fan today, I’d be seriously nervous,” says Ebony Rainford-Brent in the Channel 4 studio.
Andrew Strauss, is more loyal: “I think England need to not buy into the narrative we know it is possible to bat on this pitch, just don’t look too far ahead,”
From my living room to yours, good morning! And a particular good morning to John Starbuck whose email is waiting for me like a wriggly puppy.
“Good morning, Tanya and Happy Valentine’s Day,” and to you John!
“It could be that Virat Kohli was simply waiting for a possible no0ball verdict (unlikely with Moeen) but was probably just disbelief. Ricky Ponting used to suffer from this and there was another Aussie too; the remark ‘Thought the future wasn’t too rosy’ comes to mind when he saw the bails on the ground..
On today’s play, we shall have to put up with Foakes’s chirpy chuntering again. I feel inclined to use the Biden method and remark ‘Will you shut up, man’ but then many keepers do it these days. One can’t help noticing that his sub-continental Tests had a bearing: even though we can’t understand it all, he always ends with an uptalk phrase, so maybe the environment has made him adapt.”
Ali’s top-notch report of the day’s play:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/feb/13/india-england-second-test-day-one-match-report-cricket
and Anand Vasu in the Chennai stadium, a piece which starts with a fabulous first two paragraphs and doesn’t disappoint.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/feb/13/indias-buzzing-crowd-take-joy-from-knowing-where-to-look-in-grim-times
Preamble
Good morning fellow sleep-dodgers, and those pottering about in time-zones far away from this cold, rocky outpost in the North Sea. May I wish you much love this Valentine’s day, whether or not you are sharing the OBO with your beloved. Maybe the OBO could become the oblique way to send a message from the heart? I have actually had some success as a matchmaker - just ask Neil and Alex (who I can happily name as they’ll never read this.)
Enough. to the game, where India are very well set on a pitch that was breaking up on day one, thanks to a century of ready brilliance from Rohit Sharma, some solid back up from vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, and a cameo-with-promise from Rishant Pant. India finished on 300-6 which wasn’t quite thanks very much and good night, but close.
England kept their heads , produced the occasional beauty, and there were promising returns from Ben Foakes, who kept smartly, and Olly Stone who hit the nineties and dismissed Shubman Gil in his first over. It was great to have Moeen back: he still has the magic in those fingers, but was understandably rusty. He also produced the visual of the day : a bemused Virat Kohli refusing to believe the evidence of his own eyes that he’d been bowled for a duck.
Handy https://t.co/0SKuH6R0Nl
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) February 13, 2021
This is a good pre-start read from Jarrod Kimber (also to be found analysing on Talk Sport) on England’s spinners.
I did this thing on English spinners with pictures and graphs and stuff https://t.co/2FoACXCYrU
— Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber) February 13, 2021
Sleep is wafting her crunchy pepperpot but I managed to absorb that Moeen is expensive but bowls occasional amazeballs, Bess spins the ball but struggles with length, Leach is limited against left-handers and Ashwin is the most accurate spinner on the field( though no-one compares with Nathan Lyon). And all illustrated with handy digestible pitch maps. Right, time for a few hours kip - see you just before 4am GMT.
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