As the dust has now settled on a fairly bruising encounter in the Second Test at Chennai, England are now preparing with earnest for the Third Test at the new 110k Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. Following the heavy defeat last week, the series is now evenly poised at one apiece, with the next Test a day/night affair using the pink ball and under the lights. Given the nature of that defeat, it is quite easily to now believe that the remainder of the tour will now go downhill rapidly with England suffering further heavy defeats, however I do not believe that such negativity is justified.
There can be no doubt, the Second Test was a chastening experience for the England team, with little to nothing going right for them. From the get go, they were outclassed by their opponents who put to rights the lessons learnt from their own heavy defeat at the same venue in the opening Test. And it is that response that shows that feeling so doom and gloom is not the right position to be in. For all India’s dominance in the 2nd Test, it was England who ran the show in the Series Opener and who were the dominant force, producing a performance that was as close to perfect as you could get. A week later, it was roles reversed. Now Test cricket is not just as easy as clicking your fingers and hoping all will be well again, but the Indian team’s recovery shows the power of having fight and desire to fix previous wrongs.
The irony of how well England playing in the First Test, is that it was that good a performance, it made people forget how tough an assignment this tour actually is. India just do not lose Tests at home, and they certainly do not lose home Test Series, having only been defeated twice at home in recent years. These are tough opponents, with games played in tough conditions. However much you can try and prepare for them, you never really are 100% confident in how you will go until the first ball is bowled. Quite simply, this is a tough place to do well in. The victory and the manner of how England went about winning the First Test, was never going to be a true reflection of how the tour was going to go. It is also easy to forget amongst all the despondency of last week that England go into the next Test level in the series. For all the criticism levelled at the team over the last few days, you would have thought they were behind. England go into the game with all to play for, and with a solid position to attack the last 2 games.
There has been plenty said and written about the state of the pitch that was produced in the Second Test. Quite simply, it was a very poor pitch. Seeing the ball fly out of the dust, with pieces being dislodged and the ball turning square on day 1, is disappointing. The best pitches are those that offer a fair balance between bat and ball, clearly this was one that went too far in the direction of favouring the spin bowlers. That said, both teams play on the same pitch, both play to the same conditions. The simple fact is that India just played to the conditions better than England did. Yes, there can be questions asked about how favourable they were to the home team, but this is to be expected when you tour on the subcontinent. Anyone expecting to go there and play on pitches conducive to swing or seam is misguided at best. In any case, England have produced pitches at home that are green and leave plenty of grass on top to help favour our own bowlers. Playing and learning how to overcome diverse and unfavourable conditions is what makes Test cricket what it is and what makes it so special.
With all the talk of the pitch in the last game, it is easy to forget that the Third Test is being played as a Day/Night game and using the pink ball, this should favour England more you would expect than the opposition. In addition, due to the rotation policy that England are now employing, Jimmy Anderson managed to avoid the Chennai humbling, and took advantage of getting his feet up and being well-rested. With that in mind, he should arrive at Ahmedabad in prime condition in order to try and wrestle back the momentum in England’s favour. He will also have arrived at the ground and be overjoyed by seeing the green strip that was being prepared for the game. No doubt, the reality when the two captains go out for the toss will be somewhat different, but it is hard to imagine many batsman of either team being too confident of success based on what we have seen so far. England’s own batting line up will be bolstered by the return of Jonny Bairstow, following his break after the Sri Lanka series, as well as Zak Crawley coming into contention for selection after his injury concerns. Bairstow’s return, especially after his good form in Sri Lanka, should be a welcome sight and would be a good addition back into the team.
Whilst the heavy defeat at Chennai saw many poor performances, there were some brightspots that were seen. Ben Foakes produced a wicket-keeping masterclass that confirmed his position as being one of the premier glove men in the world. In such conditions, and after such a length break away from the game, his was a performance of high talent and skill and was a complete joy to watch. Jos Buttler is not a poor keeper by any stretch of the imagination, but he will have been envious of the stumpings and takes that his rival was producing. It was not only with the gloves that Foakes impressed. He also added 42 hard-fought runs in the first innings, to add further weight of evidence that Buttler will not just be walking back in the team when available. With the ball, Ollie Stone also performed well, even more impressive given the conditions were so unfavourable to seam bowlers like himself. He will advances his causes not jut for the remainder of the series, but for the whole of 2021, especially with the heavy workload that England are facing. Jack Leach, followed his solid opening game, with another impressive showing, putting his case forward that he is now England’s premier spinner.
England also go into the game with a number of their players, not having hit their stride yet. Talisman Ben Stokes, bar his 82 in the first test, has not yet fully hit top form. He is too good a player to stay as quiet for long. Given how much he loves the big games and big occasions, he will be itching to add his own contribution and influence to the series. In addition, Sibley, Burns, Pope and Lawrence are all players with high potential and talent for this level of cricket. Bar Sibley in the opening game, none have yet produced a score yet when batting. Depending on who is selected, if at least one can come to the party and add some weighty runs, then the pressure will be taken off Joe Root and help England to produce a weight of runs in the first innings – a key component of their victory and so dearly missing in their defeat.
Whilst the defeat in Chennai was far from ideal, and far from the standards that are set by this England team, they are only at the half-way point in the series. There is plenty of cricket still to be played, and there still remains a great opportunity to come away from this tour with more than they possibly imagined going into it. Whilst being disappointed, there is certainly no need to panic at this stage. Here's to a positive response on Wednesday!
(All pictures are taken from the Test Match Special twitter page)