Marshalled by their captain, Virat Kohli, India reignited this series as a contest. After their humiliation at Lord’s India finished a fine day of Test cricket on 307 for six with Kohli and his vice-captain, Ajinkya Rahane, compiling a crucial 159-run partnership in the afternoon. This was a source of great relief to the Indian camp, tempered by the loss of Hardik Pandya to the last ball of the day. Perhaps even more uplifting than that stand between two familiar names was a cameo at the end from India’s debutant, Rishabh Pant. He was only 22 not out at the close but I have a hunch this might have been an “I was there” moment.
Joe Root opted to let his bowlers loose after winning the toss and they did not respond particularly well to the challenge. There was less movement available than at Lord’s or Edgbaston but some mild encouragement for the pacemen. Too often India’s latest opening pair were able to watch the ball pass harmlessly outside the off stump.
It is hard to argue with 978 Test wickets but the preference of Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson to bowl to a 7-2 off-side field may contribute to them erring in line. Both have the admirable yearning to be mean but with two men on the leg side there is the temptation for them to bowl a little too wide. Just occasionally they over-compensated and Shikhar Dhawan, restored to the side in place of Murali Vijay, capitalised with leg-side boundaries.
With remarkably few alarms India sped past fifty without losing a wicket as the introduction of Ben Stokes accelerated the run rate. It was not supposed to be like this, but in the second hour Chris Woakes, the England all-rounder who has only ever entered a court with a tennis racquet, intervened.
Having replaced Anderson at the Ratcliffe Road End, Woakes found enough movement to test batsmen gaining in confidence. His pre-lunch spell suggested England would continue to torment the batsmen. First he found the edge of Dhawan’s bat and Jos Buttler at second slip held a neat catch; then Woakes dispatched KL Rahul with a brute of a delivery, which swung away a little before nipping back devilishly.
Rahul was given LBW and set off on his lonely return (apart from the presence of a TV cameraman, who will one day bear the brunt of a batsman’s anger) but Cheteshwar Pujara pursued him and told him to ask for a review. Rahul followed that advice, whereupon three red lights instructed him to continue his journey. It seems as if Pujara’s umpiring is on the same level as his running between the wickets.
In the last over before lunch Pujara was also undermined by Woakes. The Warwickshire all-rounder delivered the solitary bouncer in his spell; Pujara was surprised and he sensed runs before skimming a hook shot straight to long-leg, where England’s least reliable fielder was stationed. Adil Rashid steadied himself and took a taxing catch at chest height to enable England to take lunch in a buoyant mood.
There would be no more scalps for England in the next four hours as Kohli and Rahane combined with remarkably few alarms. They were suitably wary against Woakes and Anderson, England’s most dangerous bowlers, but runs were easier to come by when Stokes and Rashid were in harness.
Root could use Rashid only sparingly in his first spell as he yielded runs so easily. This was not so surprising since the leg-spinner has never been the solitary slow bowler in an England side and required to hold an end up while the pacemen have a breather. Kohli stroked effortless boundaries on either side of the wicket. After five overs and 29 runs Rashid was removed from the attack.
For the first time in the series two India batsmen were in unison in the middle; the pitch was sleeping, the ball softening, the bowlers tiring. It took a millisecond of brilliance to break the partnership. Alastair Cook has taken 165 catches for England and my suspicion is that the one he snatched on Saturday to dismiss Rahane was his career-best.
Rahane edged a drive against Broad. Initially, it looked like Jonny Bairstow’s catch but the keeper did not move. So, late in proceedings, Cook lurched to his left and stuck out a hand and there the ball magically came to rest. Even more astounding was the air of nonchalance that Cook retained as he got to his feet, which was eventually betrayed by a beaming smile.
There would be another slip catch of significance soon afterwards. It was a much simpler one and it was taken by Stokes off the bowling of Rashid. The importance lay in the fact that the batsman was Kohli, three runs short of his century. Until then Kohli had played Rashid with consummate ease but now he drove away from his body at a leg-break. Suddenly, the concerns about Rashid’s profligacy were shelved.
Out came Pant, a stocky left-hander and capable wicketkeeper on his Test debut. He crunched his first delivery hard to extra cover; to his second, a googly, he advanced down the pitch to drive the ball straight for six, a remarkable display of derring-do. Pant became the 12th man to get off the mark in Test cricket with a six; New Zealand’s Mark Craig is the only one to do so from his first ball. The list contains very few notable batsmen; most are impudent bowlers. Until Pant, the best was probably West Indies’ Carlisle Best. Already the young Indian looks as if he might be better than that.
