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| Cheteshwar Pujara |
Billed as a
Revenge Series the India-England 4-Match Cricket Test Series played in India
started on the right note at least for an Indian television news channel who
while breaking the news hoarsely cried that Ahmedabad Test becomes Revenge No.1
for Team India. The ‘patriotic’ reason being that England
whitewashed India most
humiliatingly in the 4-Match Cricket Test Series played in England in
2011. The so-called revenge drama basically gets reduced to the battle of the
extremes between spin and pace—India
having the spin quality providing turners at home and England having
pace providing green tops at home. In fact, each team does not mind demanding
‘conditioned’ pitches at home whenever the opponent visits there. As the battle
goes on no single team ever tries mastering both of the arts.
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| Alistair Cook |
Each team is
right in their battle, essentially. England
knows India ’s
weakness against seam and swing, therefore demolishes them on green-top
pitches. India knows England ’s
weakness against spin bowling, and therefore plans revenge on slow and cracking
pitches. Right from the sixties when India prided in having four deadly
and specialized spinners this has been the Test scenario. No effort has been
made by any cricket board in providing uniform sporting pitches or making their
respective players to learn to bowl both pace and spin well and learn to play
both pace and spin dexterously. Surprisingly, no takers for the simple fact
that this is just not right for the interests of the Test genre for which crowd
support has already been dwindling.
Given this, India
were rightfully expected to crush England in the first Test in Ahmedabad to ‘avenge’
and indeed England would have obliged by crashing to an innings defeat within
four days but for some splendid resistance by England captain Alistair Cook
(176) and wicket keeper Matt Prior (91). These two players showed that England players
are capable of playing spin well if only the right approach is adopted. On the
fourth day yesterday the duo remained unbeaten with the team’s second innings
score at 340/5 leading by 10 runs and the possibility of a draw was becoming a
reality. But on the last day today England
lost all five wickets by lunch giving India just 77 run target to win.
India eagerly notched it up in under 16 overs losing just the wicket of Sehwag
(25) and Cheteshwar Pujara remaining unbeaten again with 41. Thus India beat England by 9 wickets in the first
Test in Ahmedabad leading the series 1-0. For India predictably spinners Ashwin
and Ojha captured 15 wickets between them. For England predictably too the pacers
cut a sorry figure. The Scorecard:
The biggest plus
of the test for India
was the sterling double century by Cheteshwar Pujara (206 not out in nearly two
days of batting, 1st innings) whose classicist orthodoxy and perfect
temperament has already earned the tag of the ‘new Wall’ for him with many
cricket experts relishing similarities with the elegant VVS Laxman too. Virender
Sehwag scoring a brilliant century after two years and the Indian opener duo
coming good after a long time was also among other positives for Team India .
Finally, Yuvraj Singh (74 in first innings) has completed this return to
cricket successfully and has effectively silenced all of the skeptics including
his captain about his fitness.
The second Test
starts in Mumbai from 23rd November and with probably another cracker
of a turning pitch here the predictability factor of ‘revenge’ seems obvious.
