India's last wicket falling on Monday brought the curtain down on a sensational win from the England cricket team, one that will be written and spoken about for many years to come. To give a perspective on this First Test, even if England lose this series, I suspect this game will be one that is referenced on a regular basis. The reason for this, for me, is quite simple - it was literally The Perfect Test.
To win away in Test Cricket in the modern era is a challenge, for all teams, in all locations. Many a writer has speculated and written about the lack of away victories, especially over the last few years. There are numerous reasons for this, but the main ones cited are lack of preparation as well as conditions and pitches that are completely foreign to the travelling teams and players, all leading to a mountain that is usually too high to overcome. On many an away tour, it has become common place for England to lose the opening Test, usually by such a wide margin that it places a huge weight of pressure on the team for the rest of the tour. Well things are a-changing. England came into this tour after winning away in South Africa last year, and fresh off the back off a 2-0 win in Sri Lanka, leading to raised hopes that this tour to India could hold some promise.
This year of all years, is one of the biggest and most exciting for English cricket. Sri Lanka and India precede home Test series against New Zealand and India (again for a mammoth 5 game slugfest). There is also a possibility of a place in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship to consider. The team then face the challenge of the World T20 World Cup, before heading to Australia for the big one - The Ashes. 5 Tests, all played in cauldrons with the pressure dial turned up to the maximum. The physical and mental challenges should not be underestimated.
Which leads us back nicely to this First Test in Chennai. Second only to Australia, India is considered one of the toughest places to tour and for a team to win. The 2012 tourists all remember their Series win with considerable fondness for a good reason. It is hot, it is humid, the pitches turn square and the opponents all feature some of the best players to have played the game. Not only did England come into the Series on good form, so did the hosts. Their most recent Series saw the team overcome more challenges that can be listed and beat the Australians, by coming from behind. These are formidable opponents. And opponents that England would take on with no warm up games after arriving, and the players all having to undergo a period of quarantine before being allowed to begin training. This meant that players having only a handful of training sessions before the First Test
It is with this backdrop that England faced off with India. From the moment Virat Kohli, back in the team after the birth of his child, tossed the coin in the air England took control of the game and never looked back. First job for England captain Joe Root, playing his 100th Test, was win the toss. Done. Second job, elect to bat first. Done. Third job, bat, and bat long. And boy, was this done. England batted. And batted. And batted some more. The dark days of 30-3 and being skittled out in a session were made to be a distant and sour memory as England racked up a mammoth 578, batting into the Third Day, as the Indian bowlers and fielders toiled in the Chennai heat. The huge total was underpinned by a special innings from a special player. Joe Root followed up his successful tour of Sri Lanka with another colossal effort. 218 of the finest runs were scored by Root, who will now go down as one of England's greatest ever batsman. Root displayed a masterclass of batting in the sub-continent, sweeping and reverse-sweeping, rocking back and forward and playing his shots at will. He became the first man in history to score 200 in his 100th Test, going on to score the highest ever total of those playing in their respective milestone fixture.
It was not just a solo effort from Root that powered England to their score. Dom Sibley was a rock at the top of the order, blunting the new ball and frustrating the Indian bowlers to 87. Reinstalled star allrounder Ben Stokes scored 82, with no signs of any rustiness. There were all contributions of 30 or more from Burns, Pope, Buttler and Bess. This truly was a team effort with the bat, who made a mockery of the lack of training time.
As India came out to bat, English memories were taken back to the previous tour to these parts in 2016, when at the same venue, India responded to England's grand total by responding with a score in excess of 700. Thankfully history was not for repeating, as England got stuck into the hosts by bowling them out for 337, with Stokes the only man to go wicketless, albeit from only 6 overs. Like the batting, again this was a team effort from the bowling unit. Young spinner Dom Bess' 4 wickets showed that England's spinners have the ability to cause trouble in these conditions.
With a lead of 241, England proceeded to build a dominant last innings target. Losing wickets at a fairly regular basis, run scoring became harder and harder on a surface worsening rapidly. The only questionable element of England's performance was the final hour as debated whether to declare or not. At at time, when the accelerator is usually pressed, England found the handbrake was still applied. As run scoring became laboured, howls could be seen in anguish from fans and ex-players alike on social media, who were calling for a declaration. The debate was finally ended with Jimmy Anderson chipping to the close fielder.
420 runs was the target, with the best part of 100 overs to either survive or win the game for India. Other than small periods where hopes of either flickered, England were quite simply never in any real danger of letting this slip. Led by Jack Leach, who has had to overcome considerable personal adversity, claimed 4 wickets, bowling with skill and control to maximise the most out of the conditions. India's innings saw one of the great overs, bowled by one of the greatest bowlers. Jimmy Anderson, the man with over 600 Test wickets, but still derided by some as not good enough unless it's cloudy, took the ball and took control. Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane were undone with reverse swinging deliveries of the highest quality, with stumps sent cartwheeling each time. India were eventually bowled out for 192. The margin of victory, a mere 227 runs.
This was a display that was worthy of the praise that will be attributed to it. It was not just the victory that impressed but the manner. This was pure dominance and control, with skill, determination and quality all on show. This would have been a brilliant victory if played on home soil, but to do so in overseas conditions really is impressive. It was also a win that demonstrated that England are developing an identity and a method to be a success in Test cricket, and learning the lessons of mistakes previously. They put a high price on their wicket, and put the pressure back on the opposition bowlers. With the ball they were consistent, relentless and disciplined. All traits that will bear fruit more often than not.
Given the background, given the location and the opponents, this really was a sensational victory. Immediately pressure falls onto the Indian team, with questions now asked over Kohli's captaincy and the selection policy. This series is far from over. India's win Down Under came after being bowled out for 36 in the First Test. They have a team jam-packed with quality performers, who know how to win cricket matches. This is all set up for a fascinating series. The remaining 3 Tests all will be some games of cricket if they can rival the game just finished. That said, England march into the next Test 1-0 up, in 1st Place of the World Test Championship and unbeaten in 11 Tests under Joe Root's captaincy.
Oh, I forgot to mention, this was all played out on Free to Air Television to a much larger viewing audience, many of which are new to Test cricket, and only now discovering its joy and brilliance. Like I said, this really was The Perfect Test.
(All images used are courtesy of the Test Match Special twitter page).