India vs England | Takeaways: Hanuma Vihari’s absurd selection, Ishant Sharma’s intelligence, and Alastair Cook’s fitting farewell
BCCI
Indian bowlers pulled back the initiative in the final session of the day after picking only one wicket in the first couple of sessions as England ended the day 1 with a score of 198/7. However, the day would be remembered more because of how Ishant Sharma intelligently spearheaded the comeback.
Have India got it wrong?
When India selected an 18-member squad for the England tour, Karun Nair found a place in the squad and went to the UK with the happy memory of his unbeaten 303 against the same side two years back. It was due to Virat Kohli’s policy of playing five bowlers in Tests that Hardik Pandya was preferred over him in the first four Tests. But, after the team’s failure to close out two close run chases, India learnt a lesson and decided to pick an extra batsman in the team. Â
But, when India dropped Pandya for the Oval Test, they gave a debut to Andhra cricketer Hanuma Vihari, who averages 59 in first-class cricket and was brought in as Kuldeep Yadav's replacement for the final two Tests. Yes, there is no doubt in the fact that Vihari is a talented cricketer and deserves a place in the squad as a respect for the sheer numbers that he has put in day in and day out in the domestic cricket. But, it somehow undermines Nair as a cricketer. He was India’s first choice player and has all the right to ask why he was not given the preference for the Test.
For the beginners, a fact worth noting is that Nair had hit an unbeaten triple-century against England in Chennai in December 2016 and was immediately dropped from the team for the next game when Ajinkya Rahane made his way into the team. A couple of failures against Australia meant he was out of the team for good. Sunil Gavaskar rightfully slammed the decision which will be a huge dent in Nair’s confidence going forward.Â
Ishant was spot on with his deceptive technique
The best thing about the current Indian bowling unit is their ability to maintain consistency in difficult conditions and Ishant Sharma has been brilliant at it. He imparts very good backspin on the ball and his seam positions were perfectly aligned to make the ball move late in the air. Today, given the fact that Sun came on shining since the morning in London, the bowlers didn’t get a lot of movement and managed to move the ball on with an average angle of 0.9°, which is considerably lesser than other Tests. However, Ishant still managed to put pressure on the English batsmen with his seam movement.
Ishant had a good record against Alastair Cook in the series when he comes around the wicket and got the former English skipper out thrice from that angle as the ball moves both ways. However, today, the lack of assistance made it impossible for him to make the ball travel in and knowing that the Delhi pacer, especially in the second session, opted to deliver from the other side of the stumps. From general consensus, it might seem like the batsman had the advantage as Ishant does not swing the ball in from that angle. However, Ishant had already noticed the seam movement that was present on the pitch and quite artistically, extracted that.
It was only in his second over after lunch that the pacer bowled a full ball on the middle stump and managed to seam the ball away to which Cook edged. But, Ajinkya Rahane
Alastair Cook’s innings today a microcosm of his legendary career
What a cricketer has Alastair Cook been and what a great servant for English cricket! From a baby-faced boy tormenting India in Nagpur in 2006 to being England’s all-time highest run-scorer in Tests, Cook has travelled a way unimaginable for many cricketers. He may not be the most eye-catching of the cricketers on the field, but the level of concentration and the ability to disintegrate the bowlers made him a tough cricketer that cricket fans would remember for times to come.Â
The lack of runs may have triggered the decision to retire at an age of 33 but Cook today played with more freedom and seemed like leaving the terrible form is past him. He looked far more fluent and unleashed a couple of cover drives and followed that with a dismissive pull. The fact the people at the Kia Oval - the scene for
He laboured his way to get those 71 runs and played out 190 balls for that at a strike rate of 37.37. It was the same way he has played cricket throughout his career. And what a way to end the career as well. A 33rd would have been nice and fans present at Oval may expect the same in the second innings.
