Moeen Ali could be excused feeling a little limb-weary and hotel-sick as England’s two-stage tour of India reaches its endgame. Only Ben Stokes, the other all‑format all-rounder in this group, has batted and bowled as much as Moeen across 31 days of international cricket in India either side of Christmas.
Moeen admits to a little tiredness, one reason he says he is unlikely to be in the Indian Premier League auction this year. But he is also convinced England have the heart and the craft to win the third Twenty20 international in Bangalore on Wednesday, having come infuriatingly close to clinching the series in the final over in Nagpur.
“We should have won that comfortably. It wasn’t an easy wicket to chase those runs but we probably should have done it,” he said. “We’ve got a very good chance. If we do the same thing we’ll beat them.”
Unsurprisingly, given his familiar magnanimity and good humour, Moeen was unwilling to pass any of the blame for that five-run defeat in the second match on to the unfortunate Chettithody Shamshuddin, the local umpire whose decision to give Joe Root out lbw in the final over off the inside of his bat so angered England’s management. Shamshuddin is also scheduled to stand in the final match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“The umpiring decisions were important, but these things happen in cricket. Even with that, we should have won the game. We should have scored those runs,” Moeen said. “People make mistakes, we all make mistakes as batters and bowlers and he is just doing the job as best as he can. He made a couple of mistakes but once it is done you can’t really change it so you move on and there is no point worrying about it. He’s going to be under pressure anyway so the last thing you want to do is put more pressure on him. Leave him be.”
The reaction in India has focused instead on Jasprit Bumrah’s sensational final spell at the death, and Moeen was generous as ever in his assessment of a highly skilled opponent whose variations have not always come off on this tour.
“That last ball was past me before I could even lift my bat up,” he said. “I was waiting for the slower ball.”
Despite racking up Test hundreds over the last year Moeen is, in effect, a fellow bowler in T20 international cricket, a mark of the power of this England batting lineup, and of his own all-round smarts in every format.
There has been a change in the past two games, a less attacking approach, less rip on the ball, more focus on consistent accuracy. In Nagpur, Moeen’s four overs for 20 runs with the wicket of Yuvraj Singh thrown in stifled India’s middle order on a grippy pitch, reward for a successful game of bluff and counter-bluff as a T20 spin bowler.
“I’m not a mystery spinner like Adil Rashid, with a lot of skill. I just try and read the batter’s mind as much as I can.
“Certain batters change something in their technique or their stance. And a lot of it’s gut feel as well. Sometimes, during the over I’m not bowling, I ask myself what I would do next over if I was batting.”
England are likely to play an unchanged team in Bangalore. A run-feast is expected on a pitch that has brought such thrilling T20 success for Virat Kohli with the Royal Challengers, who are also the home franchise of Lokesh Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal.
After that Moeen will take a holiday, tour the West Indies with England, then go to Mecca to do the hajj with his family, a pilgrimage he has done once before, albeit without being recognised on that occasion. “I was only 22,” he says. “There weren’t many Worcestershire fans out there at the time.”
